Top 30 Quotes & Sayings by Pol Pot

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Cambodian politician Pol Pot.
Last updated on September 18, 2024.
Pol Pot

Pol Pot was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and a Khmer nationalist, he was a leading member of Cambodia's communist movement, the Khmer Rouge, from 1963 until 1997 and served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea from 1963 to 1981. Under his administration, Cambodia was converted into a one-party communist state and perpetrated the Cambodian genocide.

If someone is very hungry, the Angkar will take him where he will be stuffed with food.
Since he is of no use anymore, there is no gain if he lives and no loss if he dies.
I do not reject responsibility - our movement made mistakes, like every other movement in the world. But there was another aspect that was outside our control - the enemy's activities against us.
He who protests is an enemy; he who opposes is a corpse. — © Pol Pot
He who protests is an enemy; he who opposes is a corpse.
I'm quite satisfied on one thing: If we had not carried out our struggle, Cambodia would have become another Kampuchea Krom in 1975.
Failing to induce adulation and submissiveness, the Angkar could only generate hatred. If concealment was the ultimate ploy for the leadership, it backfired and whipped up abhorrence in the context of total revolution. This might be one of the explanations why repression assumed proportions unknown in other Communist countries. The mask of Angkar was a good tactic to grab power, but it proved disastrous in government.
The Vietnamese... wanted to assassinate me because they knew without me they could easily swallow up Cambodia.
Whoever wishes to blame or attack me is entitled to do so. I regret I didn't have enough experience to totally control the movement. On the other hand, with our constant struggle, this had to be done together with others in the communist world to stop Kampuchea becoming Vietnamese.
If you wish to live exactly as you please, the Angkar will put aside a small piece of land for you.
Exterminate the 50 million Vietnamese and purify the masses of the [Cambodian] people.
The first time I heard of Tuol Sleng, it was on the Voice of America. I listened twice.
Hunger is the most effective disease.
Even now, and you can look at me, am I a savage person? My conscience is clear.
No gain in keeping, no loss in weeding out.
I did not join the resistance movement to kill people, to kill the nation. Look at me now. Am I a savage person? My conscience is clear.
When I die, my only wish is that Cambodia remain Cambodia and belong to the West. It is over for communism, and I want to stress that.
If you have a disease of the old society, take a dose of Lenin as medication.
In Khmer we have a saying that when one is both quite sick and old there remains only one thing, that you die.
For the other people, the babies, the young ones, I did not order them to be killed. For Son Sen and his family, yes. I feel sorry for that. That was a mistake that occurred when we put our plan into practice. I feel sorry.
The sick are victims of their own imagination.
To kill the grass you must also remove the root
We want only peace, to build up our country. World opinion is paying great attention to the threat against Democratic Kampuchea. They are anxious, they fear Kampuchea cannot oppose the Vietnamese. This could hurt the interests of the Southeast Asian countries and all of the world's countries.
I want you to know that everything I did, I did for my country.
I'm quite modest. I don't want to tell people I'm a leader. — © Pol Pot
I'm quite modest. I don't want to tell people I'm a leader.
We will burn the old grass and the new will grow.
Better to kill an innocent by mistake than spare an enemy by mistake.
I came to carry out the struggle, not to kill people.
I came to join the revolution, not to kill the Cambodian people. Look at me now. Am I a violent person? No. So, as far as my conscience and my mission were concerned, there was no problem.
It's up to history to judge.
There's what we did wrong and what we did right. The mistake is that we did some things against the people - by us and also by the enemy - but the other side, as I told you, is that without our struggle there would be no Cambodia right now.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!