Former Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan, seen here in 2002, defiantly maintained his innocence Thursday after prosecutors filed cases against five regime leaders over the genocide that unfolded in Cambodia.(AFP/File/Luke Hunt)Thu Jul 19, 2007
By Suy Se
PAILIN, Cambodia (AFP) - Former Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan defiantly maintained his innocence Thursday after prosecutors filed cases against five regime leaders over the genocide that unfolded in Cambodia.
Although the names of those to be investigated were not made public, the 76 year-old who served as head of state during the regime's 1975-79 rule is widely considered a likely candidate for prosecution.
But Khieu Samphan, a French-educated intellectual who was the face of the Khmer Rouge to the outside world, said it was too early to label him as a criminal.
"Since the court has not convicted me, it means that I am not guilty," he told AFP from his home in Pailin, the isolated gem-mining town in northwest Cambodia that was one of the Khmer Rouge's final strongholds.
"I am a patriot," he said, echoing other former regime leaders who defended the policies of the Khmer Rouge as attempts to protect Cambodia against foreign invaders.
Sitting shirtless behind his modest home near the centre of town, a sturdy-looking Khieu Samphan told AFP he was increasingly angered by media reports suggesting he was guilty of atrocities.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed under the communist Khmer Rouge, which abolished religion, schools and currency, exiling millions to vast collective farms with the aim of creating an agrarian utopia.
"I know what I did," he said, dismissing the accusations that he had knowledge of the mass deaths.
A special UN-backed tribunal created to prosecute former regime leaders was established last year, and on Wednesday prosecutors filed their first cases with the court's judges.
They submitted more than 14,000 pages of documents as evidence, including statements from 350 witnesses and reports of more than 40 undisturbed mass graves.
These crimes were part of a "common criminal plan constituting a systematic and unlawful denial of basic rights," the prosecutors said in a statement.
"Those responsible for these crimes and policies included senior leaders" of the regime, they added.
The cases have to be reviewed by co-investigating judges -- one Cambodian and one foreign -- who will then recommend whether suspects can be put in the dock.
Trials are expected next year in what many see as the last chance for Cambodians to find justice for crimes committed by the regime more than 30 years ago.
But rights groups and legal advocates are concerned that ageing former regime leaders will die before being brought to court.
So far only one possible defendant is in custody -- former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kang Kek Ieu, also known as Duch.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998.
His deputy Nuon Chea also lives in Pailin, while former foreign minister Ieng Sary has enjoyed his retirement in a lavish villa in Phnom Penh.
While Wednesday's case submissions were seen as a major step towards justice, experts warned that the court could still face serious obstacles.
Since talks began a decade ago between Cambodia and the United Nations on prosecuting the Khmer Rouge, accusations of political interference have dogged the process.
These claims have gained credence from repeated delays that have so far kept any regime leaders from facing justice.
Other legal observers are concerned about trials being conducted fairly.
"The focus right now has to be the trial itself, that it meets international standards. The prosecution and the accused have to have equal rights," said lawyer Sok Sam Oeun, director of the legal aid group Cambodian Defenders Project.
"There is a problem of negative stereotyping (of possible defendants). Many Cambodian judges and prosecutors were victims of the regime and I'm not sure right now that they have a clear view" of proper judicial procedure, he added.
Although the names of those to be investigated were not made public, the 76 year-old who served as head of state during the regime's 1975-79 rule is widely considered a likely candidate for prosecution.
But Khieu Samphan, a French-educated intellectual who was the face of the Khmer Rouge to the outside world, said it was too early to label him as a criminal.
"Since the court has not convicted me, it means that I am not guilty," he told AFP from his home in Pailin, the isolated gem-mining town in northwest Cambodia that was one of the Khmer Rouge's final strongholds.
"I am a patriot," he said, echoing other former regime leaders who defended the policies of the Khmer Rouge as attempts to protect Cambodia against foreign invaders.
Sitting shirtless behind his modest home near the centre of town, a sturdy-looking Khieu Samphan told AFP he was increasingly angered by media reports suggesting he was guilty of atrocities.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed under the communist Khmer Rouge, which abolished religion, schools and currency, exiling millions to vast collective farms with the aim of creating an agrarian utopia.
"I know what I did," he said, dismissing the accusations that he had knowledge of the mass deaths.
A special UN-backed tribunal created to prosecute former regime leaders was established last year, and on Wednesday prosecutors filed their first cases with the court's judges.
They submitted more than 14,000 pages of documents as evidence, including statements from 350 witnesses and reports of more than 40 undisturbed mass graves.
These crimes were part of a "common criminal plan constituting a systematic and unlawful denial of basic rights," the prosecutors said in a statement.
"Those responsible for these crimes and policies included senior leaders" of the regime, they added.
The cases have to be reviewed by co-investigating judges -- one Cambodian and one foreign -- who will then recommend whether suspects can be put in the dock.
Trials are expected next year in what many see as the last chance for Cambodians to find justice for crimes committed by the regime more than 30 years ago.
But rights groups and legal advocates are concerned that ageing former regime leaders will die before being brought to court.
So far only one possible defendant is in custody -- former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kang Kek Ieu, also known as Duch.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998.
His deputy Nuon Chea also lives in Pailin, while former foreign minister Ieng Sary has enjoyed his retirement in a lavish villa in Phnom Penh.
While Wednesday's case submissions were seen as a major step towards justice, experts warned that the court could still face serious obstacles.
Since talks began a decade ago between Cambodia and the United Nations on prosecuting the Khmer Rouge, accusations of political interference have dogged the process.
These claims have gained credence from repeated delays that have so far kept any regime leaders from facing justice.
Other legal observers are concerned about trials being conducted fairly.
"The focus right now has to be the trial itself, that it meets international standards. The prosecution and the accused have to have equal rights," said lawyer Sok Sam Oeun, director of the legal aid group Cambodian Defenders Project.
"There is a problem of negative stereotyping (of possible defendants). Many Cambodian judges and prosecutors were victims of the regime and I'm not sure right now that they have a clear view" of proper judicial procedure, he added.
3 comments:
This chon Derachharn Khiev Samphann has denied again that he hasn't committed any humanity crimes during his power as Derachharn Chol Srok of Pol Pot, Khiev samphann , Ieng and Nuon Chea. They cannot distinguish good and bad from their criminal activities. These Derachharnn has been given birth by Chon Anthepeal. Their birth as human beeing in Cambodia have cost this country millions of lives. They should go back to the mirror and look at themselve if they have anything similar to Human race or not before they open their bad mouth again. Areak Prey
I really want to see and hear how he defends himself against the mountain of evident of atrocity? This mother fucker claimed to be a doctor in something and I forgot! Isn't it his idea that helps destroy Cambodia and now the enemies can walk over and take over Cambodia just like that! His idea is one fuck up idea in the 20th century!
It's very funny hearing Khieu Samphan saying "I am a patriot".I always remember the 2 main articles of the Democratic Kampuchea's famous Short Constitution that Kheu Samphan himself read on the Radio in January 1976:
- The Cambodian people have the right to believe or not to believe any religion.
- The Cambodian people of the 2 sexes have the right to work.
The 2nd article made all Cambodian people Labor Slaves and victims of the killing fields. As "President of the Praesidium" and one of the Policy makers, was that your "Patriotism " Mr K Samphan?
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