By A.L.G.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French
The prosecutor reminded that the former S-21 official remained with the communist party of Kampuchea for another “13 years,” following the fall of the KR regime in January 1979.
Following the initial declaration given by the prosecutor in the morning of Tuesday 31 March, Robert Petit, the Canadian co-prosecutor, questioned the sincerity of Duch’s remorse, while acknowledging that he collaborated with the court.
“Was his feeling of remorse authentic?” Robert Petit asked in French. “It is indeed a good question to ask. Indeed, Duch asked for forgiveness on several occasions, directly during scene re-enactments or through his lawyers. But, did he apologized to the victims whom he ordered and supervised their torture?”
Reminding the audience that Duch remained a member of the communist party of Kampuchea for another “13 years” following the fall of the regime, and that the KR had enough confidence in him to send him to teach Khmer in China for two more years, Robert Petit ended his speech by paying tribute to the victims: “Behind the statistics and the slogans, there are hidden names, families, hope. Maybe, the accused will finally be troubled by these sufferings, which in the past, left him unmoved.”
Prior to this, Robert Petit once again asked that “as in all mass crime cases,” the charge of “joint criminal enterprise” be retained against Duch.
At the end of the initial declaration by the prosecution, the session ended at about noon time. It was restarted at 1:30 PM to allow the defense to provide its reply.
Following the initial declaration given by the prosecutor in the morning of Tuesday 31 March, Robert Petit, the Canadian co-prosecutor, questioned the sincerity of Duch’s remorse, while acknowledging that he collaborated with the court.
“Was his feeling of remorse authentic?” Robert Petit asked in French. “It is indeed a good question to ask. Indeed, Duch asked for forgiveness on several occasions, directly during scene re-enactments or through his lawyers. But, did he apologized to the victims whom he ordered and supervised their torture?”
Reminding the audience that Duch remained a member of the communist party of Kampuchea for another “13 years” following the fall of the regime, and that the KR had enough confidence in him to send him to teach Khmer in China for two more years, Robert Petit ended his speech by paying tribute to the victims: “Behind the statistics and the slogans, there are hidden names, families, hope. Maybe, the accused will finally be troubled by these sufferings, which in the past, left him unmoved.”
Prior to this, Robert Petit once again asked that “as in all mass crime cases,” the charge of “joint criminal enterprise” be retained against Duch.
At the end of the initial declaration by the prosecution, the session ended at about noon time. It was restarted at 1:30 PM to allow the defense to provide its reply.
3 comments:
Duch may be a secret Vietnamese Hero.
you sound like Duch. He could have cut your head and make you confess as Vietnamese spies. Every victim he killed was a CIA, KGB, or VN spy.
Hor Nam Hong was a director of Duch prison. I read some letter of former prisoners. "may be" is not "was". It's the probability & statistics, so don't jump too fast.
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