The Cambodian Genocide: Uncomfortable Parallels

Published December 26, 2008 @ 12:04PM PT

A note to politicians everywhere: It's best to avoid doing anything that would allow others to draw parallels between you and the perpetrators of past genocides.

Our current administration apparently did not get the memo.

Nick Kristof posted a short blog on his visit to the Tuol Sleng museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which memorializes the genocide carried out by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s:

"Then I came to a familiar picture: a man being water-boarded. Beside it was the actual water-board that the Khmer Rouge used. It turns out that the Khmer Rouge had the same fondness for water-boarding as an interrogation technique that Dick Cheney does."

Yikes.

On a slightly different but still related note, the Cambodian genocide has not yet been discussed on this blog---for the simple reason that, as I am but one lonely blogger managing this site in my "free time," my time is consumed keeping up with Darfur, the DRC, Zimbabwe, and occasionally Rwanda. This will change in the future--this is the "Stop Genocide" page, after all, and the focus should not be so narrow--but for now, I will save face by pointing you towards better resources for additional information:

The Cambodian Genocide Program at Yale

The United Human Rights Council

Peace Pledge Union

The Cambodian Genocide Group

[Photo from the Tuol Sleng museum.]

Share this Post

Comments (3)

Taking the gloves of civilization off in order to protect civilization is a self-defeating strategy.

Posted by Charles Gillard on 12/26/2008 @ 12:13PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Charles
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Dubya, Cheney, and Rummy: Please indict these stooges for their crimes against humanity.

<BR><a href=http://www.musicplaylist.us></a><a href=http://www.musicplaylist.us/standalone/56052475 target=_blank></a><a href=http://www.musicplaylist.us/download/56052475></a>

band: Propagandhi
song: Iteration

It's about Rumsfeld being convicted of war crimes, and the sentence is all too poetic.

Posted by John Thompson on 12/26/2008 @ 02:27PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by John
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
We might talk forever about genocide, warfare, poverty, injustice and all kind of atrocities; though if we don't understand the very fundaments of in which our society is built on and really make an effort to eradicate the causes, most probably we will never see the end for all those things. We must change ourselves first in order to see changes outside. This is no simple task, is rather a painful and overwhelming one particularly when the very concepts, beliefs, culture in which we learned and grew from is so deep rooted in our collective mind. Give the planet back to the people! http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

Posted by Daniele deLima on 12/30/2008 @ 03:52AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Daniele
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Michelle became involved in the anti-genocide cause at a young age, and has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns, ever since.