From Friday's Globe and Mail
Editorial
For overseeing the mass torture and murder of 14,000 people, Comrade Duch of the Khmer Rouge stands to be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison, under the rules of a tribunal co-sponsored by the United Nations and the Cambodian government. That may not seem enough. Even the most ardent advocates of death-penalty abolition may regret that Kaing Guek Eav (Comrade Duch's real name) will not be put to death.
Yet there is logic, and justice, in allowing the 67-year-old Comrade Duch (pronounced Dook) to live out the rest of his days in prison. Genocide is not a crime of monsters. It is a very human crime. It is made possible not by a few psychopaths but by many ordinary people capable of both good and evil. Executing an individual provides an illusory comfort that the evil is gone. Justice should never take comfort in killing.
Comrade Duch took his name from an obedient schoolboy in a children's book. He wished to be known for respecting teachers and doing good deeds. He is, according to a psychological profile presented by prosecutors, meticulous, conscientious, control-oriented, attentive to detail and given to seeking recognition from his superiors. "In my entire life, if I do something, I do it properly," he said. He is apparently not a psychopath, and he did not need to employ psychopaths to torture and kill.
His expressions of remorse and regret are irrelevant. At the former high school turned into a prison by the communist Khmer Rouge, an apt metaphor for that regime, Comrade Duch considered anyone who entered to be already dead. Months of torture would produce confessions he says now he knew to be largely false. Only seven people survived out of 14,000. Whether he feels remorse is not knowable, or even particularly interesting; what matters is that those most responsible be held to account for the genocide of as many as 1.7 million people in a population of 8.5 million. Only then can a damaged society hope to regain its health. "Accountability is one of the essential steps toward reconciliation and stability," says Robert Petit, a Canadian lawyer who is a former co-prosecutor at the tribunal.
The death penalty for Comrade Duch could hardly serve as retribution for a monstrous genocide. He is being held to account, survivors are recounting the horrors, and millions of young Cambodians are watching on television news programs. A landmark for Cambodia, the trial is also an important signal of a world moving away from the anachronism of the death penalty.
Yet there is logic, and justice, in allowing the 67-year-old Comrade Duch (pronounced Dook) to live out the rest of his days in prison. Genocide is not a crime of monsters. It is a very human crime. It is made possible not by a few psychopaths but by many ordinary people capable of both good and evil. Executing an individual provides an illusory comfort that the evil is gone. Justice should never take comfort in killing.
Comrade Duch took his name from an obedient schoolboy in a children's book. He wished to be known for respecting teachers and doing good deeds. He is, according to a psychological profile presented by prosecutors, meticulous, conscientious, control-oriented, attentive to detail and given to seeking recognition from his superiors. "In my entire life, if I do something, I do it properly," he said. He is apparently not a psychopath, and he did not need to employ psychopaths to torture and kill.
His expressions of remorse and regret are irrelevant. At the former high school turned into a prison by the communist Khmer Rouge, an apt metaphor for that regime, Comrade Duch considered anyone who entered to be already dead. Months of torture would produce confessions he says now he knew to be largely false. Only seven people survived out of 14,000. Whether he feels remorse is not knowable, or even particularly interesting; what matters is that those most responsible be held to account for the genocide of as many as 1.7 million people in a population of 8.5 million. Only then can a damaged society hope to regain its health. "Accountability is one of the essential steps toward reconciliation and stability," says Robert Petit, a Canadian lawyer who is a former co-prosecutor at the tribunal.
The death penalty for Comrade Duch could hardly serve as retribution for a monstrous genocide. He is being held to account, survivors are recounting the horrors, and millions of young Cambodians are watching on television news programs. A landmark for Cambodia, the trial is also an important signal of a world moving away from the anachronism of the death penalty.
3 comments:
I am not a KR and was not a former KR. I am not either pro the killing conducted by the terror regime.
I was born just after the KR regime fortunately.
Related to the recent decision of the ECCC on Duch's case, here i [in the name of an ordinary people] want to raise my ideas as following:
1. It is just that prosecutors demanded Duch a 40-year jail term? As his lawyer (Francois) mentioned that Duch had to "kill or be killed" and operate like an "obedient machine". That's logic! Can you all imagine how was that situation? If you were him, what would you do?_I would say i would act like him and you too!
Polt Pot also said "the ones who stuck with hands, hands will be lost, stuck with foot, foot will be lost, at the moment that the history cycle is running"
2. It is just to put him 40 years in prison? As he was only a prison's chief during the regime, when there were other hundreds of prisons where managed by many other KR who some are survided and live freely. Why they are not put to trial??? It exactly sounds that Duch had very small position, who executed his duties following orders from his leaders of revolution. I think everyone can understand about that.
3.According to the ECCC provisions/regulations [like the other international crimes], only the top official shall be prosecuted and how can just a prisoner head be the top official.Top officials would refer to the prime minister, president of the national assembly, cabinet head, and other national policy decision-makers.
4.According to a political integration of the government to forgively appeal for all the KR to join and work for the government, that the government would not condemn or without any imprisonment.
Due to my four above reasons, i would like to appeal to the ECCC court two points:
1.To jail him 40 years in prison, but it must be on parole [release him temporarily or permanently to stay at home with his family until the completion of his sentence, on recognition his remorse in the interests of national reconciliation. And anyway he is too old to stay alone in the prison.
Moreover in term of human resource, he is very qualified for the social interest. He will can do a lot of things for the nation both education and history! Why the court has to keep him in the prison?
2.To jail him only 3 years, 8 months and 20 days [the whole period when he was in power]. Remember that without Duch, the trial could not have unfolded if he, like others, had decided to remain in silence! He is not a major example of the killing who has to be seriously jailed as a compensation for that killing.
Yos Katank
(27/November/2009)
what..that's it??????fuck them...for thousands of people....kill be him....what for....
You kill, you pay, you are old, you are big, you are small.
If you don't want to be imprisoned, don't kill.
Post a Comment