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In the end, Pol Pot's equanimity in the face of the unaccountable brutality he unleashed defies analysis. When writing his biography, Brother Number One, historian David Chandler says he often had the uneasy feeling that Pol Pot "was just outside my line of vision observing me." The dictator's legacy is equally disturbing, says Chandler, pointing to the bloody coup staged by one-time Khmer Rouge lieutenant Hun Sen last year and the continuing political assassinations as the country prepares for elections in July that Hun Sen hopes will legitimize his regime. "In Cambodia you simply get rid of people who are in the way."
Those who sought to bring Pol Pot to justice hoped to help break the cycle of violence. With his untimely death, Pol Pot performed one last disservice to his people: his specter will continue to haunt the Cambodian psyche for years to come.