COMMENTARY
Amnesty, Pardon, Forgiveness
27 June 2011, Phnom Penh
According to the Press Release of the Extraordinary Chambers (ECCC), the historic opening day of Case 002 trial against the four senior Khmer Rouge leaders of today, 27 June 2011, includes hearing oral arguments on the issues of amnesty and pardon.
In both English and Khmer languages, I often hear these terms used interchangeably with each other and with “forgiveness”.
In English, the confused usage results mainly from inadequate due care or follow-through deliberation, whereas the mixture in Khmer is one of limited vocabulary or undeveloped language.
In Khmer, we have several phrases which can all be translated as “pardon”, “amnesty” or “forgiveness”. For example, I have seen “leurk lang tos”, “ut tos” or “ak phey tos”, which singularly emphasizes the “lifting of” or “refraining to” or “forgoing of” punishment, used for all three English words.
One way to understand these words is to view it through the “vertical justice” and “horizontal justice” framework.
1. Vertical Justice is the imperfect (proximate, selective) OFFICIAL work of the State toward the perpetrator principally via a court proceeding, flowing in a vertical manner.
2. Horizontal Justice is the PERSONAL relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, flowing in a horizontal manner.
Through this vertical vs. horizontal justice framework, let us think through these distinct but interrelated concepts as we move into Case 002.
1. AMNESTY is a GENERAL pardon for offenses, especially POLITICAL offenses, against a government, a class of persons as a whole (e.g. Khmer Rouge), and sometimes an official (e.g. Ieng Sary). It is often granted BEFORE any trial or conviction. Vertical justice.
2. PARDON is the official ACT of the GOVERNMENT that mitigates or sets aside the punishment for a crime. The granting of a pardon to a person who has committed a crime or who has been convicted of a crime is an act of clemency, which forgives the wrongdoer and restores the person's civil rights. Thus, it is often granted AFTER a conviction. Vertical justice.
3. FORGIVENESS is a more comprehensive concept which emphasizes the PERSONAL PROCESS of horizontal justice in CONCLUDING HATE (not anger), malice and resentment as a result of a perceived offense.
Forgiveness, cheaply and quickly given, is dangerous, as it is not forgetting nor excusing nor tolerating a wrong. “We cannot forgive a wrong unless we first blame the person who wronged us”, writes one of my favorite authors, Lewis B. Smedes, whose works inform my thinking on these matters. It is a process we do alone, silently, invisibly and freely; no one can trick us into forgiving another.
But the individual's forgiveness is independent and separate from the State's role in meting out vertical justice. That is to say, we can forgive horizontally but still advocate for the State to exact justice vertically.
Theary C. SENG
Founding President
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education
Founding President
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education
5 comments:
I remembered my past life before this current life, and it is up to you to believe me or not. I cannot erase the scenes I remember what had happened to me. I was murdered by my closest member of my family when I was just a child (4-5 years old) because of jealousy. My aunt paid hit-men to kill me by putting me in a beg and buried me alive under a brick home beneath the living room.
Every day I have prayed GOD and ask GOD to absolve those who killed me and I too forgive them.
May their souls free from hell and be in heaven with GOD. I also forgive those Khmer rouge who killed my family members in this current life.
Peace works through us, and we need to forgive for the Love of GOD toward us humans.
Has any of the Khmer Rouge leaders admitted that a crime against humanity had been committed under the regime of Democratic Kampuchea? or are they still claiming that they are not responsible and somebody else is?
How can we forgive, pardon or give amnesty to the Khmer Rouge leaders when they have not yet admitted that they had committed the crime of which they are being accused?
Khieu Samphan's wife said very clearly through implication that her husband was innocent and so did Noun Chea's wife.
Isn't it too early to talk about forgiveness, pardon and amnesty? Are we assuming that they are all guilty before the trial? Despite all the concrete evidence against them, are we not supposed to consider them unguilty until proven otherwise?
Anet Khmer
If we used the laws of God to forgive all the crimes committed in this world without holding the perpetrators responsible to their crimes first, the world would be in chaos and people suffering from crimes would take the laws into their own hands to seek revenge.
According to the bible even God, himself cannot forgive his children if they don't repent and ask for forgiveness by the time of his son's second coming!
Forgiveness belongs to each person and for that reason you can choose to forgive individually while others also have the rights to make sure that justice is done not from a revenge standpoint, but to ensure as much as possible that such a crime is not repeated in the future.
Anet Khmer
someone is highly educated on the conflict and resolutions.
ts, stupid in stupid out again,
ts,jong kapir kbal ana ning? pouk ah yousn, pouk ah kheat-kor
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