Closing Order of Case 002 against Senior KR Leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith

In preparation for the start of trial hearings beginning on 27 June 2011 of Case 002 against the surviving Khmer Rouge senior leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, KI Media is starting a new series in posting installations of the public document of the Closing Order of Case 002.  The Closing Order of the Co-Investigating Judges forms the basic document from which all the parties (Co-Prosecutors, Co-Lead Lawyers for all civil parties, Defense Lawyers) will be making their arguments before the Trial Chamber judges (one Cambodian President, 2 Cambodian Judges, 2 UN judges).  Up until now, the hearings involving these four surviving senior Khmer Rouge leaders have been in the Pre-Trial Chamber over issues of pre-trial detention and jurisdictional issues.  Beginning in June 2011, the Trial Chamber will hear the substantive arguments over the criminal charges (e.g. genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956).  Available in Khmer and French.  Contact the ECCC for a free copy.

CLOSING ORDER

of Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde, 15 September 2010

Trapeang Thma Dam Worksite¹³³¹

Functioning

Working and Living Conditions

324.            Thousands of people were made to participate in the construction of Trapeang Thma.¹³⁷² One former worker estimates the figure at approximately 15,000¹³⁷³ whilst another states "it was the entire Sector 5, combined with people in the cooperatives".¹³¹⁴ Other witnesses talk of "thousands" or of "tens of thousands" of workers participating in the construction of the dam.¹³⁷⁵ The Chinese press report on the visit of a Chinese delegation puts the figure at 20,000 workers¹³⁷⁶ and similarly a CPK Telegram (reporting on a visit to the dam by Yugoslavian journalists) also puts the figure at 20,000.¹³⁷⁷

325.            The people working at Trapeang Thma came from the villages of the districts of Sector 5 of the Northwest Zone, including Thma Puok District, Phnom Srok District, Serei Saophan District and Preah Net Preah District.¹³⁷⁸ The workers also included "new people" who had been moved from Phnom Penh and from Siem Reap.

326.           Workers comprised men, women and children;¹³⁸¹ and were organised into work units. The working units each comprised approximately 10 people forming part of larger platoons, companies and battalions, comprising 30, 100 and 300 people respectively.¹³⁸² The "mobile units" contained "middle aged people".¹³⁸³ Certain units were of mixed sex; in others, the workers were organised by sex but there were no differences in the assigned tasks.¹³⁸⁴ Workers in the mobile units were required to build the dam, dig canals, build irrigation systems, grow and transplant rice.¹³⁸⁵ The "children's units" comprised 13 to 17 year olds.¹³⁸⁶ The children in the children's units were separated from their families and made to live together with their unit members.¹³⁸⁷ Furthermore, there were "Special Case Units" where those considered to be avoiding work or of having an "ideological disease" were placed for observation and reeducation.¹³⁸⁸ The "Special Case Unit" had the highest work quotas¹³⁸⁹ and those whom it was considered could not be reeducated in the Unit would disappear and never be seen again.¹³⁹⁰

327.            The dam was built almost exclusively by manual labour,¹³⁹¹ with quotas from 1 cubic metre up to 3.5 cubic metres of earth to dig per day per worker.¹³⁹² Some machinery appears to have been used, but only for secondary tasks, such as tractors to assist in leveling the ground.¹³⁹³

328.           Although it may have varied in different working units, working hours at Trapeang Thma were approximately 7am to 11am and then from 1pm until 5pm.¹³⁹⁴ Some witnesses also refer to working hours during the nightime, from about 7pm until 10pm or later especially when quotas had not been met.¹³⁹⁵ Some units started work earlier in the morning with one witness stating that they started at dawn.¹³⁹⁶ No rest or breaks were allowed before the assigned task was completed.¹³⁹⁷ Workers who completed their quotas would then be given extra quotas to complete.¹³⁹⁸ Although some witnesses state that there was no punishment inflicted for those who could not meet their quotas,¹³⁹⁹ it is more likely that workers were punished,¹⁴⁰⁰ either physically¹⁴⁰¹ or with the reduction of food rations.¹⁴⁰² Other workers who did not meet their quotas would be sent to reeducation or refashioning meetings¹⁴⁰³ or to the "Special Case Unit".¹⁴⁰⁴

329.           Workers were not allowed to stop and rest during working hours.¹⁴⁰⁵ Most of the witnesses say they were forbidden to talk with each other.¹⁴⁰⁶ Short breaks to drink or urinate were allowed,¹⁴⁰⁷ but monitors and spies¹⁴⁰⁸ at the site would note and report every "lazy" worker, thus people did not dare to ask for breaks.¹⁴⁰⁹ Leave days were conceded only when children's parents were sick.¹⁴¹⁰

330.           Workers had to live close to the site in communal halls, some sleeping up to 600 people.¹⁴¹¹ They were not provided with sleeping mats, blankets, pillows or hammocks, which they had to make by themselves from rice sacks and were often required to sleep on the ground.¹⁴¹² Men and women who were not married had to live separately.¹⁴¹³

331.           Although a small number of witnesses state that there was enough to eat,¹⁴¹⁴ food was generally insufficient.¹⁴¹⁵ Some witnesses state they "drank water to fill ourselves" or "walked around looking for leaves to eat in place of food".¹⁴¹⁶ Occasionally dried fish or meat were provided;¹⁴¹⁷ nonetheless, even when this food was provided it was insufficient for the workers.¹⁴¹⁸ Water for the workers came from nearby muddy ponds.¹⁴¹⁹ No one dared complain about the food rations for fear of being killed.¹⁴²⁰ Workers at the dam died of starvation and of exhaustion directly at the work place while carrying the earth.

332.           Hygiene was totally lacking.¹⁴²³ The muddy water that was taken from the ponds was not boiled.¹⁴²⁴ These appalling unhygienic conditions caused many of the workers to become ill with dysentery,¹⁴²⁵ cholera, malaria, etc. Food rations for sick people were reduced.¹⁴²⁶ There were untrained medics who had no knowledge and who had been chosen at random.¹⁴²⁷ They walked around the site providing sick persons with the same herbal medicine, which resembled rabbit droppings.¹⁴²⁸ Children would be recruited to be sent to the social affairs department for two weeks to return to Trapeang Thma as medics for their respective units.¹⁴²⁹ Given these conditions, many people died due to illness¹⁴³⁰ with some family lines almost dying out entirely.¹⁴³¹

333.            "New people" were subjected to harsher working conditions, such as larger working quotas or unjustified punishments.¹⁴³² CPK soldiers and cadres would collect biographies of workers at the site in order to identify those to be later arrested or killed.¹⁴³³

334.            Some witnesses give evidence of witnessing or participating in marriage ceremonies at Trapeang Thma, often with scores of couples being married in mass ceremonies.¹⁴³⁴ One witness states that the couples were forced to marry,¹⁴³⁵ and others that marriages would have to be approved by unit chairmen, and workers would be killed for failing to seek permission.¹⁴³⁶

335.            The evidence of the majority of the witnesses, with two exceptions,¹⁴³⁷ also strongly supports that there was no schooling for the children.¹⁴³⁸