Khmer Rouge trials: The need for catharsis

08-04-2009
Editorial Desk
The Straits Times (Singapore)

"Political interference in the process is a cause for worry. Prime Minister Hun Sen - who was also with the Khmer Rouge - has warned that putting more cadres of the Maoist group on trial could plunge the country back into civil war. The re-opening of old wounds might lead to the resurfacing of deep divisions. But in Cambodia's case, the way forward will have to include taking a deep breath and looking backwards."

Every country which has suffered gross violations of human rights committed against its own people must go through a period of catharsis. In this painful process, old records are re-opened, new trials commissioned and the perpetrators of such heinous crimes are brought to justice. Germany had its Nuremberg trials and South Africa had its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It is the ardent hope of the global community that the ongoing trial of Kaing Guek Eav, the Khmer Rouge's prison chief, will put Cambodia on the path of healing.

The trial of Comrade Duch, as he is known, will also serve as a potent reminder that the world stood by helplessly when the Khmer Rouge went on a bloodthirsty rampage during its reign in Phnom Penh from 1975 to 1979. Duch was the director of the infamous Tuol Sleng prison - also known as S-21 - which was where it is alleged up to 15,000 Cambodians were killed. He has fingered the US as being partly responsible for the rise of the Khmer Rouge. It had backed Cambodian general Lon Nol, leading the Khmer Rouge to grab the 'golden opportunity' by joining forces with Prince Norodom Sihaunouk to oust the general's regime in 1975. He is largely correct. According to two Yale historians, America's carpet-bombing of Cambodia in the late 1960s and early 1970s inflicted numerous civilian casualties. This drove an enraged populace into the arms of the Khmer Rouge. Whatever its historical beginnings though, the carnage it perpetrated subsequently on its own people was its own doing entirely, and ranks as one of the most cruel in modern history.

It is heartening that the trial process is holding up well. The tribunal is backed by the United Nations. Its rules oblige Cambodians to report complaints. To his credit, Duch has also admitted his legal responsibility and asked for forgiveness. That said, he has proffered a defence used commonly - and sometimes brazenly - by other perpetrators of heinous crimes: that he, being a mere cog in the entire murderous edifice, was simply obeying orders.

Political interference in the process is a cause for worry. Prime Minister Hun Sen - who was also with the Khmer Rouge - has warned that putting more cadres of the Maoist group on trial could plunge the country back into civil war. The re-opening of old wounds might lead to the resurfacing of deep divisions. But in Cambodia's case, the way forward will have to include taking a deep breath and looking backwards.