Original report from Phnom Penh
28 April 2009
Jailed prison chief Duch told tribunal judges on Monday he had learned torture methods from the regimes that preceded the Khmer Rouge, as more details of his role emerged.
“I did not learn from anyone,” he told the court. “First of all, the Lon Nol regime taught me, and secondly, the French regime, which tortured members of the Vietnamese Labor Party.”
Duch said he did not learn torture methods from the US or China. The US backed the regime of Lon Nol in a coup against then-prince Norodom Sihanouk, in 1970, as China emerged as a primary supporter of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge.
The 66-year-old Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder. His trial, the first of five jailed leaders by the UN-backed tribunal, has been in full swing since late March, but only in recent days has his testimony focused on Tuol Sleng prison.
Known the Khmer Rouge as S-21, the prison was the regime’s principal torture center, where more than 12,000 Cambodians were sent for confession and execution.
Duch said he was selected for promotion to direct the prison because of his experience and qualifications. He proved to be a better director than his predecessor, he said, but he did not like his duties, a fact he could not reveal this openly to his Khmer Rouge bosses.
The prison had two separate periods, Duch explained Tuesday, the period before he became director, and the one after.
In the first period, former Lon Nol government and military officials and civilian supporters were “cleaned,” he said. The prison’s second role, under his direction, was to purge those not loyal to the Khmer Rouge.
To that end, four groups were put in charge, comprised of key figures within the regime, who would then decide who would be arrested and sent to Tuol Sleng, where confessions were extracted under torture before they were executed.
Duch’s testimony Tuesday followed statements that even guards at the prison could be executed. The rules of the prison, he said Monday, had been established by “Vietnam.”
“I did not learn from anyone,” he told the court. “First of all, the Lon Nol regime taught me, and secondly, the French regime, which tortured members of the Vietnamese Labor Party.”
Duch said he did not learn torture methods from the US or China. The US backed the regime of Lon Nol in a coup against then-prince Norodom Sihanouk, in 1970, as China emerged as a primary supporter of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge.
The 66-year-old Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder. His trial, the first of five jailed leaders by the UN-backed tribunal, has been in full swing since late March, but only in recent days has his testimony focused on Tuol Sleng prison.
Known the Khmer Rouge as S-21, the prison was the regime’s principal torture center, where more than 12,000 Cambodians were sent for confession and execution.
Duch said he was selected for promotion to direct the prison because of his experience and qualifications. He proved to be a better director than his predecessor, he said, but he did not like his duties, a fact he could not reveal this openly to his Khmer Rouge bosses.
The prison had two separate periods, Duch explained Tuesday, the period before he became director, and the one after.
In the first period, former Lon Nol government and military officials and civilian supporters were “cleaned,” he said. The prison’s second role, under his direction, was to purge those not loyal to the Khmer Rouge.
To that end, four groups were put in charge, comprised of key figures within the regime, who would then decide who would be arrested and sent to Tuol Sleng, where confessions were extracted under torture before they were executed.
Duch’s testimony Tuesday followed statements that even guards at the prison could be executed. The rules of the prison, he said Monday, had been established by “Vietnam.”
5 comments:
yes, the previous regime were partly to blame as they too were ruthless as well. everything culminated under the KR regime, though. of course, things happened for a reason, and it didn't just happen all of a sudden out of the blue, you know. there were a cause and effect to everything people do. in khmer, it's call "karma". in the west, it's called "what goes around comes around, etc...
Keep blaming on others, the international court might acquit all of you evils so you all can go back to serve your evil Hanoi mom & dad.
What? Previous regime? Fuck you! Go to hell, ah Duch. Even Jesus would never be able to save you. You know what the Buddha said: "A man is his own master." All acts of a man have its cosequences, and when it comes, you got to accept it smilingly. Can you smile?
What Duch said at the hearings is interesting.
I also remember the remarks made by Khieu Samphan, "You can see the fish only when the water is clear."
I do not take side with the K. Rouge, but what they have tried to justify their acts of crimes must be listened and analyzed.
Actually, a number of other people and other countries had their involvements in the crime against humanity and war crimes.
They have funded and supported the ECCC ( KR Tribunal) with a tangible aim to bring justice to the KR victims; however, their intangible real aim is to cover up their acts of direct and indirect involvements in the massacre of the Khmer people.
In my early teens, I heard the elderly Khmers talking How Brutally the Khmer Issaraks and the Khmer Viet Minh (Those Khmers who allied with Viet Cong and Viet Minh Army) and the Khmer Krahams killed the Khmer government officials and soldiers, and tortured and slaughtered the innocent Khmer civilians.
I was also frightened to hear How Cruelly the Khmers government soldiers and authorities (during the regimes of Sihanouk and Lon Nol) took the retaliation.
I was also informed that The Viet Minh and the Viet Cong of Vietnam executed the Khmer people in the last century (in the early 1900’s) and the Te Ong killing style they used to kill Khmers.
I witnessed the US Bombardment in 1973 on Cambodian territory, killing not only the Khmer Rouge combatants, but also the innocent civilians. The amount of bombs dropped by the US Air Force on the Cambodian soil at that time is much more than those dropped by the US on Japan during the WWII. Most of the Khmers who experienced the US bombings still have traumatic effects (an extremely distressing experience that causes severe emotional shock and may have long-lasting psychological effects). Who will pay for this?
I underwent the K Rouge period, seeing with my own eyes the massacre the KRouge committed on the Khmers.
I always asked myself, “When has this become a culture of killing in retaliation.”
Duch said,” he had learned torture methods from the regimes that preceded the Khmer Rouge, as more details of his role emerged.
“I did not learn from anyone,” he told the court. “First of all, the Lon Nol regime taught me, and secondly, the French regime, which tortured members of the Vietnamese Labor Party.”
I t is regrettable that Pol Pot had died before the establishment of ECCC. He may be the only one who can tell the truth and the root cause of massacre.
Whether He died in a natural death or by a planned killing is still a question for some local and political observers. When he passed away, no forensic examination or autopsy was conducted to determine the cause of his death. He knew a great deal about the history of the movements and involvements by Vietnam, china, the USA, Russia, France in the tragedy of Cambodia.
S. Sambath
From what you just said, I can conclude that either you yourself is one of the KR or you had not been living the KR regime.
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