Ta Mok
| Ta Mok | |
|---|---|
Ta Mok in 1999.
|
|
| Born |
Chhit Choeun 1926 Takéo, Cambodia |
| Died | 21 July 2006 (aged 79–80) Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Nationality | Cambodian |
| Other names | Chhit Choeun Nguon Kang Ek Choeun Oeung Choeun Ung Choeun The Butcher Brother Number Five |
| Occupation | Soldier, military chief |
| Years active | 1970–1975 |
| Organization | Khmer Rouge |
| Known for | Khmer Rouge leader |
| Political party | Communist Party |
Ta Mok (Khmer: តាម៉ុក; born Chhit Choeun, 1926 – July 21, 2006) was a Cambodian military chief and soldier who was a senior figure in the Khmer Rouge. He was best known as "Brother Number Five" or "the Butcher".
He is believed to have been born into a prosperous country family from Takéo Province, and was of Chinese-Khmer descent. He became a Buddhist monk in the 1930s but left the order at the age of 16. Ta Mok took part in the resistance against French colonial rule and then the anti-Japanese resistance during the 1940s. He was training for the Buddhist priesthood in Pali when he joined the anti-French Khmer Issarak in 1952. He soon left Phnom Penh and joined the Khmer Rouge.
By the late 1960s he was a general and the Khmer Rouge'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.
Ta Mok is believed to have orchestrated many massacres within the zone he controlled from 1973, beginning before the final, complete seizure of power by the Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975. It is believed that he directed the massive purges that characterised the short-lived Democratic Kampuchea (1975–1979), earning him the nickname Butcher.
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 in the Dângrêk Mountains. It is estimated that some 3,000 to 5,000 combatants remained loyal to Pol Pot and were directed by Ta Mok.
...
Wikipedia