Communist Party of Kampuchea

This article is about a communist party founded in Cambodia. For the government formed by the Communist Party of Kampuchea, see Democratic Kampuchea. For its followers, see Khmer Rouge.
Communist Party of Kampuchea
បក្សកុម្មុយនីស្តកម្ពុជា
General SecretaryPol Pot
Deputy SecretaryNuon Chea
Founded28 June 1951 (as KPRP)[1]
30 September 1960 (as separate party)
Dissolved6 December 1981
Split fromIndochinese Communist Party
Succeeded byParty of Democratic Kampuchea
NewspaperTung Padevat
Youth wingCommunist Youth League of Kampuchea
Ideology
Political positionFar-left
Colors  Red
Party flag
This article contains Khmer text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Khmer script.

The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK),[a] also known as the Khmer Communist Party,[6] was a communist party in Cambodia. Its leader was Pol Pot, and its members were generally known as the Khmer Rouge. Originally founded in 1951, the party was split into pro-Chinese and pro-Soviet factions as a result of the Sino–Soviet split with the former being the Pol Pot faction, and the latter adopting a more revisionist approach to Marxism.[1] As such, it claimed that 30 September 1960 was its founding date; it was named the Workers' Party of Kampuchea[b] before it was renamed the Communist Party in 1966.[7]

The party operated underground during most of its existence, and it took control of the country in April 1975 and established the state known as Democratic Kampuchea. The party lost power in 1979 with the establishment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea following the intervention of Vietnamese military forces. The party was officially dissolved in 1981, with the Party of Democratic Kampuchea claiming its legacy.

  1. ^ a b Chandler, David P.; D.P.C. (1983). "Revising the Past in Democratic Kampuchea: When Was the Birthday of the Party?". Pacific Affairs. 56 (2): 288–300. doi:10.2307/2758655. JSTOR 2758655. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. ^ Edwards, Matthew (March 2004). "The rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia: internal or external origins?". Asian Affairs. 35 (1): 56–67. doi:10.1080/0306837042000184266. eISSN 1477-1500. ISSN 0306-8374. S2CID 159796058.
  3. ^ Mowell, B.D. (7 October 2021). "Religious communities as targets of the Khmer Rouge genocide". The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Mass Atrocity, and Genocide. London: Routledge. pp. 195–204. doi:10.4324/9780429317026-22. ISBN 978-0-429-31702-6. S2CID 241862855.
  4. ^ Path, Kosal; Kanavou, Angeliki (2 September 2015). "Converts, not ideologues? The Khmer Rouge practice of thought reform in Cambodia, 1975–1978". Journal of Political Ideologies. 20 (3). Informa UK Limited: 304–332. doi:10.1080/13569317.2015.1075266. ISSN 1356-9317. S2CID 146441273.
  5. ^ "Khmer Rouge leaders convicted of genocide in landmark court ruling". South China Morning Post. 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  6. ^ "Cambodia and the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP), Appendix B - Major Political and Military Organizations". Country Data. Archived 28 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ "Khmer People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP)". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.


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