Justice Over Revenge for KRT LawyerWednesday, March 26, 2008
The Mekong Times
As a member of a Khmer Rouge (KR) forced labor gang who suffered several bereavements of close family members, Phat Pouv Seang would seem an unlikely choice of defense lawyer for former KR Minister of Social Affairs Ieng Thirith. Yet the French educated lawyer has vowed to fight her case in the interests of impartiality and justice.
Phat Pouv Seang knows firsthand the Khmer Rouge (KR) created plagues of famine, overwork and death decimated the Kingdom. Yet the graying, 57-year-old lawyer has decided to act for Ieng Thirith, one of five former KR leaders arrested and charged by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) for crimes against humanity from 1975-79.
Phat Pouv Seang said he wanted to be involved in the Khmer Rouge Tribunals (KRT) to strengthen Cambodia’s rule of law and help eliminate its culture of impunity. “If all of the former KR leaders are guilty, they must be punished, but if they aren’t, they don’t deserve to be punished,” the Royal University of Law and Economics lecturer explained. “My goal is to remove divisions between Cambodians and Democratic Kampuchea [the KR regime] because citizens still carry anger for Democratic Kampuchea KR who allegedly killed their relatives.”
Such even-handed impartiality is remarkable considering that Phat Pouv Seang is himself a victim of the KR regime he was part of a forced labor team and many of his relatives died in the deprivations of the KR’s agrarian nightmare. He said that the KRT should provide closure for victims by forcing KR leaders to give “causes and reasons” for their behavior.
“[If] we still continue killing each other, when will the revenge be finished?” he asked. “I also suffered because I also lived under the KR regime. If we can forgive them, we should forgive. My relatives also died during the Pol Pot regime but if we are too strict in our demands [for justice], we will only see people killing each other.”
In fact, Phat Pouv Seang to date the first KR defense lawyer to have personally suffered under the KR regime said he had, over the last decade, declined to represent feared one-legged KR Commander Ta Mok and former KR head of state Khieu Samphan. Apparently limited political stability and poor security at the time were the only reasons he declined.
The long road
After graduating in France with a masters degree in Public and Private Law, Phat Pouv Seang said he has acted in 600 civil and criminal cases, including land and labor disputes. As well as his position as lecture at the Royal University of Law and Economics, Phat Pouv Seang revealed the sometimes advises former students in France.
He said his involvement in the intellectual property rights case between mobile phone companies Mobitel and Hello was an “unforgettable achievement,” although Phat Pouv Seang’s retainment by Ieng Thirith a week before her husband Ieng Sary’s Nov 12 2007 arrest may lead him to still dizzier heights.
Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith contacted Phat Pouv Seang after she saw his name and phone number in the Cambodian Bar Association directory.
Phat Pouv Seang explained to Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith that he was not registered with the Defense Support Unit of the KRT, so he had no rights to defend former KR leaders’ cases. “At last the [Defense Support Unit] agreed... so I can defend Ieng Thirith’s case,” he said.
“[If] Democratic Kampuchea killed people, they must be punished... [We] should use the law fairly to end the conflict. If we use anger against rage, it will become revenge. We mustn’t postpone retribution any longer. It should be ended through law,” he said. “My role is to seek justice for both sides and to end the conflict which is [now] a collective memory of black experiences.”
He stressed that justice not suffering or revenge is what drives Phat Pouv Seang.
Phat Pouv Seang knows firsthand the Khmer Rouge (KR) created plagues of famine, overwork and death decimated the Kingdom. Yet the graying, 57-year-old lawyer has decided to act for Ieng Thirith, one of five former KR leaders arrested and charged by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) for crimes against humanity from 1975-79.
Phat Pouv Seang said he wanted to be involved in the Khmer Rouge Tribunals (KRT) to strengthen Cambodia’s rule of law and help eliminate its culture of impunity. “If all of the former KR leaders are guilty, they must be punished, but if they aren’t, they don’t deserve to be punished,” the Royal University of Law and Economics lecturer explained. “My goal is to remove divisions between Cambodians and Democratic Kampuchea [the KR regime] because citizens still carry anger for Democratic Kampuchea KR who allegedly killed their relatives.”
Such even-handed impartiality is remarkable considering that Phat Pouv Seang is himself a victim of the KR regime he was part of a forced labor team and many of his relatives died in the deprivations of the KR’s agrarian nightmare. He said that the KRT should provide closure for victims by forcing KR leaders to give “causes and reasons” for their behavior.
“[If] we still continue killing each other, when will the revenge be finished?” he asked. “I also suffered because I also lived under the KR regime. If we can forgive them, we should forgive. My relatives also died during the Pol Pot regime but if we are too strict in our demands [for justice], we will only see people killing each other.”
In fact, Phat Pouv Seang to date the first KR defense lawyer to have personally suffered under the KR regime said he had, over the last decade, declined to represent feared one-legged KR Commander Ta Mok and former KR head of state Khieu Samphan. Apparently limited political stability and poor security at the time were the only reasons he declined.
The long road
After graduating in France with a masters degree in Public and Private Law, Phat Pouv Seang said he has acted in 600 civil and criminal cases, including land and labor disputes. As well as his position as lecture at the Royal University of Law and Economics, Phat Pouv Seang revealed the sometimes advises former students in France.
He said his involvement in the intellectual property rights case between mobile phone companies Mobitel and Hello was an “unforgettable achievement,” although Phat Pouv Seang’s retainment by Ieng Thirith a week before her husband Ieng Sary’s Nov 12 2007 arrest may lead him to still dizzier heights.
Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith contacted Phat Pouv Seang after she saw his name and phone number in the Cambodian Bar Association directory.
Phat Pouv Seang explained to Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith that he was not registered with the Defense Support Unit of the KRT, so he had no rights to defend former KR leaders’ cases. “At last the [Defense Support Unit] agreed... so I can defend Ieng Thirith’s case,” he said.
“[If] Democratic Kampuchea killed people, they must be punished... [We] should use the law fairly to end the conflict. If we use anger against rage, it will become revenge. We mustn’t postpone retribution any longer. It should be ended through law,” he said. “My role is to seek justice for both sides and to end the conflict which is [now] a collective memory of black experiences.”
He stressed that justice not suffering or revenge is what drives Phat Pouv Seang.
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