DPA
Phnom Penh - Scores of people have flocked to the remote former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng to pay tribute to deceased Khmer Rouge strongman Ta Mok in a traditional Buddhist ceremony, his family said Sunday.
The family said it was observing the traditional Buddhist 100-days memorial for the former military commander of one of the bloodiest regimes of the last century.
Ta Mok died on July 21 in a Phnom Penh military hospital. He had been in a coma for some time and had suffered respiratory problems and complications from tuberculosis. He was 80 years old when he died, according to his lawyer Benson Samay.
His family cremated him in Anlong Veng in a ceremony which attracted hundreds of supporters. The family said Sunday they expected a similar show of support at his 100-days ceremony.
'Around 100 people visited for the first day of the ceremony on Saturday and we expect at least that many more before it ends on Sunday,' his niece, Van Sokhea, said by telephone.
Ta Mok was expected to have been a key defendant in an upcoming trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders had he survived. He was formally charged with crimes against humanity in 2002.
Born Chhit Choeun in southwestern Takeo province, Ta Mok moved to Phnom Penh at the age of 15 and studied to be a monk, but soon fell in with first the Khmer Isserak movement, fighting for independence from French colonial rule, and later the Khmer Rouge.
His ruthless tactics earned him the nickname The Butcher, and his so-called Nearadey troops were the most feared of all the Khmer Rouge forces.
After the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 he fled to the jungles around Anlong Veng and continued to head a guerilla movement from there until his capture in 1999.
Despite his reputation as a brutal killer to most of the world, his supporters revere him and created a cult of personality since his death. Some even claim he has special powers to provide everything from record fish catches to winning lottery numbers.
Up to two million Cambodians died of starvation, disease, torture, executions and overwork during the Khmer Rouge's 1975 to 1979 rule.
The family said it was observing the traditional Buddhist 100-days memorial for the former military commander of one of the bloodiest regimes of the last century.
Ta Mok died on July 21 in a Phnom Penh military hospital. He had been in a coma for some time and had suffered respiratory problems and complications from tuberculosis. He was 80 years old when he died, according to his lawyer Benson Samay.
His family cremated him in Anlong Veng in a ceremony which attracted hundreds of supporters. The family said Sunday they expected a similar show of support at his 100-days ceremony.
'Around 100 people visited for the first day of the ceremony on Saturday and we expect at least that many more before it ends on Sunday,' his niece, Van Sokhea, said by telephone.
Ta Mok was expected to have been a key defendant in an upcoming trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders had he survived. He was formally charged with crimes against humanity in 2002.
Born Chhit Choeun in southwestern Takeo province, Ta Mok moved to Phnom Penh at the age of 15 and studied to be a monk, but soon fell in with first the Khmer Isserak movement, fighting for independence from French colonial rule, and later the Khmer Rouge.
His ruthless tactics earned him the nickname The Butcher, and his so-called Nearadey troops were the most feared of all the Khmer Rouge forces.
After the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 he fled to the jungles around Anlong Veng and continued to head a guerilla movement from there until his capture in 1999.
Despite his reputation as a brutal killer to most of the world, his supporters revere him and created a cult of personality since his death. Some even claim he has special powers to provide everything from record fish catches to winning lottery numbers.
Up to two million Cambodians died of starvation, disease, torture, executions and overwork during the Khmer Rouge's 1975 to 1979 rule.
6 comments:
STUPID Cambodia!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why stupid Cambodia? What has Cambodia done to your smart ass country?
What I want to say to is the people that respect TA MOOOOOOk
It is no different to hundered of thousand cambodians that worship Sihanouk!
Is it stupid? or have been manupulated?
What Ta Mok has done wrong? He is a nationalist. What's wrong for being a nationalist? You saw him killed anyone with your own eye or just heard from manipulated reports?
what Ta Mok done wrong ? i have nothing to say if you respect Ta Mok as your god....good luck you will be there whit him...
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