Ta Mok

Ta Mok, which means "Grandfather Mok" in Khmer, was the nom de guerre of Chhit Choeun (c. 1926 – 21 July 2006), a senior figure in the leadership of the Khmer Rouge. His name has also been reported as Ek Choeun, Oeung Choeun and Ung Choeun, and he was also known as "Brother Number Four". Image File history File links 1659536_ta_mok150ap. ... Image File history File links 1659536_ta_mok150ap. ... A pseudonym or allonym is a name (sometimes legally adopted, sometimes purely fictitious) used by an individual as an alternative to their birth name. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Some of the Khmer Rouge leadership during their period in power. ...

In Khmer Rouge

He is believed to have been born into a prosperous country family from the province of Takeo. He became a Buddhist monk in the 1930s but left the monkhood when he was 16.^[1] Ta Mok was part of the resistance against French colonial rule and then the anti-Japanese resistance in the 1940s. He was training for the Buddhist priesthood at Pali when he joined the anti-French Khmer Issarak in 1964. He soon left Phnom Penh and joined the Khmer Rouge. // French Colonial Occupation In October of 1887, the French announced the formation of the Union Indochinoise (Indochinese Union), which at that time comprised Cambodia, already an autonomous French possession, and the three regions of Vietnam (Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina. ... A Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka In Pāli, a bhikkhu (male) or bhikkhuni (female) is a fully ordained Buddhist monk. ... The Khmer Issarak was an anti-French, Khmer nationalist political movement formed in 1945 with the backing of the goverment of Thailand. ... City motto: No motto City proper Province Phnom Penh Mayor Kep Chuktema Area 290 km² Population 1,011,264(2004) Density 3446. ...

By the late 1960s he was a general and the group's chief-of-staff. He was also a member of the Standing Committee of the Khmer Rouge's Central Committee ("Party Center") during its period in power. He became very powerful within the party, especially in the south-west zone. He was named by Pol Pot as leader of the national army of Democratic Kampuchea. He lost the lower part of one leg in fighting around 1970.

He orchestrated many massacres within the zone under his control since 1973, even before the seizure of power by the Khmer Rouge. It is believed that he directed the massive purges that characterised the short-lived Democratic Kampuchea (1975–1979), earning him the nickname Butcher. Kampuchea (Cambodia) Located on the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia , Kampuchea has emerged from 2 decades (10 years) of civil war & invasion from V- ietnam. ...

After the fall of the Khmer Rouge

After the regime was overthrown in 1979, Ta Mok remained a powerful figure, controlling the northern area of the Khmer Rouge's remaining territory from his base at Anlong Veng. It is estimated that some 3,000 to 6,000 combatants remained loyal to Pol Pot and were directed by Ta Mok.

In 1997, following a split in the party, Ta Mok seized control of one faction, naming himself supreme commander. Pol Pot then fled the Khmer Rouge's northern stronghold, but was later arrested by Ta Mok and sentenced to lifelong house arrest. In April 1998, following a new government attack, Ta Mok fled into the forest, taking Pol Pot with him. A few days later, on 15 April 1998, Pol Pot died, reportedly of a heart attack, in his custody. Saloth Sar (May 19, 1925 – April 16, 1998), better known as Pol Pot, was the ruler of the Khmer Rouge and the Prime Minister of Cambodia (officially Democratic Kampuchea during his rule) from 1976 to 1979, having been de facto leader since mid-1975. ... In justice and law, house arrest is the situation where a person is confined (by the authorities) to his or her residence. ... April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (106th in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

In 1998, following several key defections, Ta Mok was forced to flee to Anlong Veng. On 6 March 1999, the general was captured by the Cambodian army near the Thai border and brought to Phnom Penh, where he joined former comrade Khang Khek Leu ("Duch") at the Military Prosecution Department Detention Facility. Ta Mok was the last leading member of the Khmer Rouge to remain at large in Cambodia; other senior figures had died or already made immunity deals with the government of Hun Sen, including Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary. March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Khang Khek Ieu (aka Comrade D[e]uch) was a leader in the Khmer Rouge during its rule of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. ... Sâmdech (Lord) Hun Sen, (born April 4, 1951) is the Prime Minister of Cambodia and is married to Bun Rany. ... Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number Two, was Deputy General Secretary of the Communist Party and chief lieutenant to Pol Pot during the Khmer Rouge era. ... Khieu Samphan (born July 27, 1931) was the president of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. ... Ieng Sary (born 1922, 1925 or 1929) was the foreign minister of Cambodia from 1976 to 1979 and a powerful figure in the Khmer Rouge. ...

In prison his detention period was repeatedly extended without his being brought to trial. Under Cambodian law his trial should have begun within six months of his arrest. Initially charged with membership of an outlawed group and tax evasion, in February 2002 he was charged with crimes against humanity. In poor health, Ta Mok's only releases from solitary confinement were for hospital visits. On 21 July 2006, he died in a military hospital after falling into a coma.^{[2] [3]} "He was an old man and died of natural causes, given his poor health and respiratory problems," military doctor Tuoth Nara told Reuters. This article is in need of attention. ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Bizot, François (2003). The Gate, Euan Cameron, trans, New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
• Becker, Elizabeth [1986] (1998). When the War was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge. New York: Public Affairs.

François Bizot (born 1944) was the only Westerner to survive imprisonment by the Khmer Rouge. ... Elizabeth Becker is a journalist and author who specializes in trade, development, and Asian affairs. ...

External links

• Associated Press (July 21, 2006). Ta Mok, Khmer Rouge Head Facing Genocide Trial, Dies (HTML). New York Times.
• BBC News (July 21, 2006). Obituary: Ta Mok (HTML).
• Los Angeles Times (July 21, 2006). Ta Mok, 80; Key Figure in Cambodian Genocide (HTML).