Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Victims Unit Official Says Justice Will Come

Im Sophea, who coordinates the unit’s public outreach, told “Hello VOA” Thursday the court would record the stories of victims for the historical record and would provide “acceptable justice” to the millions of Cambodians traumatized by the regime. (Photo: by Heng Reaksmey)

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Friday, 27 May 2011
"...the victims unit has undertaken nine different educational forums around the country in an effort to help victims speak out and ask questions."
Despite recent public concern over whether the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal will fulfill its mandate, an official within the court’s Victims Support Unit says he is confident that trials of regime leaders will help bring about some national reconciliation.

Im Sophea, who coordinates the unit’s public outreach, told “Hello VOA” Thursday the court would record the stories of victims for the historical record and would provide “acceptable justice” to the millions of Cambodians traumatized by the regime.

However, he said, the court also needs participation by other partners across society to help the healing, including psychological counseling, and some kind of compensation for victims.


Khmer Rouge victims and tribunal monitors have expressed concern over the amount of participation allowed to so-called civil parties, which represent a third party in the courtroom aside from the prosecution and defense.

Im Sophea said the victims unit has undertaken nine different educational forums around the country in an effort to help victims speak out and ask questions. The next forum will be held in Takeo province in the near future, he said.

The overarching questions in those forums, he said, are: Why were there the “killing fields,” and who was behind them?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

there was no justice, no freedom, etc... khmer people all lived in fear of incriminating themselves by the stupid KR regime. all of khmer people who were unfortunate enough to get stuck in cambodia during that era were either executed, starved, sick and dying, i mean, no words in the world could describe what people went through then, you know! all khmer who were born before 1975 were all suffered trauma, hardship, etc beyond any humanely imaginable, you know. when we talked about that dark period of our country's history, we all broke down with tears, emotional pain for suffering, loss of loved ones, etc, etc... those of us who lived to tell it are true survivors, to say the least, really! we pray that god help us cambodia and khmer people to find justice for what i've been through and endured under the brutal KR regime. amen.

Anonymous said...

EVIDENCE OF POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AND KILLINGS OF FUNCINPEC LOYALISTS.

LIST OF INSTANCES OF EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS during 1997 coup by PM Hun Sen. These people with their name list below were murdered by PM Hun Sen.

• Ho Sok, 45, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior and second ranking FUNCINPEC official in the Ministry of Interior.
• 2-3. Gen Chao Sambath, alias Ngov, Deputy-Chief of the Intelligence and Espionage Department, RCAF Supreme Command since 1993
• 4 and 5. Maj. Gen. Ly Seng Hong, Deputy-Chief of Staff, RCAF General Staff (second highest-ranking FUNCINPEC official in the RCAF General
• 6. Colonel Sok Vireak, Chief, Transmission Bureau, Army General Staff. A former KPNLF General Staff officer in charge of military training who joined Nhek Bun Chhay after the Paris Agreements. Status
• 7. Colonel Thlang Chang Sovannarith, Deputy Chief-of-Staff of the Fifth Military Region, RCAF General Staff
• 8. Colonel Hov Sambath, Deputy-chief of Military Training Bureau, RCAF General Staff
• 9. Lietenant Colonel Sao Sophal, 42, an officer of the First Bureau of the RCAF General Staff.
• 10. Navy First Lt. Thach Soeung, aged about 30, an ethnic Khmer from southern Vietnam, stationed at Dang Kaum Navy base on the eastern bank of the Tonle Sap.
• 11 to 14. Seng Phally, Lt. Col. Chao Keang, Chao Tea and Thong Vickika - security officers working under Gen. Chao Sambath.
• Seng Phally, alias Huot Phally, aged 25, single, a gendarme who worked as chief of the security team at the Pipoplok 2 Hotel/Casino
• Lt. Col. Chao Keang, aged about 25. He was an officer in the Research and Intelligence Bureau of Chao Sambath
• Chao Tea, 29, brother of Chao Keang, a security guard at the Regal Hotel/Casino. His body bore a bullet hole in the left side of the chest and in the right side of the stomach. He was also handcuffed and blindfolded
• Thong Vicchika, aged about 27-28, a body-guard of Chao Sambath and a security staff at the Regal Hotel/Casino.
• Dr. Seng Kim Ly, a military medical doctor
• Major Lak Ki, Head of Operations, Research and Intelligence, RCAF High Command
• Four unnamed body-guards of Nhek Bun Chhay were summarily executed after his office-cum-house in Somnang
• Major Lak Ki, Head of Operations, Research and Intelligence, RCAF High Command
• Pheap, a body-guard of Major Lak Ki, in his late twenties
• Dok Rany, 27, an officer and body-guard of Gen. Chao Sambath who worked at the Research and Intelligence Bureau
• Ros Huon, aged 23, Sopheap, aged 25, two alleged members of the Gendarmerie
• Dok Sokhun, alias Michael Senior, a Khmer-Canadian journalist who taught English at ACE Language School in Phnom Penh
• Major Aek Eng (CPP), Head of Administration of Phnom Penh Thmei police station

Anonymous said...

Khmer people families of Lon Nol Regime who'd lost their husbands, wives, children deserve justice and compensations to their urviving family members, many had serve Khmer government during, the French Colonial Era, under king Sihanouk time and under Lon Nol regime time, and only to be killed under Pol Pot time. The surviving family members of these Khmer people deserve more than just cheap justice, they deserve to be paid in monetary means for all the horrifics time that they had gone through. All those donated money need to go to them. Why the CPP, formers Khmer Rouge deserve all those money, this is so wrong, they were part of the killing field. SO So wrong!!!!!!!!!