Reporter: Zoe Daniel
The World Today (Australia)
ELEANOR HALL: Cambodia's long awaited series of war crimes trials has opened in Phnom Penh with a confession and an apology.
The Khmer Rouge killed almost two-million people during their reign of terror between 1975 and 1979.
Now, the man in charge of the largest of the Khmer Rouge torture centres has admitted some guilt.
As Zoe Daniel reports.
ZOE DANIEL: Kaing Guek Eav - otherwise known as Comrade Duch - was the boss of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison during the brutal days of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Then known as S21, it was the largest of the Khmer Rouge torture centres - and around 14,000 men, women and children are known to have died horrible deaths there.
But while the man who ordered their murders has admitted some guilt - he's also asked for forgiveness.
KAING GUEK EAV (translated): May I be permitted to apologise to the survivors of the regime and also to the families of the victims whose loved ones died so brutally at S21. I would like those people to please know I would like to apologise and consider my intention that I have not asked you to forgive me now but I will attempt to do so later.
ZOE DANIEL: Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s aimed for a communist utopia and accepted no dissenters. Those sent to the prison were to be "smashed" - Khmer Rouge jargon for killed - and in ways that can barely be imagined.
Robert Petit is the international co-prosecutor for the court that's to hear cases of war crimes, torture and murder against the regime's leaders. The prison boss is the first to begin to explain what happened three decades ago.
ROBERT PETIT: As described by one of the guards, the victims were brought to pits, dug beforehand. There they were killed by a blow to the base of the neck using steel clubs. The bodies would be kicked into the holes, the handcuffs taken off the lifeless hands, the bellies sliced open, and the pits covered by dirt.
ZOE DANIEL: It's believed that 1.7-million people died in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. Only seven people are known to have survived S21.
Prosecutors have described Duch as an integral part of the Khmer Rouge machine - but while he admits he ordered torture and murder - he says he was ordered to do it as a mid-level leader.
The apology and confession won't stop the trial. They'll simply be added to the evidence against Comrade Duch.
This is Zoe Daniel in Phnom Penh for The World Today.
The Khmer Rouge killed almost two-million people during their reign of terror between 1975 and 1979.
Now, the man in charge of the largest of the Khmer Rouge torture centres has admitted some guilt.
As Zoe Daniel reports.
ZOE DANIEL: Kaing Guek Eav - otherwise known as Comrade Duch - was the boss of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison during the brutal days of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Then known as S21, it was the largest of the Khmer Rouge torture centres - and around 14,000 men, women and children are known to have died horrible deaths there.
But while the man who ordered their murders has admitted some guilt - he's also asked for forgiveness.
KAING GUEK EAV (translated): May I be permitted to apologise to the survivors of the regime and also to the families of the victims whose loved ones died so brutally at S21. I would like those people to please know I would like to apologise and consider my intention that I have not asked you to forgive me now but I will attempt to do so later.
ZOE DANIEL: Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s aimed for a communist utopia and accepted no dissenters. Those sent to the prison were to be "smashed" - Khmer Rouge jargon for killed - and in ways that can barely be imagined.
Robert Petit is the international co-prosecutor for the court that's to hear cases of war crimes, torture and murder against the regime's leaders. The prison boss is the first to begin to explain what happened three decades ago.
ROBERT PETIT: As described by one of the guards, the victims were brought to pits, dug beforehand. There they were killed by a blow to the base of the neck using steel clubs. The bodies would be kicked into the holes, the handcuffs taken off the lifeless hands, the bellies sliced open, and the pits covered by dirt.
ZOE DANIEL: It's believed that 1.7-million people died in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. Only seven people are known to have survived S21.
Prosecutors have described Duch as an integral part of the Khmer Rouge machine - but while he admits he ordered torture and murder - he says he was ordered to do it as a mid-level leader.
The apology and confession won't stop the trial. They'll simply be added to the evidence against Comrade Duch.
This is Zoe Daniel in Phnom Penh for The World Today.
3 comments:
I have relative who died in S21. I used to blame KR leaders who killed my relative, especially Duch. But, after doing my own research and now listened to Duch's apology, I am sure that he is definitely just a middle man. However, he must be responsible for what he did. He cannot just ask for the apology because it will not fair for the people who were killed under his power...
Below are my two cents to the Judges at the Tribunal:
1. The Judges should ask Duch about who ordered him to torture and kill the prisoners? Duch cannot say he doesnot know...
2. Ask Duch why did they have to take picture of the Prisoners before they were killed?
3. Why do KR have to use the school for prisoners, not anywhere else?
If the Judges really think about these questions, they should know that the S21 is just a place that someone who were the mastermind of the killing during the KR set this up.
Think this simple way, If you are the killers, do you want to leave any evident of your own crime? The pictures of the victims are the evident they were killed at S21. So, those pictures would be used at a court to trial the killes one day.
The mastermind know that so they ordered to take pictures of the victims and posted at S21 so those pictures now are used to against the KR leaders. Is this a setup?
The mastermind also used school to be a prisoners because the world can see the crucial of the KR regime....
Thus, the answers will be easy to findout from Duch and the Judges can guest who are the mastermind behind KR regime.
They must the people who know where S21 is and they are the one who will bring all the document about S21 to the court. Because they are the one set this up so they are the one who have those documents.
If you are a killer, do you allow someone to film you while you are killing people??????????
no excuses! there's a difference between doing what is right and doing what we knew was wrong! only a stupid, ignorant person would do jump off the cliff when order to do so! all common sense, too, you know! how ignorant, stupid can they really get! that's was a lame excuse, "they told me to do so!" it's called thinking for yourself and standing up for yourself, in case, they didn't know already! perhaps, it was ignorance that caused so many people to not think for themselves! cambodia, from now on, should strive to get rid of ignorance for the entire country! no more ignorance for cambodia! god bless cambodia.
abuse was more of the word than " i was following orders!" what a lame excuse that is! if i tell you to eat shit, would they eat it too? go figure! what ignorant!
Post a Comment