National Editorial (Arab Emirate)
In the heart of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, a former secondary school has been transformed into a monument of horrors. The torture museum Tuol Sleng, translated as "the Hill of the Poisonous Trees", provides a record of the genocide committed during the 1970s by the Khmer Rouge, a communist party that ruled the country for five years.
In one room, rusted torture implements and bloodstains on the ceiling testify to the suffering; in a long hall, photographs of the 17,000 people murdered there, including children, stare back at visitors.
The four men who went on trial this week in Phnom Penh are the highest ranking members of the Khmer Rouge who are still alive. They are, allegedly, the engineers of Tuol Sleng and the murderous campaign against their own people that killed about 1.7 million, more than one quarter of the population.
All four - Ieng Sary, Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Thirith - are old men in their late 70s or 80s. More than 30 years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, there have been questions about the merits of trying elderly, infirm men who might not live to see the end of the proceedings, much less serve a full sentence. The leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, died a free man in 1998.
The war crimes tribunal is long overdue - but that is all the more reason to demand justice. The leaders of the Khmer Rouge committed some of the worst crimes against humanity of modern times. Tuol Sleng shares the same notoriety as Kibuye stadium in Rwanda, Srebrenica in Bosnia and Auschwitz in Poland.
The trial of these four men is not only about holding them accountable for their crimes. The Khmer Rouge's social engineering folly affected the entire population - essentially every Cambodian who is now over the age of 40 was either a victim of the regime or complicit in its crimes. But there is no question of trying to track down every suspect in a country that is so eager to move on and develop its economic potential.
This trial is a collective opportunity to expose the wounds of the past so that they can begin to heal. Dozens of witnesses have come forward to recount the ordeals that for too long have been remembered in silence.
"This is, at this time, the most important trial in the world," Stephen Rapp, the US envoy on war crimes issues, told the Associated Press. "It's a message to others who might commit similar crimes that there will be consequences."
1 comment:
Mr Sam Rainsy, Why don't you sue PM Hun Sen as you promise to us Cambodian people and your true supporters?
Are you tried to bargain or negotiate with PM Hun Sen again like 2005 lawsuit at America??? Why?? Why??
We want to see Mr Sam Rainsy act as he said to sue PM Hun Sen in every democracy Countries court of justice around the world.
We want the results as transparency, from your progress in suing PM Hun Sen in every court of justices!!!
We are Cambodian people afraid that you are just using the lawsuit to scare PM Hun Sen than when PM Hun Sen gives you (Mr Sam Rainsy) green light. You again, hang your Lawsuit like 2005.
Mr Sam Rainsy, You must do as you said, otherwise you the same as Mr Kim Soka.
Mr Sam Rainsy, where are your law suit VS Hun SEn in America Court of justice? We want to see and hear the stories transparency because we afraid that you are just try to bargain with Hun Sen like 2005 again.
We Cambodian people as well as your supporters are waiting to see your real action in suing PM Hun Sen (In America Court of justice, all countries’ court of justice in Europe, Japan Court of justice, Australia Court of justice, New Zealand court of justice, Canada court of Justice, UN court of justice, World Human Right court of justice, NATO court of justice…) as you Mr Sam Rainsy said.
Mr Sam Rainsy must do as you said OK. Don’t you dare to bargain with PM Hun Sen like 2005 again?
May be you can’t be Prime Minister of Cambodia because of unfair election as 5-6 million Vietnamese votes for Hun Sen and Hun Sen add up his cheating skill in every election but you can be a great Khmer Hero by suing PM Hun Sen about the facts that he has done to Cambodia and Cambodian people so far.
If you Can’t be Prime Miniter due unfair election all the times but Mr Sam Rainsy, you can gives a great stain to PM Hun Sen and CPP Vietnam slave about their crimes against Cambodian people since 1970 until today.
Mr Sam Rainsy What are you waiting for, sir ? PLease do it for the khmer victims and khmer nation ?
Post a Comment