First Published: The Call, Vol. 8, No. 49-50, December 24, 1979.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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Prime Minister Pol Pot of Democratic Kampuchea described the stiff resistance his 50,000 guerrillas are mounting against 200,000 Vietnamese troops in his first interview published since the Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea in January of this year.
Refuting Soviet and Vietnamese charges that Pol Pot was no longer alive, Japanese journalists published their interview with the Kampuchean leader conducted while they were visiting a guerrilla base near the Thai border Dec. 8.
“We have been making contacts with all sorts of groups, including free Khmer, Khmer Serika and deposed Kampuchean head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk to form a national front,” stated the Prime Minister. “Prince Sihanouk is not our enemy.”
In the interview, Pol Pot also confirmed that “thousands” of Kampucheans died as a result of some “mistakes” in implementing policies of his government. But he rejected charges that the Democratic Kampuchean government had been guilty of a policy of genocide. On the other hand, Vietnamese invaders, he said, have killed many Kampucheans. and he condemned Vietnam for trying to put the blame on the government of Democratic Kampuchea.
Pol Pot also stated that 95% of the Kampuchean population supported him at the time of the elections in 1976.