Cambodia remembers the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge

Forty-seven years ago today, the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh and forcibly evacuated city dwellers to the countryside, causing immense suffering to the people. People believed that the fall of the Khmer Republic would bring them peace and prosperity. City dwellers came out to welcome the arrival of the Khmer Rouge soldiers, dressed in black suits, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenades.

But hope was dashed as they were forced to work in labor camps and starved. The Khmer Rouge soldiers were in black suits, mostly teenagers aged between 16 and 17, and they did not smile. The soldiers announced that the people would leave the city in two or three days without having to carry many supplies, as they could return in two or three days.

Rong Ren, 61, who lived in Meanchey district in 1975, recalled that April 17, 1975, was the bitterest ordeal his family experienced and that people were ordered to leave the city and those who could not walk were shot dead on the streets by the Khmer Rouge soldiers. Ren said that his four siblings were separated while moving to Kampot province.

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