Body of Boeung Kak Lake resident found in Kien Svay district

On 24 November 2011, Mrs. Chea Dara's family pray near the Chroy Changvar Bridge so that her body can be retrieved (Photo: Ouk Savborey, RFA)

26 Nov 2011
By Mom Sophon
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by OssDey

The body of a Boeung Kak Lake resident, who committed suicide by jumping from the Chray Changvar bridge, was recovered on 26 November 2011.

Doeung Phou, Mrs. Chea Dara’s husband, indicated that his wife’s remain was recovered in Kien Svay district at 1PM. He said that his family and relatives will organize her funeral at a pagoda nearby.

Mrs. Chea Dara, a resident of Boeung Kak Lake, jumped from the Chroy Changvar bridge on 22 November 2011.

Doeung Phou said that his wife committed suicide because she was disappointed with the Boeung Kak Lake development which pushed her family to homelessness.

អ្នក​ភូមិ​បឹង​កក់​ធ្វើ​អត្តឃាត - A resident of Boeung Kak Lake committed suicide

2011-11-23
Radio Free Asia

ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​រស់​នៅ​បឹង​កក់​មួយ​រូប បាន​ធ្វើ​អត្តឃាត​ដោយ​លោត​ទឹក​សម្លាប់​ខ្លួន។ ប្រភព​គ្រួសារ​ជន​រង​គ្រោះ និង​អ្នក​រស់​នៅ​ជិត​ខាង​បាន​ឲ្យ​ដឹង​ថា ការ​ធ្វើ​អត្តឃាត​នោះ​ដោយសារ​អស់​សង្ឃឹម​ក្នុង​ការ​តវ៉ា​រក្សា​កម្មសិទ្ធិ​ផ្ទះ​ដែល​ខ្លួន​រស់​នៅ​ជា​យូរ​ឆ្នាំ​មក​ហើយ។

ស្ត្រី​ឈ្មោះ ជា តារា ត្រូវ​ក្រុម​គ្រួសារ​អះអាង​ថា បាន​លោត​សម្លាប់​ខ្លួន​ពី​លើ​ស្ពាន​ជ្រោយចង្វារ កាល​ពី​យប់​ថ្ងៃ​២២ ខែ​វិច្ឆិកា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១ បន្សល់​កូន​តូចៗ ២​នាក់។

រូបថត​ថ្ងៃ​២៣ វិច្ឆិកា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១ ដោយ វិទ្យុ​អាស៊ីសេរី/អ៊ុក សាវបូរី

A resident of Boeung Kak Lake committed suicide by jumping into the river. Her relatives and neighbors indicated that she committed suicide because she was hopeless in her protest to keep her property in which she lived for many years.

According to her relatives, Mrs. Chea Dara jumped from the Chroy Changvar bridge in the evening of 22 November 2011. She is survived by two young children. The following photos were taken on 23 November 2011 by RFA's Uk Savborey.

 ស្វាមី​របស់​លោកស្រី ជា តារា យំ​ឈរ​អោប​កូន​ទាំង​ពីរ ដោយ​សោក​សង្រេង​ប្រពន្ធ​របស់​លោក។ Mrs. Chea Dara's husband cries while holding his two children.

 ស្វាមី​របស់​លោកស្រី ជា តារា អុជ​ធូប​មុខ​រូបថត​ប្រពន្ធ​លោក។ Mrs. Chea Dara's husband burns incense in front of his wife's picture

 កូន​ប្រុស​របស់​លោកស្រី ជា តារា សំពះ​រូបថត​ម្ដាយ នៅ​ឯ​លំនៅ នា​តំបន់​បឹង​កក់។ Ms. Chea Dara prays in front of his mom's photo in Boeung Kak Lake.

 កូន​ប្រុស​យំ​សួរ​រក​ម្ដាយ។ Mrs. Chea Dara's son cries looking for his mom.

 ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​នៅ​តំបន់​បឹង​កក់ ចូល​រួម​អុជ​ធូប នៅ​មុខ​រូបថត​លោកស្រី ជា តារា។ Boeung Kak Lake residents pray in front of Mrs. Chea Dara's picture.

 អ្នក​ភូមិ​ផ្ដល់​បទសម្ភាសន៍​អ្នក​យក​ព័ត៌មាន។ Boeung Kak Lake residents respond to reporters' questions.

 អ្នក​ភូមិ​បឹង​កក់​ម្នាក់​ទៀត ដួល​សន្លប់​ពេល​ដឹង​ដំណឹង​ការ​ធ្វើ​អត្តឃាត​របស់​លោកស្រី ជា តារា។ A Boeung Kak Lake resident passed out after learning of Mrs. Chea Dara's suicide.

តំណាងរាស្ត្រ អ្នកស្រី មូរ សុខហួរ និង​អ្នក​ភូមិ​បឹង​កក់ ដើរ​ដង្ហែ​ក្បួន​ទៅ​ស្ពាន​ជ្រោយ​ចង្វារ ដើម្បី​បន់​ស្រន់​ឲ្យ​សាកសព​អណ្ដែត​ពី​ទឹក​មក​វិញ៕ SRP MP Mu Sochua and Boeung Kak Lake residents led a procession t Chroy Changvar Bridge to pray so that Mrs. Chea Dara will be found.

Lessons learnt from Cambodia's bridge stampede tragedy

November 9, 2011
ABC Radio Australia

As Cambodia begins to celebrate its annual Water Festival, the country will also remember the victims of a bridge stampede that killed more than 350 people.

Cambodia's Prime Minister described it as the second biggest tragedy since the Khmer Rouge regime, but a new investigation says the deaths could have been avoided.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Speaker: Srey Pov, Cambodian bridge stampede survivor; Phai Siphan, Cambodian government spokesman; Oeun Narin, from the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights; Kep Chuktema, Phnom Penh governor;

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

COCHRANE: Nineteen-year-old Srey Pov remembers the day almost a year ago when she was caught in the Koh Pich bridge stampede.

POV: (translation): I saw the people falling on each other and passing out. Some people were still alive, but others trampled over them and they died.

COCHRANE: Srey Pov survived, but her older sister, 24-year-old Sum Chung Tuin was killed, leaving behind two young children.

Man accused of murdering wife suffered metal toxicity, court told

Narin Sok is pictured on July 30, 2008, the day he was arrested by police and charged with the second-degree murder of his wife Deang Huon.Photograph by: Supplied, Edmonton Journal

May 9, 2011
By Ryan Cormier, Postmedia News
Edmonton Jounal (Alberta, Canada)

EDMONTON — In a rare move, Crown and defence lawyers have agreed that an Edmonton man charged with the second-degree murder of his wife is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder caused by "heavy metal toxicity."

After his arrest, Narin Sok told doctors he thought his wife might have been possessed by the "snake spirit" of his dead brother. He has admitted he killed her in the couple's downtown apartment on July 30, 2008.

Deang Huon, 40, died of strangulation.

In a joint submission, defence lawyer Peter Royal and Crown prosecutor Robert Fata agreed that Sok was suffering from lead, cadmium and manganese toxicity the day his wife was found dead.

Family that lost 4 members in West Seattle shooting needs help

October 27, 2010
West Seattle Blog

Just received from Cara Kroenke at Southwest Youth and Family Services, a little over one month after the quadruple murder-suicide in West Seattle:

I’d like to share with you an experience that I just had. At 11:00 this morning, I met with the surviving members of the family that was massacred in West Seattle. … To summarize, the grandmother of the Phan/Harm family, who lived through the genocidal Khmer Rouge attacks of Cambodia PTSD, went off of her medication that helped her deal with her PTSD and fatally shot five members of her family in West Seattle. Her youngest grandchild, Nivia, age 7, was home from school day with a 101 degree fever and witnessed the killings of her father, two sisters(one of whom was pregnant) and the shooting of her mother,Thyda. Grandmother then tried to shoot Nivia, but she ran out of bullets and while she was reloading, Nivia’s 17 year old brother, Kevin, grabbed Nivia and threw her out the window, he then fled himself. As this was happening, grandfather was coming home and heard the final shots as he opened the door, he saw the grandmother take her own life.

They were here at the agency today because they need help. They need counseling, community, love and financial support.

Please join me in contributing what you can; the family is in desperate need of $1800 to pay for the repairs that their landlord is charging them for the damages. Because most of their furniture was bloodstained, or worse, they need furniture and mattresses. The missed shots destroyed many household items as well, so glasses, pots, pillows, etc. would be greatly appreciated too.

The mother is still healing from her gunshot wounds and cannot work. The surviving family is in great need of emotional support, which they will receive from counselors at SWYFS, but they need the basics taken care of, including the $1800 debt, in order to start the healing process, so please if you can donate any money, do. If you would rather support the family with a Safeway or Albertson’s gift card, they greatly need money for food as well. Or, if you have any gently used household items, they would be appreciated as well.

The Phan/Harm family are currently living in temporary housing, but we are working with them to find permanent housing near the children’s schools.

I was able to spend time with Nivia today and we were able to talk about some of her favorite things; stuffed animals, Barbie, movies and books. She would very much like to read the The Magic Treehouse series and is going to be a cat for Halloween. I looked into her eyes and saw joy there; she is very resilient. She was even able to laugh a bit, but told me she can not sleep because she has nightmares; and wasn’t at school today because when she is able to sleep it is on the floor and that that is very uncomfortable and her mother wanted her to get her rest today.

Please keep her and her family in your prayers or thoughts.

Below is a link where you can make a donation. My goal is to raise/have pledges for the whole $1800 by end of day tomorrow. Please work with me so that this can happen for the family. Feel free to call me with questions, or come by the agency to drop off any donations. If you would like to send in a check, a gift card to the grocery store or a letter of encouragement/support, please mail it to:

SWYFS

Attention: Phan/Harm family support

4555 Delridge Way SW

Seattle, WA 98106

Many thanks for rallying with us for the Phan/Harm Family.

For your records, our tax ID # is:911-17862

Donate here link: http://swyfs.org/support_us/

Angry Asian Grandparent Shooting In Seattle

Grandma Saroeun Sok family photo

Donations to the family may be sent to:
Thyda Luellen Benevolent Account
BECU
P.O. Box 34044
Seattle, WA 98124-1044

October 2, 2010
By Arthur Hu
Asian Week

Chalk up one more angry Asian American shooter, but it wasn’t the first angry old Asian. Not too many people noticed when 69 year old “uncle” John Chong went bananas April 2009 at the Korean Christian Kkottongnae Retreat Camp southeast of Los Angeles. He shot a woman and wounded a man before his next victims fought back and beat him senseless.

On Thursday September 23, Seattle suffered its most horrific shooting in four years as 60 year old much loved Cambodian “grandma” Saroeun Sok came down the stairs dressed in white with an eerie smile and suddenly opened fire on her daughter and family in her West Seattle home. Four were killed as she shot herself, her son-in-law, and two teen grand-daughters.

In Cambodia, Sok took pleasure in dressing up young women and bridesmaids for weddings. She would spend fitting gowns and taking care of hair and makeup. But she became troubled, perhaps during the time of the Killing Fields, and Sok stabbed her sister in a fit of rage. She would rarely speak of those times, but it claimed the lives of two of her children and her parents before she escaped to camps in Thailand and then the Phillipines and Philadelphia with her husband Chhoey Sok, and surviving daughter Thyda Phan.

Now In West Seattle, Sok was the matriarch of a crowded house with 11 people, but she fell into mental illness as Thyda’s second husband left and got custody of her boys. Sok was hospitalized for schuizophrenia and depression, and in previous weeks, she had a phobia about colors and would only wear white. Sok was upset when they were evicted and had to move to a crowded 3 bedroom house. She could not find her things, felt nobody liked her, and thought the television was talking and shooting at her. After she was mugged walking home, she learned to fire a gun, but her husband carefully hid his two handguns from her.

Then on the fateful day, Saroeun Sok again donned white and took one of the guns from its hiding place. Then warned auntie Lisa Sun (28) to go into her room and shut the door as she headed down to hunt down the rest of the family. Granny calmly walked down the stairs to greet her son-in-law Choen Harm (43) who was back from scarce work, and had said “even if they had only a penny among them, if the family was together, it was OK”. She calmly pulled out a gun from her jacket and shot him. Thyda heard a pop and wondered who was playing with firecrackers when 16 year old son Kevin shouted “Mom, grandma’s killed Dad!” as granny shot at Kevin and 7 yr old Nevaeh ducked under a blanket. As teen daughter Jennifer (17) ran down to help her father, she was also shot in the back. The gun jammed, as grandma seemed possessed. A woman would could barely walk was running upstairs like a demon upstairs and nobody could catch her.

Kevin pushed everybody to the downstairs basement. As Thyda called police, granny came down with the other gun and shot her. She was seen running out yelling her mother had gone crazy. Then she ran back inside to help her children, where she was shot two more times trying to take the gun away.

Granny chased the others downstairs to the basement where she stood blocking escape at the sliding door to shoot the children along with Jennifer’s boyfriend Allen Green, 18. Kevin punched out a window where the teens scrambled out, and pulled the little girl out. Then the mortally wounded Jennifer stumbled into the bedroom where granny was shooting. Kevin urged 14 year old Melina to get out, but she stayed at her sister’s side where granny shot through the window to kill little Melina. Kevin later said “She wouldn’t leave her older sister. Her older sister is her best friend” after Kevin had been missed five times.

As officers formed a police line outside the house, granny’s husband shot past into the house. He was just in time to see his wife shoot herself in the head, sadly coming out to say that he was too late.

The next day, when Tony Sun (17) walked through the house after the investigation, all he had to say was “Oh my God” as he surveyed the blood stains where his uncle and cousins were killed. That evening a hastily organized memorial service was held at Khemarak Pothiram Temple. Pink packages with pencils, books and drinks were prepared for their journey into the afterlife. Monks in orange chanted and burned incense. Sitting on rugs under a white tent without shoes, they prayed for forgiveness of grandma Sok, who could not be reborn as a human after killing another. They prayed for the release of the spirits of the others who might later return, perhaps to their own family as a new baby child nephew or niece. Survivor Thyda told reporters “I hope they come back”.

This story is based on news articles by the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, KIRO-TV and KOMO-TV.

Family: Grandmother in shooting spree battled schizophrenia

Shooting survivor Thy Luellen Phan is comforted by an unidentified girl after a ceremony Friday at the Wat Khemarak Pothiram Buddhist Temple in Seattle. Her mother, Saroeun Phan, shot her, her daughters Molina Phan and Jennifer Harm, and her husband, Choeun Harm, at a West Seattle home Thursday before turning the gun on herself. (Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)

Shooting survivor Thy Luellen Phan prays during a ceremony at the Wat Khemarak Pothiram Buddhist Temple in Seattle. People gathered at the temple to pray after Thy's mother killed two of her daughters and her husband before taking her own life. Thy was shot four times before the carnage ended. (Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)

Police say she may have tried to kill everyone in the West Seattle home

Saturday, September 25, 2010
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

It was about 1:30 p.m. Thursday when Saroeun Phan armed herself with a handgun.

"According to one of the witnesses, she did not say a single word when she came out of the bedroom and came downstairs," Assistant Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel said. "Not a single word."

Police say before turning the gun on herself, Phan killed her 14- and 17-year-old granddaughters, Molina Phan and Jennifer Harm; her 43-year-old son-in-law Choeun Harm; and also shot her 42-year-old daughter, Thy Luellen Phan.

"Saroeun Phan has been struggling with schizophrenia and depression for several years and has sought medical attention numerous times," family members said in a statement. "She has been taking medication prescribed to her by physicians.

"It is not certain whether she has been properly taking her medication these past couple of months."

Police say at some point during the Thursday rampage, the 60-year-old armed herself with another gun and fired at least 20 rounds total at the family home in the 9400 block of Southwest Roxbury Street in West Seattle, where members of three related families lived.

It may have been her intention to kill everyone who lived there, police said.

Kevin Harm, a teenage grandson of Saroeun Phan, escaped through a window with two others, including a 7-year-old girl.

It's not clear where the guns came from, and police are trying to track them. Phan didn't have a concealed weapons permit, "but there's no law against owning a gun and keeping it in your house," Pugel said of the 9 mm and .25 caliber pistols. Investigators said the guns were not stolen.

It's unclear what exactly caused Phan to snap Thursday afternoon. Police said they hadn't gone to the house in the roughly six weeks the families lived there, and officers had no prior contact with Phan or those killed.

The only thing close was a parking ticket issued on the block the day before the massacre -- the worst Seattle killing spree since Kyle Huff killed six people, wounded two others and killed himself at a Capitol Hill home in March 2006.

But the parking ticket didn't have any connection to the family or the shooting, Pugel said. Phan's family said the shooting was truly unforeseen.

Leunllen, who was wounded, and Phan's husband were at the Wat Khemarak Pothiram Buddhist temple in South King County on Friday, where other family members and close friends comforted them.

The family is Cambodian, and an attorney said in court documents that Phan's parents and several children were killed in the Cambodian Civil War in the 1970s. Records from a 1994 civil suit indicate that Phan had long suffered from mental illness.

Her sister suffered shrapnel wounds during a bombing at her home; Phan survived the conflict, then settled in the United States.

Investigators were trying to talk to medical professionals who may have treated Phan.

"We're scratching our heads at this one, too," Pugel said Friday afternoon.

Medical records submitted as part of the 16-year-old civil suit portray Phan as a woman in frequent contact with her doctor.

Drawing Social Security disability for reasons unspecified in court documents, Phan visited a doctor almost weekly for years in the mid 1990s. Records show that she had been evaluated by a psychiatrist on several occasions, and was in counseling for depression.

Thursday shooting scene

A 911 call received at 1:31 p.m. Thursday was the first indication there was trouble in the 9400 block of 14th Avenue Southwest, located just north of the map line that separates Seattle from the unincorporated but urban area of King County known as White Center.

As police moved to get a hold on the situation, a SWAT unit that happened to be in the area arrived at the scene and King County Sheriff's deputies also responded. Shots were fired while the medics were at the scene and at least two officers with rifles were deployed.

At some point, Phan exited the modest three-bedroom house the families were renting, but soon went back inside.

Officers were attempting to gain control of the area when Phan's husband, a man in his 60s, ran past police and into the back door of the house, Pugel said. At that point, officers still didn't know how many people were dead or wounded and where exactly Phan was.

Two shots rang out. The man came out of the house and told police she was dead.

"I just heard gun shots. I come out and cops were all over," neighbor Bobby Miller told KOMO/4. "Just 'bam, bam,' and that was it, then screaming over here."

Police rushed the house looking for Phan, wearing a white shirt and gray sweatpants. The four victims were confirmed dead at the scene about 2:15 p.m.

Investigators described a horrific scene -- one Pugel said was as disturbing as the 2006 Capitol Hill shooting and the Wah Mee massacre, which was the worst mass-murder case in state history. In that February 1983 incident, 13 people were killed and another was wounded.

Thursday's incident brings the number of homicides in Seattle this year to 15, not including officer-involved incidents still under investigation. Of that number, at least nine have been domestic violence cases.

"It's a solved crime," Pugel said of Thursday's massacre. "But all the legal aspects aside, it's the emotional impact, the emotional impact you have on the young officers out there on the firefighters, the medics -- 10 times that for the survivors.

"Regardless of what she did, several people are without a mother, a grandmother and a man's without a wife. And that's terrible."

Statement released by families

Yesterday afternoon's horrible event cost us four family members. They will surely be missed by all of us.

We ask that the media please correct the currently published report. Saroeun Phan has been struggling with schizophrenia and depression for several years and has sought medical attention numerous times. She has been taking medication prescribed to her by physicians. It is not certain whether she has been properly taking her medication these past couple of months.

It is tough enough to grieve with the loss of family members, it's even harder dealing with false reports. No arguments or fights took place the night before and no ill-will existed in the household. This has truly been an unforeseen, tragic event.

Our family would like to request solitude as we mourn the loved ones we lost. Thank you to all who have sent and continue to send their love, care & prayers. We will certainly need our friends in the coming weeks & months.

If you wish to contribute monetarily to costs of funeral & medical expenses, we have set up a benevolent account at BECU. That information is below. Deposits can be made at any BECU accepting deposits, by mail or electronically (for BECU Members only).

Phan/Harm Memorial Fund

Acct # 3586082948

BECU

PO BOX 34044

SEATTLE, WA 98124-1044

BECU Members can call: (800) 233-2328

Thankfully,

Phan, Harm & Sok Family

Casey McNerthney can be reached at 206-448-8220 or caseymcnerthney@seattlepi.com. Follow Casey on Twitter at twitter.com/mcnerthney.

Seattlepi.com news gatherers Levi Pulkkinen, Vanessa Ho and Joshua Trujillo contributed to this report.

Loved ones remember devoted father, 2 sisters

Melina Harm

Jennifer Harm

Choeun Harm

Here is a closer look at the three victims in the fatal shooting rampage in West Seattle last Thursday.

Saturday, September 25, 2010
By Lynn Thompson
Seattle Times staff reporter

How to donate to the family

Phan/Harm Memorial Fund

BECU Account #3586082948

P.O. Box 34044

Seattle, WA 98124-1044

BECU members can call 800-233-2328.

Family was everything to Choeun Harm.

He had escaped the Khmer Rouge in his native Cambodia as a teenager, survived five years in a refugee camp on the border with Thailand, and then tried to re-establish his life in America, first in Pennsylvania, then in Stockton, Calif., before settling in Seattle in 1990.

He told his extended family that even if they had only a penny among them, if the family was together, it was OK.

That hope was shattered Thursday afternoon when Harm, 43, and two daughters, Jennifer, 17, and Melina, 14, were shot to death in their West Seattle home by Harm's mother-in-law, Saroeun Phan, 60, who then shot and killed herself.

Police and family members said Phan, also a Cambodian refugee, had a history of mental illness.

Saturday, surviving family members and friends remembered the three shooting victims as part of a lively, close-knit family who were more often together than apart.

"He was a good person"

Choeun Harm was an enthusiastic fisherman who often could be found under the West Seattle Bridge during salmon season. He also fished freshwater lakes.

"If you had been there and watched him, you would know how good he was," said Sarun Chhom, Harm's friend for 15 years. "He would catch two, three fish before anyone else caught one."

For weekend camping and fishing trips, the five kids would sit on top of each other in the family's Ford Explorer, crammed in with all their food and gear, said another longtime friend, Sean Phuong.

"The kids would all run around and have fun. He was a good person," Chhom said.

Harm ran a landscaping business with his father-in-law, Chhoey Sok, 62. Harm's only son, Kevin, 16, was frequently at his side, friends said. The business struggled because of the economic slowdown, and in recent months, they often worked only a few hours a day, Phuong said.

That's why they had come home around 1 p.m. Thursday and were getting ready to go fishing when Saroeun Phan came into the living room and began shooting. Harm was killed first.

His daughter, Jennifer Harm, was shot as she ran downstairs to comfort her father.

A friendly, helpful daughter

Saturday, friends remembered Jennifer as lively, funny and social. She would call friends just to chat when she was bored, said Lisa Sun, a cousin who lived with the family and survived the shooting.

Jennifer was also a homebody, helping her mother with cleaning, cooking and caring for her sisters.

Jennifer had attended Rainier Beach High School but dropped out.

She met her boyfriend, Allen Green, two and a half years ago. Jennifer's MySpace page features a photo of her in a silk Cambodian dress, swept up in Green's arms. He wrote about his love for her on the page, saying, "Don't underestimate her because she is littlest ... the end of the day she's always right there on my side ... I love you baby."

Quiet girl adored older sister

Jennifer's younger sister, Melina Harm, known to the family as Lina, adored her older sister and looked up to her, friends said. Lina was quiet. Jennifer was outgoing. Lina was more serious, whereas Jennifer liked to joke and tease.

Lina liked to dance and sing at family parties, her cousin Sun said, and she liked having the older girls paint her nails. She also liked to play basketball.

Another Harm daughter, Angel, 12, said her favorite memory of her sister Lina is of going to Dairy Queen for ice cream together when an older sister who lived in Missouri came to visit.

"She was quiet and nice. She always helped me with my homework," Angel said.

Lina always wanted to be with Jennifer. "Everywhere they go, they always go together," Sun said.

And so it was that when the young people in the home fled to a small basement room to escape from Grandma Phan on Thursday afternoon, Lina would not leave the wounded Jennifer.

Kevin broke a window and quickly scrambled out with Sun and Green. Kevin reached back for Lina and urged her to come.

Their grandmother came around the corner, shot at Kevin and missed. She shot Lina where she stood in the window.

"She wouldn't leave her older sister. Her older sister is her best friend," Kevin said.

The Year Before Zero: Dean’s Controlled Solution - Reflections on the Future

A Cambodian villager sits near human skulls recovered from debris in provincial Cambodia after government troops retook a village on Route 3, southwest of Phnom Penh in 1973. The skeletal remains were those of civilians and soldiers killed by Khmer communist insurgents who captured the town during heavy fighting. A former US ambassador says the tendencies of the Khmer communists were well known before they took over in 1975.

Brian Calvert, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
03 August 2007

Click here to listen Ker Yann narrates in Khmer

Part Six: Reflections on the Future

Earlier this year, John Gunther Dean, the last US ambassador to Cambodia before it fell to the Khmer communists, turned over thousands of documents to the Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta, Ga., part of the US National Archives. In doing so, the retired ambassador hoped to show today’s leaders that failure to negotiate leads to tragedy. This is the last in a series of reports on the Dean documents, from Brian Calvert in Washington.

You can still feel his passion when John Gunther Dean speaks about his stint as the last US ambassador to Cambodia before it fell to the Khmer communists. Deep and persuasive, his voice rises and falls, as he pounds on the table, then retreats into thought before speaking again. In his last year in Cambodia, the countdown to Year Zero, he failed to bring peace to Cambodia’s warring factions. He left by helicopter, deeply saddened by failing the Cambodians. More than 30 years later, the ambassador told VOA Khmer, leaders should learn from the “uncontrolled solution” to Cambodia’s crisis.

“What I’m saying is: it is not enough just to pull out our troops,” he said. “We have to find an ending which may not be good for us, but it may show that we do care about others as well, especially those who have thrown their fate in with us.”

The former ambassador might have been talking about Cambodia, but also Iraq, or, even Lebanon. Anyone dealing with conflict among multiple parties with disparate ideas would benefit from the lesson of Cambodia in the 1970s, he said.

“You have responsibility, which doesn’t end when your troops leave,” he said. “You cannot just pull out. You have to try to find whatever is feasible, to avoid a tragedy, or in the case of Cambodia, a genocide.”

Dean cites as an example of success a negotiation in Laos, where as charge d’affairs he’d brokered a three-party peace between American-backed forces, communists and neutralists. Dean thought as chief of mission in Cambodia he was expected to do the same thing.

Robert Keeley was Dean’s deputy during his mission in Cambodia.

“I think the problem with Washington was that they didn’t feel like addressing the Cambodia problem as a problem in itself that could somehow be solved the way the Laos problem was solved,” Keeley said. “It was an appendage to the Vietnam War, which was the central front.”

If there’s a lesson to take from Cambodia, he said, it’s that diplomacy has a role, but it must be used before one side of a war has nearly won.

“The barbarians at the gate, so to speak, that’s not the time you can use diplomacy,” he said.

In the view of historian Kenton Clymer, the barbarians were at Phnom Penh’s gate by early 1975.

Clymer, who is chair of the history department at Northern Illinois University and the author of the soon-to-be-released book “Troubled Relations: the United States and Cambodia Since 1870,” said Dean had been a strong advocate of negotiating well before the situation turned dire, but no one listened.

“I mean, [Prince Norodom] Sihanouk had been willing to meet with the Americans since 1972, or maybe since 1971. He had put out all sorts of very explicit efforts to negotiate with the Americans, and they wouldn’t have anything to do with him.”

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has always insisted the United States continually pursued peace in Cambodia, but that the Khmer Rouge—supported by China—simply were not interested in negotiating and were committed to total military victory well before Dean’s arrival in 1974. Kissinger would write that, after the summer of 1973, “I knew that Cambodia was doomed.”

It’s not clear if greater US efforts would have succeeded in the years following, Clymer said.

“I think the point is we just don’t know, because it was never really tried,” he said.

For his part, Dean said today’s policymakers should bring all the parties in the Middle East conflict to negotiation. The rigid adherence to a military solution was the downfall of US policy in Cambodia, and that could hold true today.

“Sooner or later, the opposition is going to get closer and closer, and militarily it is time to sit down and negotiate,” he said. “It was the refusal to find an alternative to military solutions which was the great drama in Cambodia.”

Failure to negotiate could have terrible effects in the region, he said, but it can also hurt America’s image as a world leader. Learn from Cambodia, he said, but look forward too.

“Let us look to the future,” he said. “America has a role to play, and for that, sometimes we have to look backwards, but let us always think about the future and new generations who are coming on the scene.”