Sunday, September 03, 2006

Phnom Penh Seen as Strict with Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan but Not With Ieng Sary

Report by Sreika
Moneakseka Khmer
21 Aug 06

Translated from Khmer

A former Khmer Rouge commander in Pailin said that the government has now given an order to be stricter with the former Khmer Rouge leaders who are collectively living in Pailin City. The top Khmer Rouge leaders named for prosecution are Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith. These people all live in Pailin, but the one who can enter and exit Pailin or go anywhere freely, be it in Pailin or in Phnom Penh or even abroad, is Ieng Sary. As for the other Khmer Rouge leaders, such as Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, they need to get permission from the government first if they want to go anywhere.

The former Khmer Rouge commander in Pailin divulged that Ieng sary enjoys the right to travel because he is an adviser to the government. He uses this authority to move around as he pleases, and the government just lets him go wherever he likes. Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge leaders who are waiting for the trial or their death, do not have the right to go places freely. Furthermore, if Nuon Chea wants to go to Thailand, the government usually sends its men to accompany him and asks Thai spies to help monitor his movement for fear that Nuon Chea would speak about some forbidden things abroad. Because in Cambodia he has already talked nonsense to the journalists, causing some stirs inside the government, the government is afraid that if Nuon Chea is allowed to go abroad freely he might open his mouth too wide.

The former Khmer Rouge commander said that because Nuon Chea loves to talk to the press, now the government has assigned some police officers to guard Nuon Chea's house to prevent free access to the journalists. Any journalist who wants to see Nuon Chea must tell his name and the name of his news organization to the police first. This is because the police officers have to jot down the names of journalists who meet with Nuon Chea even if Nuon Chea has already authorized them to see him. The police have to report all of this to I Chhean and I Chhean would report it on to the Interior Ministry and the government.

The same source said that the journalists also want to see Khieu Samphan, and the government also is afraid that Khieu Samphan might say something forbidden to the journalists because Khieu Samphan's remark at the beginning of the 1990s that "you see the fish only if the water is clear" has kept the observers and diplomats waiting to this day.

For this reason, the government has ordered Khieu Saphan to leave Pailin to get away from the journalists and hide in a safe sanctuary that no one know where it is.

When Khieu Samphan first left Pailin, it was reported that he went to live with his son, a small businessman in the town of Anlung Veng, Otdar Meanchey province. However, the Anlung Veng townspeople said they did not see Khieu Samphan there. The house of Khieu Samphan's son in Anlung Veng is not difficult to see through and the terrain is not hard to find. It is an ordinary shop house. If Khieu Samphan were there, he could not hide from the eyes of the people of Anlung Veng. Therefore, probably the government has told Khieu Samphan to temporarily hide himself somewhere after the establishment of the Khmer Rouge trial chambers.

According to the former Khmer Rouge commander, in placing forces to guard Nuon Chea's house, the government uses the pretext of ensuring security or safety for Nuon Chea. In reality, the government deploys the forces there to prevent the journalists and observers from meeting with Nuon Chea for fear that Nuon Chea might say something before he dies to the journalists. The government believes that Nuon Chea will not live long enough to get to the trial days, for the government keeps using excuses to delay the opening of the tribunal and the start of the trial process, probably waiting until Nuon Chea dies.

The former Khmer Rouge commander said that Ieng Sary whom the government, especially Hun Sen, has openly defended against being tried and who enjoys greater freedom of movement can go wherever he likes and especially, he lives comfortably in his house in Phnom Penh. However, the government does not permit the two other Khmer Rouge leaders, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, to move around freely.

The former Khmer Rouge commander said that the government possibly has some weaknesses with Ieng Sary because Suong Sikoeun, Ieng Sary's personal aide has threatened several times to expose some secrets. For this reason, the government does not dare to be as strict with Ieng Sary as it is with other Khmer Rouge leaders.

No comments: