As he stepped up to govern Democratic Kampuchea, Pol Pot must have felt as if his destiny had been fulfilled. He had gained everything he had dreamed of when he first became a Communist in 1952. He may have felt invincible; he may also have been frightened by what lay ahead for him. He had certainly reached the limit of his abilities, which had served him well in small groups whose members were, like him, poorly read and inexperienced in government and technology. Nevertheless, Pol Pot and his colleagues in the collective leadership enthusiastically embarked on a program to transform their country. In April 1976 the disasters that would befall the regime and millions of Khmer had not yet come into view.

CHAPTER SEVEN - Prairie Fire, 1976-1977

CHAPTER SEVEN

Prairie Fire, 1976-1977

Few survivors of the period from 1975 to 1979 refer to it nowadays as “Democratic Kampuchea.” Instead, they speak of samai a-Pot (“the era of the contemptible Pot”), giving the period an ex post facto personal tinge. It is important to place this tendency to personalize Pot’s reign alongside his own attempts to depersonalize his leadership of the party.1

In 1976 and 1977, Pol Pot concentrated on retaining power, which meant changing some of the tactics that had helped him overthrow the Khmer Republic; but he also remained wary and assumed even with victory that enemies were everywhere. To emerge into the open, he thought, was to become endangered. There was no question of catching him off duty or off guard. In DK documents we overhear none of his informal arguments, table talk, or snatches of conversation. Minutes of standing committee meetings, so helpful for 1975 and the first half of 1976, are not available later on. After September 1976, Pol Pot and his colleagues became increasingly fearful of plots being mounted against them. Their response was to become even more remote. 2

The picture of the man that emerges from this period, however, is consistent with those from earlier times. As before, Pol Pot excelled in dealing with small groups, but colleagues of inferior rank now encountered him more rarely. With the Communist victory, “Brother Pol” had become prime minister. For all the talk of collectivism in Cambodia, this made him “Brother Number One.” From a Communist standpoint, victory proved his correctness; from a Buddhist one, his new status demonstrated the meritoriousness of his achievements. From either perspective, he rose in prestige and became more difficult to reach.