Amarillo.com (Texas, USA)
Pol Pot, the monster who led one of the 20th century's most evil regimes, died before he could be brought to justice.
The same cannot be said of his top henchmen.
Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime sought to exterminate anyone who disagreed with their rigid agrarian doctrine when it took over Cambodia in April 1975, just about the time the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War drew to a close.
The Khmer Rouge was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 2 million Cambodians during its four-year reign of terror.
Phnom Penh, the country's lovely capital city, became a virtual ghost town. Intellectuals and professionals were executed or literally worked to death in the fields.
Pol Pot died in 1998 before he could stand trial, leaving Cambodians with a sense of unfinished business.
The country has been largely rebuilt, although it remains a death trap for children playing in long-abandoned minefields.
Now comes word that Nuon Chea, one of Pol Pot's top deputies, has been arrested and is now awaiting trial before a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal.
Nuon Chea has been accused of ordering the murder of thousands of prisoners at Phnom Penh's infamous Tuol Sleng prison, which has been preserved in virtually the same condition it was when it housed so-called "enemies" of the Khmer Rouge.
Nuon Chea clearly should die for his crimes. Almost no one in Cambodia believes he will walk.
The lesson here, though, is one of patience. It's taken far too long to bring individuals such as Nuon Chea to justice. He and others, such as former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan - also awaiting trial - should be given the kind of "fair trial" those under their iron-booted rule received.
Justice, however, is coming to what's left of this evil regime.
The same cannot be said of his top henchmen.
Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime sought to exterminate anyone who disagreed with their rigid agrarian doctrine when it took over Cambodia in April 1975, just about the time the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War drew to a close.
The Khmer Rouge was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 2 million Cambodians during its four-year reign of terror.
Phnom Penh, the country's lovely capital city, became a virtual ghost town. Intellectuals and professionals were executed or literally worked to death in the fields.
Pol Pot died in 1998 before he could stand trial, leaving Cambodians with a sense of unfinished business.
The country has been largely rebuilt, although it remains a death trap for children playing in long-abandoned minefields.
Now comes word that Nuon Chea, one of Pol Pot's top deputies, has been arrested and is now awaiting trial before a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal.
Nuon Chea has been accused of ordering the murder of thousands of prisoners at Phnom Penh's infamous Tuol Sleng prison, which has been preserved in virtually the same condition it was when it housed so-called "enemies" of the Khmer Rouge.
Nuon Chea clearly should die for his crimes. Almost no one in Cambodia believes he will walk.
The lesson here, though, is one of patience. It's taken far too long to bring individuals such as Nuon Chea to justice. He and others, such as former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan - also awaiting trial - should be given the kind of "fair trial" those under their iron-booted rule received.
Justice, however, is coming to what's left of this evil regime.
2 comments:
Before the Americans carpet-bombed Cambodia and killed a million innocent civilians, the Khmer Rouge was a rag-tag army of just a few thousand fighters. The senseless disregard for human lives by Americans is what created evil in Southeast Asia.
First of all let me just admit that I am a Vietnamese who immigrated to the U.S. at a very young age. Although I am very proud to be Vietnamese I have nothing but love for the Cambodian people. As refugees in America Vietnamese and Cambodians stood together to fight oppression by the white Americans.
Although I am proud that my country took a lot of land from Cambodia, you must understand that we have 80 million people and are always looking for ways to accommodate our people. Cambodia doesn't have to give up territory to Vietnam if your people stop hating each other and know how to unite.
I think the white Westerners are the real evil in the world. They used Vietnam and Cambodia as turfs to fight their wars. They didn't care about the millions of Vietnamese and Cambodian who die to satisfy their thirst for power and control.
A million Cambodians died because the Americans were trying to kill a few North Vietnamese soldiers on your land. They knew that there were civilians living there, but they didn't care. They bombed your country back to stone ages and laughed about it amongst themselves. Now they're trying to be seen as the "good guys" by paying lip service to democracy, human rights, or whatever.
I know Vietnamese have done a lot of bad things and have killed a lot of Cambodians, but Cambodians have killed a lot of Vietnamese too. But the white Americans and French have killed millions of Cambodians through colonialism and carpet-bombing, and you have no ill-will against them. In fact I see a lot of Cambodians trying to make excuses for the killing of a million civilians by the Americans.
That is the difference between Vietnamese and Cambodians. We see the white people for the evil people that they are and you don't. Even 40 years after they senselessly massacred your people you still think they are the good guys.
When we Vietnamese deal with the West, we do it solely for the money. You guys do it because you think they're God.
Brother, you need not to feel guilty for something that happened before the 17th century. People are barbaric at that time. The French and UK slaughtering people worldwide and take all their wealth. The US came to Africa to grab thousands of African to slave for them, and in the process breaking up family structure and tied that lead to many dead as a consequences ... . Is Vietnamese any worst then? Trust me, we are not holding you or any Vietnamese accountable for the past . Right now we have a lot of catching up to do. Throughout the years of fighting, many people did not get education as they should. Come on, how much can you learn when there are war going on in the background? If we are to prosper, we are going to need to have many educated leaders to help out. We can't do it with just a fews, ... Furthermore, war created many wild beast that must be cured. All they know is to kill and rob people, ... As you can see, we have many serious problem in our sleeves.
Thus, we must stop all the hatred or racist, and that include the white folks also. Just let them do whatever they want, but be prepared to impede against their aggression when things are rough for them in the future. Also hatred and racism are some of cause that divided us, and we must unlearn it... . In other word, if you can hate white folk, you can hate others as well.
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