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

In light of 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 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

1^st January Dam Worksite¹⁴⁵⁶

Working and Living Conditions

358. According to most of the former workers¹⁵⁰⁹ and former local cadres,¹⁵¹⁰ tens of thousands of people participated in the construction of the 1^st January Dam.¹⁵¹¹ They were generally sent

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from the surrounding districts and sectors 41, 42 and 43.¹⁵¹³ Workers were mostly young and middle aged men and women.¹⁵¹⁴ Some of the workers were "new people"¹⁵¹⁵ (some had been moved from Phnom Penh),¹⁵¹⁶ Cham,¹⁵¹⁷ or according to at least one witness, Vietnamese and Chinese.¹⁵¹⁸

359. People could not speak¹⁵¹⁹ or move freely.¹⁵²⁰ Whistles or loud speakers ¹⁵²¹ were used to gather the workers, who worked according to set times without rest or with strictly controlled periods of rest.¹⁵²² Most teams worked night shifts.¹⁵²³ There was a fixed quota of soil to dig and carry per day and those who could not meet the quota were punished.¹⁵²⁴ Witnesses give account of the daily quota being between one to three cubic metres of earth per day.¹⁵²⁵ One former village Chairman explained he sometimes lied to the upper echelon and reported that his team had met its quota.¹⁵²⁶ Most of the hard labour was performed by hand but machines                                                                    were also used. In most cases, food was insufficient. Men and women lived separately,¹⁵²⁹ in shacks or basic shelters.¹⁵³⁰ No mosquito nets, blankets or mats were provided and most workers slept on the ground.¹⁵³¹

360. Workers were treated differently depending on their unit and/or on whether they were "new

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people" or Cham. Cham and Buddhists were not allowed to practice their religion. Working times, quotas and discipline varied from teams to teams.¹⁵³⁴ Whilst two witnesses assert that food was sufficient¹⁵³⁵ another states that "new people" had less food than others.¹⁵³⁶ Other witnesses indicate that "base people" and CPK cadre had better clothing¹⁵³⁷ and better housing.¹⁵³⁸ Certain positions such as cooks, team chiefs or communication operatives were not accessible to "new people," or to Cham or Sino Khmer.¹⁵³⁹ This and the unhygienic conditions¹⁵⁴⁰ resulted in many people becoming sick with various diseases.¹⁵⁴¹

Medical care was not adequate; most hospitals were a long distance away, medics were not properly trained and not always stationed at the worksite. Medicine was insufficient and ineffective;¹⁵⁴² traditional medicine such as "Ach Tunsay", a tablet that resembled rabbit droppings, or liquid medicine was used.¹⁵⁴³

361.            Village chiefs¹⁵⁴⁴ or "Angkar"¹⁵⁴⁵ arranged the marriage of workers¹⁵⁴⁶ or of cadres such as [REDACTED] in 1976.¹⁵⁴⁷ Witnesses report that they were married in a ceremony with many other couples¹⁵⁴⁸ and one former village chief states "I arranged marriages for them. Sometimes 30 to 40 couples at the same time".¹⁵⁴⁹ Most witnesses report that people were not free to marry whom they wanted and that people did not dare to reject the arranged marriage and protest for fear of being sent for refashioning.¹⁵⁵⁰ Although one former cadre explains that "if one of the two sides did not agree, a marriage would not be arranged, and they would leave the two persons aside" she adds "some couples did not get along after the marriage but both the man and the girl dared not complain".¹⁵⁵¹

362.            The 1^st January Dam worksite was closely monitored. Supervisors walked around to inspect whether the quotas were being met and whether work was going according to plan. Construction was supervised at all levels, by unit chiefs, chief of group, subdistrict, district,¹⁵⁵² and sometimes even by sector or zone cadre.¹⁵⁵³ They also had security personnel monitor¹⁵⁵⁴ the worksite and some witnesses report that spies infiltrated their teams.¹⁵⁵⁵ Any "mistakes" or "misconduct" had to be raised in the criticism/self-criticism meetings held in the evenings. Reeducation also applied to people who did not follow instructions.¹⁵⁵⁶ Some people were beaten or seriously mistreated.¹⁵⁵⁷ Everyone, workers and cadres, lived in a constant state of fear of being arrested and taken away to be killed.¹⁵⁵⁸

363. Some people committed suicide, others died from diseases,¹⁵⁵⁹ starvation, and/or overwork.¹⁵⁶⁰ Accidents such as collapsing stones or soil killed others.¹⁵⁶¹ However, one witness asserts that at least in his unit, no one died from starvation or overwork.¹⁵⁶²