Brother Number One: A Political Biography Of Pol Pot

by Chandler,David P

• ISBN13: 9780813335100
• ISBN10: 0813335108
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1999-03-05
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In the tragic recent history of Cambodiaa past scarred by a long occupation by Vietnamese forces and by the preceding three-year reign of terror by the brutal Khmer Rougeno figure looms larger or more ominously than that of Pol Pot. As secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) since 1962 and as prime minister of Democratic Kampuchea (DK), he has been widely blamed for trying to destroy Cambodian society. By implementing policies whose effects were genocidal, he oversaw the deaths of more than one million of his nation's people.The political career of Saloth Sar, better known by hisnom de guerrePol Pot, forms a critical but largely inaccessible portion of twentieth-century Cambodian history. What we know about his life is sketchy: a comfortable childhood, three years of study in France, and a short career as a schoolteacher preceded several yearsspent mostly in hidingas a guerrilla and the commander of the victorious army in Cambodia's civil war. His career reached a climax when he and his associates, coming to power, attempted to transform their country along lines more radical than any attempted by a modern regime. Driven into hiding in 1979 by invading Vietnamese forces, Pol Pot maintained his leadership of a Khmer Rouge guerrilla army in exile, remaining a power and a threat.In this political biography, David P. Chandler throws light on the shadowy figure of Pol Pot. Basing his study on interviews and on a wide range of sources in English, Cambodian, and French, the author illuminates the ideas and behavior of this enigmatic man and his entourage against the background of postWorld War II events, providing a key to understanding this horrific, pivotal period of Cambodian history. In this revised edition, Chandler provides new information on the state of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge following the death of Pol Pot in 1997.

Author Biography

David Chandler, an emeritus professor of history at Monash University in Australia, is currently an adjunct Professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xi	(2)
Preface to the Second Edition	xiii	(2)
Acknowledgments	xv
1 Introduction	1	(6)
2 "Original Khmer," 1928-1949	7	(18)
Who Was Pol Pot?	7	(1)
Palace Connections	8	(1)
Phnom Penh in the 1930s	9	(3)
The Weight of the Past	12	(3)
The Stirrings of Nationalism	15	(2)
Moving to Kompong Cham	17	(4)
Back in Phnom Penh	21	(1)
Working for the Democrats	22	(3)
3 Becoming a Communist, 1949-1953	25	(16)
The First Year in Paris	25	(4)
Political Developments in Cambodia, 1950-1951	29	(2)
Turning to the Left	31	(6)
Becoming a Communist	37	(4)
4 Multiple Identities, 1953-1963	41	(24)
Joining the Viet Minh	41	(2)
Geneva and the 1955 Elections	43	(6)
Becoming a Teacher	49	(4)
A Militant for the Party	53	(2)
Focusing the Party	55	(4)
A Cambodian Party Takes Shape	59	(1)
The Death of Tou Samouth	60	(1)
Talking to Monks and Students	61	(4)
5 "Red Khmer," 1963-1970	65	(22)
A Hostage of the Vietnamese	67	(2)
The Visit to Vietnam	69	(2)
The Visit to China	71	(2)
A Change in Tactics	73	(4)
The Samlaut Uprising	77	(3)
Armed Struggle, 1968-1970	80	(2)
Sihanouk Loses His Grip	82	(1)
Saloth Sar Travels North	83	(4)
6 Coming to Power, 1970-1976	87	(26)
Saloth Sar Comes Home	88	(3)
The National Democratic Revolution	91	(3)
From Cease-Fire to Bombardment	94	(1)
The Only Game in Town	95	(2)
Sihanouk Visits Saloth Sar	97	(2)
Preparing the Final Assault	99	(3)
The Final Assault	102	(2)
Saloth Sar Returns to Phnom Penh	104	(3)
Inventing Democratic Kampuchea	107	(3)
The Emergence of Pol Pot	110	(3)
7 Prairie Fire, 1976-1977	113	(24)
The Four Year Plan	114	(8)
The Crisis of September-October 1976	122	(1)
Purges in Democratic Kampuchea, 1975-1977	123	(4)
Purging Friends	127	(2)
Pol Pot and the "Microbes,"	129	(1)
Punishing the Intelligentsia	130	(2)
Personal Details	132	(1)
War with Vietnam	133	(2)
Coming into the Open	135	(2)
8 Coming Apart, 1977-1979	137	(20)
Pol Pot in China and North Korea	137	(1)
Cambodia's War with Vietnam	138	(4)
The War Begins	142	(2)
Opening Up	144	(2)
Attacking Enemies	146	(2)
A Cult of Personality?	148	(5)
Pol Pot on Display	153	(4)
9 "Grandfather 87," 1979-1998	157	(32)
The Discovery of Democratic Kampuchea's History	159	(2)
Concealing Democratic Kampuchea	161	(1)
Repentant Optimist, 1979-1981	162	(2)
Dropping Out of Sight, 1981-1986	164	(1)
Summing Up for the Defense	165	(5)
Solving the Cambodian "Problem," 1986-1991	170	(3)
The UNTAC Period	173	(1)
"Grandfather 87,"	174	(4)
The Implosion of the Red Khmer, 1994-1998	178	(11)
Chronology	189	(8)
Appendix 1: Non Suon's Biography of Pol Pot	197	(4)
Appendix 2: Khmer Personnel at "Office 100," 1963-1966	201	(2)
Notes	203	(40)
Bibliographic Essay	243	(6)
Index	249