Some hail selection of leaders who may stand trial for atrocities; some say the action comes too late.
07/18/2007
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (Long Beach, Calif., USA)
LONG BEACH - Members of the Cambodian community in Long Beach had differing reactions to news from their homeland that prosecutors have finally presented a list of five former Khmer Rouge leaders who could stand trial for atrocities committed in the 1970s.
After years of procedural haggling and other disputes that have derailed the tribunal, Wednesday's announcement by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, is being hailed by some as "a turning point" and a sign of forward movement.
"Things are moving along right now. There remains hope that justice will prevail," Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, told the Associated Press and International Herald Tribune.
To date, no Khmer Rouge leader has been brought to trial for crimes committed from 1975-1979 that resulted in the deaths of from 1 to 3 million Cambodians and fractured a people and a culture.
In what was labeled a "first introductory submission," under Cambodian law a confidential document, prosecutors listed both suspects and 25 alleged crimes, ranging from murder and torture to religious and ethnic persecution, that were passed on to investigating judges for consideration.
The names and specific crimes were withheld.
In Long Beach, observers were maintaining a wait-and-see attitude, saying they have been down this path before.
And even those who were happy to hear the news greeted it with mixed emotions.
"This action means a lot because there's closure," said Tippana Tith, a local activist and ally of Cambodian politician Kem Sokha. "You can't go on without prosecution."
And yet at the same time, Tith wondered about the political machinations behind the move.
Bryant Ben, another local activist who survived the genocide, said while he has monitored the situation, he doubts it will make much of a difference 30 years after the fact.
Like many Cambodians, Ben has been frustrated by the politics and obstacles that have stalled the process.
Narin Kem, editor of the Serey Pheap Cambodian newspaper, said talk of war crimes tribunals has circulated since the Vietnamese ousted the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979 without action. And in any case tribunals are irrelevant and misdirected at this point, he said.
He labels them "a show" and "another play."
"Today they want to have a trial? What for?" Kem asked. "My family, the whole Cambodian family, have been destroyed."
Paline Soth, a local activist in the Cambodian community, said the trials, if they happen, cannot erase the carnage and only make those who allowed the atrocities to occur feel better.
"The whole world closed its eyes for 3 years, 8 months and 20 days," Soth said, "and only afterward everyone thought to say this is genocide."
Ben, Kem and Soth say the international community, particularly the United States and China, views the tribunal as a way to absolve itself of the responsibility it bears for importing the Vietnam War to Cambodia, supplying arms and turning a blind eye to the atrocities when they occurred.
Ben and Soth would like to hear discussion about prosecuting the still popular "King-Father," Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who threw his support behind the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and, according to many, elevated a fledgling, radical guerilla group into a legitimate power.
"We compared him to Ghandi when he stood up to the Americans," Soth said. "What I see now is Sihanouk is the one who killed us."
Although the five Khmer Rouge leaders facing possible prosecution were not named, it is expected they will include Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number Two behind late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot; Ieng Sary, the foreign minister who was pardoned by Sihanouk in 1997; and Khieu Samphan, the former head of state and eventual successor to Pol Pot.
All remain free in Cambodia.
Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch, the commandant of the infamous Tuol Sleng interrogation center, is the only major former Khmer Rouge in custody. But he is not under the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
Prosecutors say they transmitted more than 1,000 documents of more than 14,000 pages, more than 350 witness statements, Democratic Kampuchea documents and the locations of more than 40 undisturbed mass graves.
Greg Mellen can be reached at greg.mellen@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1291.
07/18/2007
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (Long Beach, Calif., USA)
LONG BEACH - Members of the Cambodian community in Long Beach had differing reactions to news from their homeland that prosecutors have finally presented a list of five former Khmer Rouge leaders who could stand trial for atrocities committed in the 1970s.
After years of procedural haggling and other disputes that have derailed the tribunal, Wednesday's announcement by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, is being hailed by some as "a turning point" and a sign of forward movement.
"Things are moving along right now. There remains hope that justice will prevail," Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, told the Associated Press and International Herald Tribune.
To date, no Khmer Rouge leader has been brought to trial for crimes committed from 1975-1979 that resulted in the deaths of from 1 to 3 million Cambodians and fractured a people and a culture.
In what was labeled a "first introductory submission," under Cambodian law a confidential document, prosecutors listed both suspects and 25 alleged crimes, ranging from murder and torture to religious and ethnic persecution, that were passed on to investigating judges for consideration.
The names and specific crimes were withheld.
In Long Beach, observers were maintaining a wait-and-see attitude, saying they have been down this path before.
And even those who were happy to hear the news greeted it with mixed emotions.
"This action means a lot because there's closure," said Tippana Tith, a local activist and ally of Cambodian politician Kem Sokha. "You can't go on without prosecution."
And yet at the same time, Tith wondered about the political machinations behind the move.
Bryant Ben, another local activist who survived the genocide, said while he has monitored the situation, he doubts it will make much of a difference 30 years after the fact.
Like many Cambodians, Ben has been frustrated by the politics and obstacles that have stalled the process.
Narin Kem, editor of the Serey Pheap Cambodian newspaper, said talk of war crimes tribunals has circulated since the Vietnamese ousted the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979 without action. And in any case tribunals are irrelevant and misdirected at this point, he said.
He labels them "a show" and "another play."
"Today they want to have a trial? What for?" Kem asked. "My family, the whole Cambodian family, have been destroyed."
Paline Soth, a local activist in the Cambodian community, said the trials, if they happen, cannot erase the carnage and only make those who allowed the atrocities to occur feel better.
"The whole world closed its eyes for 3 years, 8 months and 20 days," Soth said, "and only afterward everyone thought to say this is genocide."
Ben, Kem and Soth say the international community, particularly the United States and China, views the tribunal as a way to absolve itself of the responsibility it bears for importing the Vietnam War to Cambodia, supplying arms and turning a blind eye to the atrocities when they occurred.
Ben and Soth would like to hear discussion about prosecuting the still popular "King-Father," Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who threw his support behind the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and, according to many, elevated a fledgling, radical guerilla group into a legitimate power.
"We compared him to Ghandi when he stood up to the Americans," Soth said. "What I see now is Sihanouk is the one who killed us."
Although the five Khmer Rouge leaders facing possible prosecution were not named, it is expected they will include Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number Two behind late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot; Ieng Sary, the foreign minister who was pardoned by Sihanouk in 1997; and Khieu Samphan, the former head of state and eventual successor to Pol Pot.
All remain free in Cambodia.
Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch, the commandant of the infamous Tuol Sleng interrogation center, is the only major former Khmer Rouge in custody. But he is not under the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
Prosecutors say they transmitted more than 1,000 documents of more than 14,000 pages, more than 350 witness statements, Democratic Kampuchea documents and the locations of more than 40 undisturbed mass graves.
Greg Mellen can be reached at greg.mellen@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1291.
2 comments:
Better late than never. We can't let the evil prevail.
They got the year wrong!
"Ben and Soth would like to hear discussion about prosecuting the still popular "King-Father," Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who threw his support behind the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and, according to many, elevated a fledgling, radical guerilla group into a legitimate power."
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