SJS7: The Khmer Rouge: A Dubious Role in Cambodia’s Future

Source:
Karsh, Jason. “The Khmer Rouge: A Dubious Role in Cambodia’s Future.” Harvard International: 34-36. Print.

Summary:
The text opens by saying how the United Nations are trying to limit the influence of the Khmer Rouge. The first task the UN is trying to accomplish is the way to minimize the Khmer Rouge's representation on the Council. The text then goes on to talk about how the Khmer Rouge devastated Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge's main goal was to rid Cambodians of western ideals, however in 1978 the Vietnam forces pushed the Khmer Rouge out of power. The Khmer Rouge's horrifying legacy still remains in Cambodia and hurts Cambodia as a whole. Cambodia now is doing worst than Cambodia before the Khmer Rouge tried to take over. Although these terrible memories still haunt people today, the Vietnamese government is doing everything they can to restore order in Vietnam. Khmer Rouge was not totally defeated as it was pushed back to Thailand because the Khmer Rouge partnered with other rebel organizations and tried to win back some territory. China supported the Khmer Rouge because the Soviets started to support the Vietnamese government. The United States also was involved in the war and they supported the side against the Khmer Rouge. The UN feels that the Khmer Rouge is too powerful so the UN decided to put a interim government in place until they figure things out. Many people consider the Khmer Rouge today very different from back then, however this is no the case.


Analysis:
The main idea of this article was to express to the reader how bad the Khmer Rouge treated the people of Cambodia, and also to tell some of the steps that are being taken to limit the power of the Khmer Rouge today. This article is important because it just shows that the things the Khmer Rouge did were really horrible and that the war in Cambodia should not ignored. The text relates back to what we are studying because in class we watched a film about what actually happened in Cambodia. Not only did we want watch the film but we also talked about the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge and what it was like to live in Cambodia during that time. The article is credible because some of the points it brought point were accurate with what we discussed in class and what we saw in the movie.