August 2, 2006
Anlong Veng, Cambodia - It has barely been two weeks since former Khmer Rouge commander Ta Mok died, but already plans are afoot to turn his burial site in a former rebel stronghold into a macabre tourist attraction.
Ta Mok, known as "The Butcher" for his ruthlessness, is buried in Anlong Veng in remote northern Cambodia, near where Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was unceremoniously cremated under a pile of garbage and rubber tires in 1998.
Ta Mok briefly led the Khmer Rouge during its final days, and was awaiting trial for his role in one of 20th century's worst genocides when he died aged 80 on July 21 in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
His body was transferred to Anlong Veng, where he was buried in a pagoda at the foot of the Dangrek mountains after a Buddhist funeral attended by relatives and former followers.
"Pol Pot and Ta Mok have been accused of killing many people, so tourists may want to see how former Khmer Rouge leaders lived and to see houses and the site where Pol Pot was cremated," said Hean Sophorn, a tourism official based in Anlong Veng.
Not everyone agrees. Youk Chhang, director of Documentation Center of Cambodia, which collects evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities, said the memory of the Khmer Rouge should not be commercialized.
"Those are memories of the nation and should be preserved in a historical way," he said. "Memory should not be put on sale."
Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation and overwork between 1975 and 1979 when the ultra-left Khmer Rouge forced millions into the countryside in their attempt to create an agrarian utopia.
Ta Mok was the only rebel who refused to surrender or strike a deal with the government after the Khmer Rouge disintegrated following Pol Pot's death. He was arrested a year later along the Thai border, and has been in prison since.
After many years of stalled negotiations, a United Nations-backed trial of the former Khmer Rouge leaders finally got underway in July this year.
But up in Anlong Veng -- the final stronghold of the Khmer Rouge -- locals are hoping to make a profit from the poverty-stricken country's grim past.
"When more and more tourists visit here, there will be a big increase in the economy and the living standards of the villagers in this area will be better," Hean Sophorn said.
The government has been planning since 2000 to transform Anlong Veng into a showcase of the communist regime's final days. Tourism officials are looking at some 38 sites in the isolated mountains.
Among the anticipated attractions are a munitions warehouse, homes belonging to Khmer Rouge cadre, and the fenced-off area where Pol Pot spent his last months under house arrest after being captured and put on trial by Ta Mok.
The most famous of the sights nestled in the Dangrek mountains is Pol Pot's grave, which is now protected with a corrugated iron roof and with an altar where people leave offerings of fruit, cigarettes and incense.
A four-kilometre drive along the escarpment are the remains of one of Ta Mok's former homes. Nearby is the place where Pol Pot's former defence minister Son Sen was murdered with his wife and children on his boss's orders in 1997.
Further along the desolate road are the remains of Pol Pot's house and bunker. A blue sign marks the entrance to the once-sprawling compound, but the tourist hordes have yet to arrive. Just a few hundred Cambodian and foreign tourists visit each month.
Another eight kilometres (five miles) down the road from Pol Pot's grave is Ta Mok's villa, where tourists can view his broken western toilet and musty underground rooms.
On the wall of his toilet, there is a hand written saying "Ta Mok is a hated person, but he is respectful because he love Cambodian territory".
Farmer Sok Srey, 46, compared the former commander's villa, which is surrounded by trees and a lake, to the temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia's most famous tourist attraction.
"This is a good place for tourists to see and we can make profit from this too," said Sok Srey, who travelled for two hours by motorbike to see the place.
Sann Saroeun, who keeps watch over Ta Mok's house, said that some people who visited the sites expressed anger, but did not harm the sites.
"They keep these historical sites for tourists to see and to get money to develop the country," Sann Saroeun said.
But Thun Saray, president of local human rights groups Adhoc, said people's memories of the genocide should not be exploited.
"This means their own individual rights are being abused," Thun Saray said. "We should not give credit to Pol Pot and Ta Mok since they are criminals."
Ta Mok, known as "The Butcher" for his ruthlessness, is buried in Anlong Veng in remote northern Cambodia, near where Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was unceremoniously cremated under a pile of garbage and rubber tires in 1998.
Ta Mok briefly led the Khmer Rouge during its final days, and was awaiting trial for his role in one of 20th century's worst genocides when he died aged 80 on July 21 in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
His body was transferred to Anlong Veng, where he was buried in a pagoda at the foot of the Dangrek mountains after a Buddhist funeral attended by relatives and former followers.
"Pol Pot and Ta Mok have been accused of killing many people, so tourists may want to see how former Khmer Rouge leaders lived and to see houses and the site where Pol Pot was cremated," said Hean Sophorn, a tourism official based in Anlong Veng.
Not everyone agrees. Youk Chhang, director of Documentation Center of Cambodia, which collects evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities, said the memory of the Khmer Rouge should not be commercialized.
"Those are memories of the nation and should be preserved in a historical way," he said. "Memory should not be put on sale."
Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation and overwork between 1975 and 1979 when the ultra-left Khmer Rouge forced millions into the countryside in their attempt to create an agrarian utopia.
Ta Mok was the only rebel who refused to surrender or strike a deal with the government after the Khmer Rouge disintegrated following Pol Pot's death. He was arrested a year later along the Thai border, and has been in prison since.
After many years of stalled negotiations, a United Nations-backed trial of the former Khmer Rouge leaders finally got underway in July this year.
But up in Anlong Veng -- the final stronghold of the Khmer Rouge -- locals are hoping to make a profit from the poverty-stricken country's grim past.
"When more and more tourists visit here, there will be a big increase in the economy and the living standards of the villagers in this area will be better," Hean Sophorn said.
The government has been planning since 2000 to transform Anlong Veng into a showcase of the communist regime's final days. Tourism officials are looking at some 38 sites in the isolated mountains.
Among the anticipated attractions are a munitions warehouse, homes belonging to Khmer Rouge cadre, and the fenced-off area where Pol Pot spent his last months under house arrest after being captured and put on trial by Ta Mok.
The most famous of the sights nestled in the Dangrek mountains is Pol Pot's grave, which is now protected with a corrugated iron roof and with an altar where people leave offerings of fruit, cigarettes and incense.
A four-kilometre drive along the escarpment are the remains of one of Ta Mok's former homes. Nearby is the place where Pol Pot's former defence minister Son Sen was murdered with his wife and children on his boss's orders in 1997.
Further along the desolate road are the remains of Pol Pot's house and bunker. A blue sign marks the entrance to the once-sprawling compound, but the tourist hordes have yet to arrive. Just a few hundred Cambodian and foreign tourists visit each month.
Another eight kilometres (five miles) down the road from Pol Pot's grave is Ta Mok's villa, where tourists can view his broken western toilet and musty underground rooms.
On the wall of his toilet, there is a hand written saying "Ta Mok is a hated person, but he is respectful because he love Cambodian territory".
Farmer Sok Srey, 46, compared the former commander's villa, which is surrounded by trees and a lake, to the temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia's most famous tourist attraction.
"This is a good place for tourists to see and we can make profit from this too," said Sok Srey, who travelled for two hours by motorbike to see the place.
Sann Saroeun, who keeps watch over Ta Mok's house, said that some people who visited the sites expressed anger, but did not harm the sites.
"They keep these historical sites for tourists to see and to get money to develop the country," Sann Saroeun said.
But Thun Saray, president of local human rights groups Adhoc, said people's memories of the genocide should not be exploited.
"This means their own individual rights are being abused," Thun Saray said. "We should not give credit to Pol Pot and Ta Mok since they are criminals."
1 comment:
TA MOK is the number one Vietcong killer!
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