HONG KONG, Oct. 10LAO MONG HAY
Posted on UPI Asia Online
Column: Rule by Fear
Some years ago, at a public forum to debate a future trial of the Khmer Rouge, three "intellectuals" who had been senior Khmer Rouge officials laid the blame for the mass killings and the devastation of Cambodian society squarely on the shoulders of Pol Pot, their supreme leader who had died a year or so earlier. They could not do anything against him, so they claimed. Of course they did not support any trial.
Ieng Sary, former Khmer Rouge foreign minister, upon his arrival in Bangkok, Thailand, for medical treatment on Oct. 7, denied any responsibility for the crimes under his regime, saying he "had done nothing wrong." Ieng Sary was tried in absentia along with Pol Pot and both were sentenced to death in 1979 after their regime had been overthrown by Vietnamese forces. He received a royal pardon in 1996 after he broke away from the remaining Khmer Rouge forces and rallied to the government.
Nuon Chea, known as Brother No.2 next to Pol Pot, who was arrested last month to face trial by the Khmer Rouge tribunal, has likewise denied any responsibility for those deaths. He said that, due to his high position, he had had no knowledge of those deaths, claiming that he "did not have any direct contact with the bases (where the killing was taking place) and (he was) not aware of what was happening there."
Another senior Khmer Rouge leader to face the same trial is Khieu Samphan, president of the Khmer Rouge regime. In his book, "Recent History of Cambodia and My Successive Positions," published in 2004, Khieu did not admit any responsibility either, claiming ignorance of any killing that had been going on. In an encounter with this author several years back on his future trial, he expressed "deep disappointment" that, after "devoting a lifetime serving the nation," he was to be tried in the end, instead of receiving any appreciation. But he, nevertheless, was resigned to accept that fate.
In recent months, former King Sihanouk of Cambodia, who had associated with the Khmer Rouge as their Beijing-based leader and who is widely believed to have contributed to their victory over the U.S.-backed regime in 1975, has vehemently shirked all responsibility for the suffering of his people and attributed this responsibility to the Khmer Rouge. He steadfastly holds on to his immunity from prosecution, and flatly refuses to appear before the Khmer Rouge tribunal as a defendant or a witness.
As to the leaders and rank and file of the present administration in Cambodia, some were actually Khmer Rouge themselves. Yet since their accession to power, thanks to the Vietnamese ousting of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, they have also laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of those ousted Khmer Rouge. Recently, they have categorically defended Sihanouk's immunity from all Khmer Rouge trial proceedings.
None of the Cambodian rulers so far has shown any sense of accountability or has acknowledged any share of responsibility, even of a moral nature, for their actions and the treatment of their people. French Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre's remark that "hell is other people" very much applies to them. This behavior is very much a characteristic feature of Cambodian political culture: only other people can do wrong, not the rulers themselves.
When he was leader of the country after the recovery of its independence in 1953, Sihanouk and his followers blamed the French colonialists for all the backwardness of Cambodia, claiming that those colonialists "had done nothing for Cambodia." Sihanouk overlooked his share of responsibility for that backwardness when he had associated for well over ten years with the French, who had crowned him in 1941.
General Lon Nol and his followers, who overthrew Sihanouk in 1970 and plunged Cambodia into the Vietnam War from which the Khmer Rouge came to power, in turn blamed Sihanouk for all Cambodia's ills accumulated over the years. Yet they had served Sihanouk or under him since the country's independence, if not longer.
The Khmer Rouge blamed all previous rulers at all levels of administration and all those who had associated with the previous regimes. Upon their victory, the Khmer Rouge set out to mercilessly eliminate them and destroy the old society to build a new one.
The present rulers in turn blamed the Khmer Rouge, upon its overthrow, for the suffering of the Cambodian people, forgetting that some of them had been Khmer Rouge themselves and did nothing to stop the ferocity with which the Khmer Rouge forced town people out of their homes to do farm work in rural areas on the day of their victory in 1975.
Not all the rank and file of the present regime is free from past association with the Khmer Rouge either. Some were even perpetrators of those crimes when they were Khmer Rouge rank and file. Yet they are beyond the reach of the Khmer Rouge tribunal which is confined to trying senior Khmer Rouge leaders most responsible for those crimes.
The Khmer Rouge tribunal, a mixed U.N.-Cambodian tribunal functioning under Cambodian law, has at long last begun its work. It is successively apprehending and arresting senior Khmer Rouge leaders. It is now holding those leaders to account for what they did to their people and society.
The trials will undoubtedly contribute to ending the long impunity for the Khmer Rouge, at least for their leaders. But no less important will be their contribution to creating accountability in Cambodian political culture, though it is very much debatable whether such accountability will be able to strive without well-functioning institutions for the rule of law, which are lacking at the moment in Cambodia.
--
(Lao Mong Hay is currently a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)
Ieng Sary, former Khmer Rouge foreign minister, upon his arrival in Bangkok, Thailand, for medical treatment on Oct. 7, denied any responsibility for the crimes under his regime, saying he "had done nothing wrong." Ieng Sary was tried in absentia along with Pol Pot and both were sentenced to death in 1979 after their regime had been overthrown by Vietnamese forces. He received a royal pardon in 1996 after he broke away from the remaining Khmer Rouge forces and rallied to the government.
Nuon Chea, known as Brother No.2 next to Pol Pot, who was arrested last month to face trial by the Khmer Rouge tribunal, has likewise denied any responsibility for those deaths. He said that, due to his high position, he had had no knowledge of those deaths, claiming that he "did not have any direct contact with the bases (where the killing was taking place) and (he was) not aware of what was happening there."
Another senior Khmer Rouge leader to face the same trial is Khieu Samphan, president of the Khmer Rouge regime. In his book, "Recent History of Cambodia and My Successive Positions," published in 2004, Khieu did not admit any responsibility either, claiming ignorance of any killing that had been going on. In an encounter with this author several years back on his future trial, he expressed "deep disappointment" that, after "devoting a lifetime serving the nation," he was to be tried in the end, instead of receiving any appreciation. But he, nevertheless, was resigned to accept that fate.
In recent months, former King Sihanouk of Cambodia, who had associated with the Khmer Rouge as their Beijing-based leader and who is widely believed to have contributed to their victory over the U.S.-backed regime in 1975, has vehemently shirked all responsibility for the suffering of his people and attributed this responsibility to the Khmer Rouge. He steadfastly holds on to his immunity from prosecution, and flatly refuses to appear before the Khmer Rouge tribunal as a defendant or a witness.
As to the leaders and rank and file of the present administration in Cambodia, some were actually Khmer Rouge themselves. Yet since their accession to power, thanks to the Vietnamese ousting of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, they have also laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of those ousted Khmer Rouge. Recently, they have categorically defended Sihanouk's immunity from all Khmer Rouge trial proceedings.
None of the Cambodian rulers so far has shown any sense of accountability or has acknowledged any share of responsibility, even of a moral nature, for their actions and the treatment of their people. French Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre's remark that "hell is other people" very much applies to them. This behavior is very much a characteristic feature of Cambodian political culture: only other people can do wrong, not the rulers themselves.
When he was leader of the country after the recovery of its independence in 1953, Sihanouk and his followers blamed the French colonialists for all the backwardness of Cambodia, claiming that those colonialists "had done nothing for Cambodia." Sihanouk overlooked his share of responsibility for that backwardness when he had associated for well over ten years with the French, who had crowned him in 1941.
General Lon Nol and his followers, who overthrew Sihanouk in 1970 and plunged Cambodia into the Vietnam War from which the Khmer Rouge came to power, in turn blamed Sihanouk for all Cambodia's ills accumulated over the years. Yet they had served Sihanouk or under him since the country's independence, if not longer.
The Khmer Rouge blamed all previous rulers at all levels of administration and all those who had associated with the previous regimes. Upon their victory, the Khmer Rouge set out to mercilessly eliminate them and destroy the old society to build a new one.
The present rulers in turn blamed the Khmer Rouge, upon its overthrow, for the suffering of the Cambodian people, forgetting that some of them had been Khmer Rouge themselves and did nothing to stop the ferocity with which the Khmer Rouge forced town people out of their homes to do farm work in rural areas on the day of their victory in 1975.
Not all the rank and file of the present regime is free from past association with the Khmer Rouge either. Some were even perpetrators of those crimes when they were Khmer Rouge rank and file. Yet they are beyond the reach of the Khmer Rouge tribunal which is confined to trying senior Khmer Rouge leaders most responsible for those crimes.
The Khmer Rouge tribunal, a mixed U.N.-Cambodian tribunal functioning under Cambodian law, has at long last begun its work. It is successively apprehending and arresting senior Khmer Rouge leaders. It is now holding those leaders to account for what they did to their people and society.
The trials will undoubtedly contribute to ending the long impunity for the Khmer Rouge, at least for their leaders. But no less important will be their contribution to creating accountability in Cambodian political culture, though it is very much debatable whether such accountability will be able to strive without well-functioning institutions for the rule of law, which are lacking at the moment in Cambodia.
--
(Lao Mong Hay is currently a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)
25 comments:
Calm down, Dr. Lao. Good to see ya!
I don't see anyone avoiding rule of law here. They may avoid something else. perhaps, rule of morality yes. But then again, what are you for, law or morality?
Anyhow, the way I understand it is the denfence is entitled to denied allegation against him, hiding evidences that incriminated him,... . And it is the prosecutor who have the duty and the burden of proof to prosecute the accused. Isn't that so? Therefore, what is still violating the rule of law here? I don't understand.
Dude...It Is called accountability. Are these rulers of yours going to take responsibility? Laws and rules are made to be broken. Example: rectify, amend. Dr. Lao is a great man who has the fact, not all but most. We need more people like him.
It is the culture of impunity and the culture of not enforcing/respecting the law that led us to believing these Khmer Rouge leaders are denying their responsibilities. Of course the defendants have all the right to defend themselves but for the total denial is a rediculous stupidty and insult to millions of Khmer people.
What about accountability and responsibility, and what rule of law have we broken? Be specific, 2:53.
Culture of impunity, 3:05? is khmer on only one on the planet?
Also if you don't mind, tell me also what rule of law have we broken by being in total denial?
Democrazy of Dr. Lao is in the wrong time and the wrong place.
The wrong time is the KRT is under China, Vietnam and their puppets. The wrong place is the KRT is in Cambodia under their power.
The KRT should be at out side of Cambodia.
This trial is a show trial and so everyone including Dr. Lao will get a good pay from making noise.
Not only that those bunch of leaches want a piece of pie 60 USD too.
Cambodia is the land of opportunity for those bunch of suckers like Dr. Lao.
No excuse, the trial can take place anywhere. We only required that Khmer people judge the accused.
Dear Dr Lao
Thank you for this article,viewing on who are responsible for the Killing Field.So far ,appears to be no one has acknowledged the tragedy of those killed and the prolonged suffering of their loved lost remain relatives living every where,in the country and abroad.
Stepping in of UN triunal for war crimes is the only hope for long lost victims and clear many doubts
of cambodians who survived unbelievable dark fear of their past.And I always long for this puzzles untangled and let it go.
May be you care to consider that Cambodia is not only ravaged by war in South East Asia,war in viet nam had dragged through for over three decades,and incidently it was finnished at just after Cambodia reached another period of killing after 1975.
Wars in Indochina were not only civil wars,but it had drawn the super powers like US,USSR,CHINA into the fields,after the colonisation of France.And they continued intermittent involvement in Cambodia.Hanoi had had its involvement right after Cambodia declared her independence from French colony,rigoriously assisted KR's faction until 1977 where a clash of another faction of KR incurred.
Behind supposed to be her closed door,Angkar implemented a shocked changes,emptying cities,moving people elsewhere and adapted its re education program throughout the year.Noticed that Sangkum niyum was claimed in mid 76 and progressively chinese experts were spreading in manufacturing plants in Battambang possibly in other areas such as kompong som...over the country.
To judge on starvation,revenge,re education process,killing from 1977 onwards where was a proclaim of cultural revolution took place,is not comprehenive.There are backgrounds where bundles of document from China and Vietnam, of date prior to and killing field period.Doctor doe not treat patients on the ground symptoms,but cautiously investigate backgrounds lead to illness,and the ongoing complications.SO DOES THE JUDGEMENT OF UN TRIAL,othervise it does not serve intended purpose.
May be an organisation to collect informations from different resources,regions where conflicts activated between,from survivors so that a better picture drawn ideally.Personally I believe that peace loving cambodians can become killers of own kind,worse than Hitler and its accomplices.
However I hope that you continue to pursue this clarification in the name of humanity and suffering that unfortunately cambodians have been inflicted upon.
Neang SA
If people keep saying what about other countries, we`re not the only one. Basically it is an excuse to do whatever.
No, it wasn't an excuse, it just said we all human just like everyone else; therefore, don't treat us below human before you look at yourself in the mirror first.
who is responsible for what, 4:56? what did you learn from Dr. Lao's article? Tell me. I am lost.
5:25Am
Gentleman
Please do not judge on the picture is drawn,but read the intention of it.Internal and external are linked,that is the fact.
neang SA
There is one guy in here trying to divert the issue that the Cambodian government fail to do... He kept on comparing Cambodia's failing justice system to the system to ill-run injustice countries. My friend you don't compare yourself to a loser. Cambodians deserve better exclude you. Cambodians are fighting for its own rights except you. Cambodians worry about Cambodian issues not others countries' at this point in time.
Well, the problem is when you have a frame of reference, you must use other countries as a references. Accordingly, our justice system is just as good as anyone else's.
And, 5:46, I don't see any violation of any rule-of-law from Dr. Lao the article. If you do, tell me please.
correction: Well, the problem is when you don't have a frame of reference ...
Gentleman
Please stop looking at one side of the coin,thus you won't see the whole coin.Mathrmatically there is more variable to solve before we can get to the conclusion.
Cheer up
Neang SA
I think Dr. Loa have no faith in his own rule-of-law. He's just complaining because he got nothing better to do. Am I wrong?
Come on, Dr. Lao, just accept things as they are. There is no solution to all problems in any society. Try not to tweak the system too much. Often, this could lead to a worse side effect in the future too, not just better. I know you and along with many people want to see the tribunal yields a lot of GUILTY verdicts from the fact that millions have been murdered, but what justice system on this planet that you know off which will always reflected the truth or yielded the right verdict.
Allow me to tell you the truth: the universe existed because of its imperfection, not because of its perfection.
Okay, here's another angle of the truth: We (as a human race) are still in its infancy. We don't know how to design anything that can go beyond its scope. Everything we made has its limitation. A building can only support so much weigh and stress. Our Space Shuttle can only go so high or so far. Our truck can only carry so much load ... And so does our Justice System can only does so much. That is the best I can do.
correction: ... . We don't know how to design anything that has a boundless scope.
Million thanks, Dr. Lao Mong Hay. You are sure a "true hero", and not like the one hiding in the foxhole.
Wish you the best.
Wrong, Dr. Lao is just victim of his westerner education.
And Anon@3:49 PM is a leunatic, backward, uneducated barbaric Yuon's slave - fair enough?
We need more Doctor like Dr Lao Mong Hay than Dr Hend Samrin, Dr Chea Sim and Dr Hun Sen. THese Doctors without going to Schools are indeed very Loguong but tried to be expert. That is why Cambodia is No 156/176 of the world. They are Loguong dauch Chrouk Prey and every day Choab chuch dauch roueng Oum Chhay !!!!!!
What make you say that 5:04?
Anyhow, Dr. Lao is not a bad guy because he's open minded, but take a westerner trained like Sisowatt Sarimatak who betrayed his own blood. I called that a severe case of Victim of Westerner Education. Asian don't teach people to do that, dude.
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