Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 19/05/2009: Public consulting information leaflets on the ECCC, during the 17th day of hearing at Duch's trial (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)19-05-2009
By Stéphanie Gée
Ka-set
Expert witness Craig Etcheson, called to testify at Duch's trial regarding the implementation of the policy of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) at the S-21 detention centre, only had little say in court on Tuesday May 19th. The defence complained they were “taken by surprise” that the investigator with the office of the co-Prosecutors of the court moved away from the topics planned for his testimony. The intervention fazed the judges of the Trial Chamber, who suspended the hearing for three hours to examine the issue.
The role of S-21 in the purges
At the start of the day, responding to questions from New Zealand judge Silvia Cartwright, American expert Craig Etcheson had time to confirm, in light of the many documents he compiled and studied, that the Angkar had carried out widespread purges in the military. He specified that part of the military personnel who were purged, accused of plotting against the regime, were sent to S-21 and several documents from the period illustrated that division commanders were not only aware of the existence of the centre directed by Duch, but were also actively sending prisoners to S-21.
A similar situation was observed in government ministries, where civil servants were no less spared by purges, to such an extent that, the academic recalled, some ministries complained about the difficulty to carry out their responsibilities because so many of their staff were seized by security forces. Craig Etcheson thus confirmed the specificity of S-21, which “received detainees from virtually every unit of organisation in Democratic Kampuchea across the entire country.” To illustrate his point, the expert started to give examples, quoting handwritten notes by Duch or a report made by the accused himself in 1977, drawn from the case file. He would not go any further, as François Roux, Duch's international co-lawyer, intervened because he had “a small problem.”
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The role of S-21 in the purges
At the start of the day, responding to questions from New Zealand judge Silvia Cartwright, American expert Craig Etcheson had time to confirm, in light of the many documents he compiled and studied, that the Angkar had carried out widespread purges in the military. He specified that part of the military personnel who were purged, accused of plotting against the regime, were sent to S-21 and several documents from the period illustrated that division commanders were not only aware of the existence of the centre directed by Duch, but were also actively sending prisoners to S-21.
A similar situation was observed in government ministries, where civil servants were no less spared by purges, to such an extent that, the academic recalled, some ministries complained about the difficulty to carry out their responsibilities because so many of their staff were seized by security forces. Craig Etcheson thus confirmed the specificity of S-21, which “received detainees from virtually every unit of organisation in Democratic Kampuchea across the entire country.” To illustrate his point, the expert started to give examples, quoting handwritten notes by Duch or a report made by the accused himself in 1977, drawn from the case file. He would not go any further, as François Roux, Duch's international co-lawyer, intervened because he had “a small problem.”
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1 comment:
Since the overwhelming major of YOU were Khmer Rouge-era victims and have undergone through enormous post-traumatic stress disorder (ironically, some of you manage to write books and prifited) ,and, therefore, everyone should not dwell in the past, because it will only bring bad memory to you, your families, and friends. The history should not be brought up again--EVER.
PPU
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