Swedish man who dined with Khmer Rouge’s Pol Pot 40 years ago: I regret it

Communist Gunnar Bergstrom visited Cambodia in 1978 at the tail end of its rule, after being inspired by the Khmer Rouge’s vision of utopia.

In August 1978, when Cambodia’s borders were closed off to the world, a young Swedish man – inspired by the Khmer Rouge’s vision of building a society based on freedom and equality – managed to gain entry into the country.

Gunnar Bergstrom, then 24 years old and a communist, was one of the many Swedes who protested the Vietnam war in the 1970s – an era in which he became increasingly disillusioned with Soviet communism.

Turning his attention to Cambodia, which he viewed as having been liberated from the capitalist Americans, Bergstrom created a students’ friendship association with the aim of helping the Khmer Rouge to spread its ideals.

In full: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3008706/swedish-man-who-dined-khmer-rouges-pol-pot-40-years-ago-i-regret

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