By Rithy
Kampuchea Thmei
Unofficial Translation from Khmer by KRtrial.info
Phnom Penh: Attended by the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s Co-Investigating Judges, the two-day public forum which is being held in former Khmer Rouge stronghold Pailin is a chance to clear all doubts of former Khmer Rouge cadres.
The Co-Investigating Judges of the tribunal have been asked many questions surrounding a question “At which level would a person be tried?”
The forum started in the morning of January 15 in Pailin Municipal Hall and was attended by only government’s officials, policemen, soldiers, military police as well as the [Pailin’s] governor and deputy governors. In the morning of January 16, a public forum will be held with ordinary people in Koang Kang Pagoda near Phnom Yat. The forum aims at allowing people to ask questions regarding the Khmer Rouge tribunal, which is currently on the way. Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde have been ready to answer to participants’ questions.
In the forum for the officials in Pailin’s Municipal Hall, journalists were not allowed to listen, but only given approximately 3 minutes to take pictures. Therefore, the journalists could not directly hear the questions and answers. They only get sketchy information from the tribunal’s spokesman and some officials attending the forum.
“This is a success for an unpredictable and valuable task of the Co-Investigating Judges who have traveled to Pailin to hold the forum,” Tribunal Spokesman Reach Sambath told Kampuchea Thmey.
“We have cleared away all doubts of former middle-ranking Khmer Rouge officials here who have been worried that they would be tried like the five top leaders being detained in the tribunal,” he said, adding that now they understood and were not worried anymore.
“At first we expected around 70 officials would participate in the forum, but it turned out to be completely different as up to more than 100 officials participated,” he said, adding that they had asked many different questions.
Some people asked “why not focus on the regime after 1970 too since in the war during Lon Nol regime, USA bombed [Cambodia] and killed a lot of people.” Some people asked “whether they would be punished if they wanted to be witness because they knew clearly about the issue.”
They also requested the tribunal to accelerate its process as soon as possible since they wanted to know the reason why Democratic Kampuchea killed people. “The tribunal’s Co-Judges are old, the people who want to know the truth are also old, the followers of Khmer Rouge leadership are also getting old, and the charged people are also aging, so if the tribunal is still delayed, it is feared that those old people would die without knowing the truth,” they raised in the forum.
Marcel Lemonde explained in the forum that the tribunal would not be possible to go on without good cooperation from the people. Concerning the question “why not focus on the regime after 1970 too”, Marcel Lemonde responded that the trial was held in accordance with the agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodian on the establishment of the tribunal in 2003. “It was adopted officially by the National Assembly, and the law for the prosecution of former Khmer Rouge leaders relies on the existing agreement,” he said. “Therefore, the people who will be tried are the top leaders and those most responsible for the Democratic Kampuchea regime only,” said Marcel Lemonde, adding that middle-ranking cadres who had only carried out what they had been told to do were not relevant.
Pailin’s Governor Y Chhean told journalists that he was not worried about the Khmer Rouge tribunal and that he even provided his cooperation. However, in response to the question, “Which is your priority between the “development” and the trial?” Y Chhean said, “I would choose “development” as my priority rather than trial.” The reason he would choose the development is that he thinks the country has had enough of war and it should end now.
The Co-Investigating Judges of the tribunal have been asked many questions surrounding a question “At which level would a person be tried?”
The forum started in the morning of January 15 in Pailin Municipal Hall and was attended by only government’s officials, policemen, soldiers, military police as well as the [Pailin’s] governor and deputy governors. In the morning of January 16, a public forum will be held with ordinary people in Koang Kang Pagoda near Phnom Yat. The forum aims at allowing people to ask questions regarding the Khmer Rouge tribunal, which is currently on the way. Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde have been ready to answer to participants’ questions.
In the forum for the officials in Pailin’s Municipal Hall, journalists were not allowed to listen, but only given approximately 3 minutes to take pictures. Therefore, the journalists could not directly hear the questions and answers. They only get sketchy information from the tribunal’s spokesman and some officials attending the forum.
“This is a success for an unpredictable and valuable task of the Co-Investigating Judges who have traveled to Pailin to hold the forum,” Tribunal Spokesman Reach Sambath told Kampuchea Thmey.
“We have cleared away all doubts of former middle-ranking Khmer Rouge officials here who have been worried that they would be tried like the five top leaders being detained in the tribunal,” he said, adding that now they understood and were not worried anymore.
“At first we expected around 70 officials would participate in the forum, but it turned out to be completely different as up to more than 100 officials participated,” he said, adding that they had asked many different questions.
Some people asked “why not focus on the regime after 1970 too since in the war during Lon Nol regime, USA bombed [Cambodia] and killed a lot of people.” Some people asked “whether they would be punished if they wanted to be witness because they knew clearly about the issue.”
They also requested the tribunal to accelerate its process as soon as possible since they wanted to know the reason why Democratic Kampuchea killed people. “The tribunal’s Co-Judges are old, the people who want to know the truth are also old, the followers of Khmer Rouge leadership are also getting old, and the charged people are also aging, so if the tribunal is still delayed, it is feared that those old people would die without knowing the truth,” they raised in the forum.
Marcel Lemonde explained in the forum that the tribunal would not be possible to go on without good cooperation from the people. Concerning the question “why not focus on the regime after 1970 too”, Marcel Lemonde responded that the trial was held in accordance with the agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodian on the establishment of the tribunal in 2003. “It was adopted officially by the National Assembly, and the law for the prosecution of former Khmer Rouge leaders relies on the existing agreement,” he said. “Therefore, the people who will be tried are the top leaders and those most responsible for the Democratic Kampuchea regime only,” said Marcel Lemonde, adding that middle-ranking cadres who had only carried out what they had been told to do were not relevant.
Pailin’s Governor Y Chhean told journalists that he was not worried about the Khmer Rouge tribunal and that he even provided his cooperation. However, in response to the question, “Which is your priority between the “development” and the trial?” Y Chhean said, “I would choose “development” as my priority rather than trial.” The reason he would choose the development is that he thinks the country has had enough of war and it should end now.
2 comments:
just let them go free
no civil war
The real top Khmer Rouge is in Beijing having Noom Bao every morning for breakfast with his coochy mama am Monique de Saigon.
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