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

In light of the HISTORIC (!) start of MOST COMPLEX (sic!) trial hearings beginning on 27 June 2011 and again ANOTHER HISTORIC (!) START of this same MOST COMPLEX (sic!) on 21 Nov. 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 (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges (e.g. genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956 - sic!).  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

D. TREATMENT OF SPECIFIC GROUPS 

 Treatment of theVietnamese

Treatment of Cambodian People with Vietnamese Spouses and Children with one Vietnamese Parent

 

803.            Pursuant to the early CPK policy, those Vietnamese with Cambodian spouses were not permitted to return to Vietnam with their spouses.³⁴⁵⁵ This resulted in a situation where many of the remaining Vietnamese in Cambodia in 1977 were those who had married Cambodians and had children.

804.           A large number of witnesses gave evidence that there was a particular practice of how to treat Cambodian people in such a situation, which was applied on many occasions not only throughout Prey Veng³⁴⁵⁶ and Svay Rieng³⁴⁵⁷ but also in Kampong Cham (Kang Meas District in Central (Old North) Zone Sector 41) ³⁴⁵⁸ and Siem Reap province.³⁴⁵⁹

805.            The practice was as follows: if a Vietnamese man was married to a Cambodian woman, only the man would be killed and the woman and any children would be spared. But, if a Vietnamese woman was married to a Cambodian man, the woman and children of the marriage would be killed, while the man would be spared.³⁴⁶⁰

 

808. The reasoning behind this policy is referenced by a number of witnesses. One witness states that "if the mother was Vietnamese, they would take the mother and all the children and kill them because the children suck the milk of the mother" .³⁴⁶¹ Other witnesses states that they were told that the children of Vietnamese mothers were killed because "the umbilical or the blood comes from the mother and not from the father"³⁴⁶² or because the policy consisted of "killing the Vietnamese genes or the Vietnamese blood line"³⁴⁶³ and that "the Vietnamese race should neither exist anymore, nor should it be allowed to reproduce" ³⁴⁶⁴

809. The children of Cambodian mothers and Vietnamese fathers were not always spared. On some occasions, it appears these children were also killed.³⁴⁶⁵ On some occasions, the Cambodian spouse of a Vietnamese person was also arrested³⁴⁶⁶ or killed.³⁴⁶⁷

810. A telegram from Ruos Nhim dated 17 May 1978 requests advice from "Angkar 870", about what to do with "[no-good] elements like soldiers, Vietnamese people - a Khmer husband with a Vietnamese wife or a Vietnamese husband with a Khmer wife - and half-bred Cambodian-Vietnamese people" ³⁴⁶⁸ Nhim notes that there has been no opposition from these people "as yet" but if anyone "acts something, let him/her be swept off. As for the others, it is requested that they be put aside in one place. With this matter, I think it is not difficult to collect [them], though we have to control them continually. If they come us with phenomena [aspects] we can master [control] them immediately". Although Nhim suggests a course of action to collect, control and if necessary kill these people, he also states that "the meeting would like to pose this question to Angkar 870. It is up to Angkar to decide. Please let us know if there is any decision made by Angkar" ³⁴⁶⁹

811. During an interview, Duch commented on this document and states "there is nothing surprising in this document, Ruos Nhim wrote to Pol Pot ("Angkar 870") in order to explain that regarding former soldiers, Cambodians married to Vietnamese and mixed blood children, the situation was under control and that these people were not likely to damage Angkar in any way. It should be understand that the regime was particularly attentive to this population category, in which they had no trust. This was more for political than "racial" reasons. In fact, there was agreement between the higher and lower echelons that these people should be unable to take action. I don't know if Pol Pot answered Ruos Nhim, but it was not really necessary"³⁴¹⁰ Duch also states that although he did not believe there was a clearly established policy about Vietnamese civilians living in Cambodia,³⁴⁷¹ all those who remained in Cambodia after 17 April 1975 were "eliminated" ³¹² He further states, "I remember seeing S-21 lists carrying the names of Vietnamese who were still living in Cambodia. Civilians and the military were treated in the same way: they were interrogated and sent to execution".³⁴⁷³ Finally, Duch further states that he was sometimes informed by Nuon Chea of the arrival of Vietnamese civilians and soldiers at S-21.³⁴⁷⁴

812.            Similarly, a letter from Ang Ta Saom Subdistrict Chief to Tram Kak District Party dated 26 April 1977 reports on the existence of married Cambodian and Vietnamese couples who had requested to go to Vietnam and asks what "Angkar" would like to do with them. The letter states that they have all been registered, and that if both the husband and wife were had been Vietnamese they would have just been sent to "Angkar".³⁴⁷⁵ Another report from the chief of Khal Pou Village requests advice from "Angkar" about what to do with a "half-breed Vietnamese" who had allegedly complained and claimed to be too sick to work.³⁴⁷⁶

813.           Witnesses also observed that particular treatment of the spouses of Vietnamese people and people with one Vietnamese parent appeared to the result of a decision that was taken by the upper echelon. Several witnesses were informed of the practice by CPK cadre, such as the "village chief'³⁴¹¹ and whilst attending a "self-criticism meeting" ³⁴¹⁸ One witness explains that "I knew there were orders from the top downward because I noticed that there were meetings in the morning and in the afternoons the arrests occurred" ³⁴¹⁹ Another witness states that "I know that the subdistrict militia ... made the arrests following orders from the upper echelon".³⁴⁸⁰