Dith Prone

(Props to Joe)
Dith Pran, press agent for the Khmer Rouge, has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 64. The New York Times photojournalist had worked with reporter Sydney Schanberg to document the rise of the Cambodian Communists, and had saved the lives of several reporters when they were captured by soldiers. When the Rouge came to power, Schanberg was forced from the country, while Pran became a prisoner. Two million Cambodians – a third of the population – were killed in the 4 year reign, including Pran’s brother, who was fed to an alligator. Schanberg wrote Pran’s story in the Times, winning a Pulitzer, which he accepted on behalf of Pran and later in a book that was the basis for the film The Killing Fields. Pran used his fame to press for the rights of his fellow Cambodians.