Vietnam remained in control of Cambodia until the United Nations mediated a peace settlement in 1991 . In 1997 , a coup d ’ etat by Prime Minister Hun Sen removed any non-communist opposition and consolidated his power . Hun Sen is a former Khmer Rouge member who rules Cambodia with an iron fist . His regime is regularly accused of political oppression , corruption and human rights violations .
Pol Pot was the leader of the Khmer Rouge . Although he was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris , he believed in an egalitarian , agrarian society which had no need for money , religion or family . Thousands of Cambodians were killed in order to ‘ purify ’ the country of monks , the educated , non-ethnic Khmers , government officials and artists . Pol Pot was never tried for his war crimes .
photo : https :// flic . kr / p / cmNSzQ
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