Nuon Chea (R) talking to Thet Sambath (L)By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
03 February 2010
The producer of an award-winning documentary that outlines the inner workings of the Khmer Rouge says it took many patient years of work to gain the trust of a senior leader of the regime and his underlings.
Thet Sambath, who co-produced “Enemies of the People” with British filmmaker Rob Lemkin, became the first journalist to extensively interview Nuon Chea, also known as Brother No. 2, the chief ideologue of Pol Pot’s ill-fated revolution.
“Working with Nuon Chea was not easy,” Thet Sambath told VOA Khmer in an exclusive interview. “It was the most difficult of all. He is a secretive person, and once we ask him a question, it is not easy [to get an answer]. I knew from the beginning that working with him would require a lot of time, not just a few months, to get things out of him.”
Nuon Chea, now 83, is currently in detention at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal and is expected to face trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
In “Enemies of the People,” which won a jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival last week, Nuon Chea explains the regime’s need to “smash” enemies of the nation, whether they were Cambodians or outsiders.
For Thet Sambath, the reporting meant cautious work, and keeping silent about his own experiences, as he sat with the leader of a movement that killed his father and brother. (His mother was forced to re-marry a Khmer Rouge soldier and later died.)
He met with Nuon Chea nearly every weekend, sometimes sitting with him the whole day.
“In the first four or five years, he did not tell me at all about important issues,” Thet Sambath said. “He simply said he did no know, he knew nothing, he had no knowledge about the executions, he had no power.”
At last, Nuon Chea had a change of heart.
“Until one day, he said to me, ‘Nephew, I have observed you for so many years and seen that you are honest, not biased to any party. Therefore, from today on, whatever you want to ask me, just ask me.’ And he said he would tell me all the secrets he had with Pol Pot,” Thet Sambath said.
The two kept their work secret, with the journalist posing as a nephew for the old man’s guards. In 2006, Thet Sambath and Lemkin agreed to produce a film. Lemkin then attended interviews with Nuon Chea.
“I think he’s quite different with foreigners, with Westerners,” Lemkin told VOA Khmer. “He’s quite reserved. He’s quite suspicious. He thinks that they are out there to get him, and of course they are mostly.”
After several meetings, however, “Nuon Chea was very open with me, and I would say almost very warm,” Lemkin said.
By 2009, the two producers had finished the film, in which Nuon Chea says he and Pol Pot plotted to kill party members who they saw as enemies of the people. (Pol Pot died in his home near the Thai border in 1998.)
“They both lived close to each other, so that it would have been easy for them to have a discussion,” Thet Sambath said. “The way they lived was also secretive. For instance, Pol Pot lived in one apartment and Nuon Chea would live in a nearby apartment, and when they wanted to have a secret discussion, they would meet at the back of the house. They both maintained high secrecy.”
In the film, Nuon Chea acknowledges such secrecy, including quiet agreements on major decisions, including the promotion of Pol Pot to the position of party secretary.
Nuon Chea may have seen his interviews as a way to put his story on the record, Lemkin said.
“I think he was pretty much telling the truth in a complete way, because he believed that, and still believes that, really, Sambath is his route to historical affairs and a balanced historical account,” Lemkin said. “I think he knows none of the Khmer Rouge leaders will ever come out good in history. His is one of the most hated regimes of all time, but at least from his point of view he can at least tell the story as he remembered it and as he believed it should be told.”
Thet Sambath was also able to track down lower-ranking members of the regime, befriending them and eventually interviewing them.
“Finding these people was not easy,” he said. “I didn’t just jump straight to the point, asking them if they were killers. My method was to make friends with them first, which took a lot of time.”
The filmmakers say the interviews connect the dots between decisions at the top and executions on the ground. They hope to use more material to create a second film. Their work, they hope, will help Cambodians heal and help others come forward to speak the truth.
Thet Sambath, who co-produced “Enemies of the People” with British filmmaker Rob Lemkin, became the first journalist to extensively interview Nuon Chea, also known as Brother No. 2, the chief ideologue of Pol Pot’s ill-fated revolution.
“Working with Nuon Chea was not easy,” Thet Sambath told VOA Khmer in an exclusive interview. “It was the most difficult of all. He is a secretive person, and once we ask him a question, it is not easy [to get an answer]. I knew from the beginning that working with him would require a lot of time, not just a few months, to get things out of him.”
Nuon Chea, now 83, is currently in detention at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal and is expected to face trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
In “Enemies of the People,” which won a jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival last week, Nuon Chea explains the regime’s need to “smash” enemies of the nation, whether they were Cambodians or outsiders.
For Thet Sambath, the reporting meant cautious work, and keeping silent about his own experiences, as he sat with the leader of a movement that killed his father and brother. (His mother was forced to re-marry a Khmer Rouge soldier and later died.)
He met with Nuon Chea nearly every weekend, sometimes sitting with him the whole day.
“In the first four or five years, he did not tell me at all about important issues,” Thet Sambath said. “He simply said he did no know, he knew nothing, he had no knowledge about the executions, he had no power.”
At last, Nuon Chea had a change of heart.
“Until one day, he said to me, ‘Nephew, I have observed you for so many years and seen that you are honest, not biased to any party. Therefore, from today on, whatever you want to ask me, just ask me.’ And he said he would tell me all the secrets he had with Pol Pot,” Thet Sambath said.
The two kept their work secret, with the journalist posing as a nephew for the old man’s guards. In 2006, Thet Sambath and Lemkin agreed to produce a film. Lemkin then attended interviews with Nuon Chea.
“I think he’s quite different with foreigners, with Westerners,” Lemkin told VOA Khmer. “He’s quite reserved. He’s quite suspicious. He thinks that they are out there to get him, and of course they are mostly.”
After several meetings, however, “Nuon Chea was very open with me, and I would say almost very warm,” Lemkin said.
By 2009, the two producers had finished the film, in which Nuon Chea says he and Pol Pot plotted to kill party members who they saw as enemies of the people. (Pol Pot died in his home near the Thai border in 1998.)
“They both lived close to each other, so that it would have been easy for them to have a discussion,” Thet Sambath said. “The way they lived was also secretive. For instance, Pol Pot lived in one apartment and Nuon Chea would live in a nearby apartment, and when they wanted to have a secret discussion, they would meet at the back of the house. They both maintained high secrecy.”
In the film, Nuon Chea acknowledges such secrecy, including quiet agreements on major decisions, including the promotion of Pol Pot to the position of party secretary.
Nuon Chea may have seen his interviews as a way to put his story on the record, Lemkin said.
“I think he was pretty much telling the truth in a complete way, because he believed that, and still believes that, really, Sambath is his route to historical affairs and a balanced historical account,” Lemkin said. “I think he knows none of the Khmer Rouge leaders will ever come out good in history. His is one of the most hated regimes of all time, but at least from his point of view he can at least tell the story as he remembered it and as he believed it should be told.”
Thet Sambath was also able to track down lower-ranking members of the regime, befriending them and eventually interviewing them.
“Finding these people was not easy,” he said. “I didn’t just jump straight to the point, asking them if they were killers. My method was to make friends with them first, which took a lot of time.”
The filmmakers say the interviews connect the dots between decisions at the top and executions on the ground. They hope to use more material to create a second film. Their work, they hope, will help Cambodians heal and help others come forward to speak the truth.
11 comments:
Great job. This is the one of the most difficult works. Be friend with them and gain their trust would take a lot of effort and patient.
first ah-pol pot is in the hell already, who can handle the true? second, ah noun chea is suffering parkinson, he lost 80 % of his memory. ah thet sombath is an ex khmer rouge is trying to make money with a documentary that all the whole world knew. why it's hard to get answer becuz ah sambath interview a dead man, every word ah noun chea said is confused.
8:00 AM,
You need to consult a psychiatrist. You must have gone a hard time during those unhealthy regime. Either you suffered hardship yourself or any family member of yours had that horrible experience that it influences the way you are thinking and saying. You're not alone. Million of people are like that. I would say not a single family in Cambodia survives the Khmer Rouge without losing a family member. You'd better get some consultation. The longer you keep such an anger to yourself, the more dangerous you might do to yourself and your family. I am so glad that you speak out. I don't blame you for blashing Mr. Thet Sambath. Finally, please take sometime to get consulation. with love from another survivor who used to be in a situation like that of yours, but has just liberated myself.
no, 8 am, during pol pot , nuon chea andpot pot, among others, killed their own people. no yuons involved, make no mistake. they were paranoid of internal enemies.
no yuons dared to hide in the KR ranks during this time.
thet sambath has done a great job.
To get a better understanding about Noun Chea, Thet Sambath needs to locate who are Noun Chea's closed associates during the KR era. If find any, then interview s/he and makes the evaluation whether Noun Chea has been telling the true. This is the last chance that Thet Sambath has to work very hard to find the truth before the old man's death.
there's no fuckn consult a psychopath like u asshole. i made a comment about the disaster of khmer rouge regime have done to all khmer. and u pretending it's just an tragic to forgive. how many of your fuckn family member have been killed ? and u just want to forgive becuz u'r a ashole khmer or khmer rouge lover ashole.
he sure live long for a murder who killed so many innocent people while the good innocent ones die early.
12:52 PM
Poor you. You're so sick. Please throw out whatever you have in mind. It is also a way to heal from inside. Don't be upset you're not the only one.
Thet Sambath, you are wrong,
Nuon Chea is a dangerous idiot killer, he killed your father and millions of other Khmers, now he try to justify his act. This man doesn't deserve to be forgiven at all.
He wanted to build a good Cambodia and he killed Cambodians, even GOD has no right to do that and he did.
It cannot be justified.
He is not wrong to kill your father, you were too young, like your brother, he would kill you too.
All these to create good society.
I heard people want to organize an organization represent the Khmerrouge Victimes!
One small purpose that sound so loud is about getting compansation as a group or and small token to organize a religion ceremony!
That sound so sad and scary to me!
Today Cambodia people kind of thinking that money can solve anything from get away from raping to muder, to accid attack!
Do we want to send a maasage that what Khmerrouge Victimes want is not justice and thruth but money? Money is more iportant than justice and life?
Mr. Chom Mey the Self called KhmerRouge Victime Who Only Dared to Loook At Duch in Eyes to Eyes, preferes some money and 50% justice!
What is 50% justice ?
Justice for the Camodian now (Since we all victimes) is the thruth of what happening! Since real thruth could never be found or not only just one thruth! we want to hear the lawyers crose exame of who saw or involve with the crime!Specially the higher
rank!
We want this process of justice to teach the next generation of how not to let the crime to be happening against from the point of view of the King down to a poor hadicape citizen!
We want notthing more thant gathering as many thruth as posible. NO money nor imprison any body! But what was wrong who did wrong, and how was wrong!
So the whole country or may be the whole world can create a system that prevent the crime of genocide to happen again any time any where else!
No MONEY for the wrong reason please! our country is corrupted to the core! They are selling justice for money and thing that for peace and forgiveness!
My relative lives can not be replaced by any money! But the thruths that help prevent the evil to strike again any where on earth!!
2:15 AM
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