Cambodia mourns K.Rouge victims on 'Day of Anger'

Up to 2 million people were executed or died from starvation, overwork or torture during the brutal reign of Khmer Rouge (AFP, Tang Chhin Sothy)

20 May 2012
AFP

CHOEUNG EK, Cambodia — More than 1,000 Cambodians attended an emotional re-enactment of a Khmer Rouge massacre at a "Day of Anger" memorial on Sunday, demanding swift justice for ex-regime leaders on trial.

The crowd, including monks and children, sombrely looked on as black-clad students graphically mimed the abuse and murder of victims near mass graves at a notorious "Killing Field" on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

"It reminded me of the day the Khmer Rouge took my husband away and killed him," Chuon Yorn, who lost nearly 20 of her family members during the communist movement's 1975-1979 rule, said after the annual event to remember the dead.

"I want the Khmer Rouge leaders to receive a serious punishment. I want justice very soon," the tearful 62-year-old told AFP, adding that she feared the octogenarian defendants would die before seeing a verdict.

Do the spectators of the "Day of Anger" ceremony realize that the same KR killers are now in power?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84XVNTNvbCY&feature=player_embedded

Cambodians must not and should not forget that their current leaders were the former killers shown on the video above. The current leaders of the Hun Xen regime are the neo-Khmer Rouge KILLERS!

Thai-Cambodian border trade lull results amid worry over Cambodia’s Day of Anger

MCOT online news

SI SA KET, July 15 – Thai-Cambodian border trade on Thursday slowed to a near halt at Si Sa Ket's Chong Sa-ngam border crossing amid fears of possible violence during the Cambodian observance of a Day of Anger on July 15.

Trade at the Chong Sa-ngam border crossing in Si Sa Ket's Phu Singha district has been relatively quiet since Monday.

Suwanna Wongrujiroj, a 25-year-old Thai who sells food, said that less than 50 Cambodians crossed the border here on Thursday -- business was sluggish.

The number of Cambodian traders crossing the border to buy goods in Thailand dropped compared to previous days thanks to worries over possible violence during Cambodia's Day of Anger, according to a Cambodian importer.

Another Cambodian trader said most Cambodians on either side of the border here feared trouble might occur during Cambodia's Day of Anger event so they opted crossing the border to do their business today.

However, the trader believed that the situation will return to normal after July 15.

Meanwhile, local police, security volunteers and military provided strict security along the Thai-Cambodian border to prevent any untoward incident.

Earlier, Mr Abhisit yesterday said the government was closely monitoring the situation, and there was no reason to be overly worried.

The government must deal carefully with border issues which are sensitive.

He emphasised the need for Thailand to continuously express its rights over the disputed areas at the same time both sides must avoid clashes between the troops of the two countries, he said.

[Thai] PM: Unworried over Cambodia's Day of Anger event

MCOT online news

BANGKOK, July 14 - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said nothing to be particularly worried over Cambodia's plan to hold its annual Day of Anger on July 15, as no report indicated any troubles, but the government would not be negligent in order to avoid fresh problems.

The Day of Anger is normally an annual event when Cambodians pay their respects to the souls of the mass victims who were killed by the Khmer Rouge during its reign of terror in Cambodia in the 1970s.

However, some Cambodian organisations, not necessarily official, reportedly were to hold an event with the same name with over 10,000 Khmers expected to turn up to show solidarity regarding the border dispute with Thailand.

Mr Abhisit said the government is closely monitoring the situation, and there was no reason to be overly concerned.

The government must deal carefully with border issues as they are sensitive. He emphasised the necessity of Thailand continuously expressing its rights over the disputed areas at the same time both sides must avoid clashes between the troops of the two countries, he said.

The premier said he believed Phnom Penh apparently wanted to apply 'psychological warfare' by organising the Day of Anger, while the UNESCO World Heritage meeting is scheduled to be held at the end of this month.

Cambodia is scheduled to submit its management plan which is expected to involve the the 4.6 square kilometre overlapping area near Preah Vihear Temple to UNESCO during the meeting.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who will attend the upcoming World Heritage Committee meeting, earlier notified the cabinet that he will ask the committee to postpone its consideration of the Cambodian management plan as there has not been a resolution of the territorial dispute between the two countries regarding the area.

As for the plan to revive the still bitter bilateral ties between Thailand and Cambodia, Mr Abhisit said the ball was in the Cambodian court as Phnom Penh did not appear to change its position. Thailand's ambassador to Cambodia has not yet returned to Phnom Penh.

However, the prime minister admitted the personal relations between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and himself have become gradually better without problems.

Mr Hun Sen has been at loggerheads with the Thai government, especially with his Thai counterpart Mr Abhisit, after his government appointed Mr Thaksin as its economic adviser late last year and refused to extradite him to Thailand.

Mr Thaksin, ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2006, was sentenced by Thailand’s Supreme Court Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to a two-year prison term in absentia for having a conflict of interest in Bangkok’s Ratchadaphisek land purchase case.

Tensions between the neighbouring countries flared after the United Nations cultural body UNESCO approved Cambodia's bid in July last year to list the 11th century Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site, while the question of sovereignty over the 4.6 square kilometres of surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.

The two neighbouring countries however reaffirmed to solve their border conflicts peacefully through the Joint Boundary Committee, while there were some clashes between the soldiers of two countries along the border.

Plan to hold an “Anger Day” against Thai invasion

Thai troops invasion in 2008 (AP)

Rong Chhun (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

29 June 2010
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Cambodian NGOs plan to organize a meeting to commemorate and to express the anger against the 2nd anniversary of the Thai invasion of Cambodia along the border near Preah Vihear temple which took place on 15 July 2008. One high-ranking government official welcomed the plan to hold the “Anger Day” against Thai invasion on Cambodia on 15 July. However, this government official also warned the NGOs not to profit from this occasion to serve the interest of Cambodia’s opposition party. Rong Chhun, representative of the Cambodia Watchdog Council (CWC) and President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), announced that 15 July is the date for the Anger Day against the Thai invasion of Cambodia and that it will be held in front of the public park located in front of the old building of the National Assembly which now houses the Supreme Court. Rong Chhun said that at the beginning of July 2010, he will send a letter to the Phnom Penh city authority to inform about them on the commemoration of this date, although, this is not to ask for an authorization from the city.

Cambodia Remembers Victims of Khmer Rouge

Cambodian students re-enact torture executed by the Khmer Rouge to mark the annual "Day of Anger" at Choeung Ek, 20 May 2010. (Photo: VOA - R. Carmichael)

Robert Carmichael, VOA
Phnom Penh Friday, 21 May 2010

"Cambodian people respect the people who were killed in the Pol Pot regime," said Pa Socheatvong. "Pol Pot betrayed the country by using the people's blood as capital, so people [are] very angry with the Pol Pot regime."

In Cambodia, May 20 is known as the Day of Anger.

Each year on this day, hundreds of Cambodians head to the Chhoeung Ek killing field site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. There a ceremony is held and a play put on to recall the victims of the Khmer Rouge.

It is a time to remember the millions who died under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime that ruled the country between 1975 and 1979.

More than 1,000 people gathered this year at the Chhoeung Ek memorial site outside Phnom Penh. There were hundreds of Buddhist monks, dignitaries, and many elderly people.

The key part of the ceremony is a macabre play staged by students. About a dozen are cast as black-clad Khmer Rouge soldiers; three dozen more are their victims.

With barked orders, gun shots, screams and tears, the Khmer Rouge and their victims act out the murders, just yards from the mass graves that form this notorious killing field where thousands died.

Pa Socheatvong is a deputy governor of Phnom Penh. He says May 20th was chosen because that was the day in 1976 when the Khmer Rouge instituted their policy to kill people.

"Cambodian people respect the people who were killed in the Pol Pot regime," said Pa Socheatvong. "Pol Pot betrayed the country by using the people's blood as capital, so people [are] very angry with the Pol Pot regime."

The performance by the students is chilling, realistic and disturbing. Many in the crowd wipe away tears during the 15-minute performance.

At the end of the play, other soldiers burst in with guns and Cambodian flags and drive away the Khmer Rouge.

That moment refers to the invasion in late 1978 by Vietnamese troops and Cambodians that saw the end of the Khmer Rouge rule of the country.

The man who sent so many people to their deaths here at the Chhoeung Ek killing field went on trial last year for crimes against humanity and war crimes. His name is Comrade Duch, and he admits he ran the S-21 torture and execution center in Phnom Penh. Judgment in his case is likely to be handed down in the coming weeks.

If Duch is found guilty - as is thought likely - he will be the first former Khmer Rouge to be sentenced for crimes committed at that time. It is a landmark case.

No-one knows how many people died during the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia, estimates range from 1.5 million to three million.

Cambodia remembers Khmer Rouge victims

May 21, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

This time every year, a ceremony is held at the notorious Killing Fields on the outskirts of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh to remember the victims of the Khmer Rouge.

Presenter: Robert Carmichael
Speakers: Pa Socheatvong, deputy governor of Phnom Penh

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

ROBERT CARMICHAEL: Cambodia marked the saddest period in its history on Thursday with the annual remembrance service for victims of the Khmer Rouge regime.

The ceremony is known as the Day of Anger, and is held on the edge of Phnom Penh at a place called Chhoeung Ek.

Today Chhoeung Ek is a popular tourist site known to most of them as the Killing Fields. Between 1975 and 1979, it was a place where thousands of Cambodians were taken to be killed - generally by a blow with an iron bar to the back of the neck.

Cambodia had many such killing fields during the Khmer Rouge regime. Chhoeung Ek is simply the best-known.

And it is here on May 20 each year that hundreds of dignitaries, monks and members of the public come to mark the occasion.

The Day of Anger ceremony lasts about two hours. There are some speeches, descriptions of what happened, and at the end, a blessing ceremony by the monks.

And there is a 15-minute play - a stark and chilling reminder of what happened here.

The sounds you can hear are a re-enactment of mass killings.

Around a dozen Cambodian men and women are dressed in the black trousers and shirts of the Khmer Rouge. Another 40 are their victims.

The play unfolds on grass in front of Chhoeung Ek's tower of human skulls.

There the soldiers act out the killings of men, women and children.

It is highly realistic, with knives, fake AK-47s, and staves. The victims scream, plead and cry. All of this just yards from where the real killings took place little over three decades ago.

It makes for very uneasy viewing, and leaves many in the crowd in tears. It does so every year.

Pa Socheatvong is a deputy governor of Phnom Penh. He says the day is a mixture of remembering the dead, and expressing anger at the Khmer Rouge regime, which was headed by Pol Pot.

PA SOCHEATVONG: Cambodian people respect the people who were killed in the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot betrayed the country by using the people's blood as capital, so people [are] very angry with the Pol Pot regime.

ROBERT CARMICHAEL: In an ironic twist, the man who sent thousands to be killed here at Chhoeung Ek between 1975 and 1979 is currently in jail awaiting judgement after his trial last year for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Comrade Duch, as he is known, headed the Khmer Rouge's main torture centre called S-21.

All but a handful of 20,000 people who went to S-21 were executed, most just yards from where today's ceremony is taking place.

No-one knows how many people died under the Khmer Rouge - estimates range from between 1.5 million to 3 million people. Many were murdered. Many others died of illness, overwork and starvation.

It was undoubtedly Cambodia's bleakest period, and today is about remembering that time.

CPP Marks Day of Khmer Rouge Suffering [... but the CPP leaders were former KR cadres and soldiers!]

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 20 May 2010

"When we see that Pol Pot’s regime violated human rights, the actual leaders must not repeat it."

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party celebrated an annual day to remember the Khmer Rouge on Thursday, an occasion the opposition said was politically calculating and not useful.

May 20 was formerly known as the Day of Anger, for Khmer Rouge atrocities. The CPP celebrates the day every year, as “a reminder” so that it will not happen again, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Thursday.

The CPP held a ceremony “for national reconciliation” and “to remember our pain” under the regime, Khieu Kanharith said.

However, opposition figures did not see it that way.

“We must settle this pain through an international court,” said Kem Sokha, head of the opposition Human Rights Party, which has three seats in parliament.

“When we see that Pol Pot’s regime violated human rights, the actual leaders must not repeat it,” he said, referring to rights abuses like forced evictions and land theft.

For his part, UN tribunal prosecutor Andrew Cayley said the day had nothing to do with the court, but was and important reminder “of what happened during that period of time.”

Thursday’s ceremony was held at the Choeung Ek “killing fields” outside Phnom Penh, where thousands of people from the Tuol Sleng torture center were sent for execution and mass burial under the Khmer Rouge.

The commemoration this year was led by political messages by the CPP, which is preparing for communal elections in 2012 and general elections in 2013.

Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc, said the day was a show by the CPP of its liberation of Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge, but it was unlikely to have much political sway.

Cambodia marks annual Day of Anger against Khmer Rouge

Thu, 20 May 2010
DPA

Phnom Penh - Hundreds of Cambodians marked the annual Day of Anger against the Khmer Rouge regime Thursday at a former killing field outside the capital.

The cornerstone of the ceremony was a play in which a dozen Cambodians dressed as Khmer Rouge soldiers acted out executions in a reminder of the mass killings that characterized the regime that ruled from 1975 to 1979.

Pa Socheatvong, the deputy governor of Phnom Penh, said the purpose was to remember those who died during the Khmer Rouge regime.

The movement was led by Pol Pot, also known as Brother Number One.

"Pol Pot betrayed the country by using the people's blood as capital, so people are very angry with the Pol Pot regime," Pa Socheatvong told the German Press Agency dpa.

The event was first held in 1984, five years after the Khmer Rouge was driven from power.

Pa Socheatvong said the May 20 date was selected since it was on that day in 1976 that the Khmer Rouge leadership took the decision to kill people.

"They made it the strategy of their genocidal regime," he said.

Thursday's ceremony was held at Chhoeung Ek, which was where thousands of Cambodians from the regime's main security prison known as S-21 were executed. Both Chhoeung Ek and S-21 are popular sites for tourists visiting the capital.

Last year, S-21's commander, Comrade Duch, appeared before a joint UN-Cambodian tribunal charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Judgement in Duch's case is expected in the coming months.

Four former Khmer Rouge leaders are currently in detention in Phnom Penh ahead of their trial which is likely to start early next year.

An estimated 1.7 million people died during the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia from execution, overwork, starvation and illness.

Tearful Cambodians commemorate Khmer Rouge victims

Cambodians pray during the annual 'Day of Anger' at the Choeung Ek killing fields

Thursday, May 20, 2010
AFP

CHOEUNG EK, Cambodia — Tearful Cambodians marked an annual "Day of Anger" with a re-enactment of Khmer Rouge crimes at a notorious "killing field" on Thursday to commemorate relatives killed by the regime.

Some 3,000 people, including Buddhist monks, watched as students mimed raping, bludgeoning, strangling and eviscerating bound victims to remember those who died at Choeung Ek, a field outside the capital Phnom Penh.

Many sobbed during the performance by the black-clad students just metres (yards) from mass graves where Khmer Rouge soldiers murdered thousands of people during the rule of the hardline communist movement in the late 1970s.

"I still feel very much anger toward the regime," Chea Thov, 63, told AFP during Thursday ceremony.

"Justice is near. But I want all bad Khmer Rouge leaders to be sentenced to death," she said, adding that Khmer Rouge killed her husband and 15 relatives.

Up to two million people were executed or died from starvation, overwork and torture during the communist regime's 1975-1979 reign as it emptied Cambodia's cities and enslaved the population on collective farms.

Five Khmer Rouge leaders are being held by a UN-backed genocide court over their roles in the hardline communist government.

Final arguments in the court's first trial, of Khmer Rouge's main prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, ended in November and a verdict is expected later this year.

Four other leaders including the regime's "Brother Number Two" ideologue Nuon Chea and head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith are expected to stand trial next year.

"I am speechless about Khmer Rouge crimes. I hope justice will be rendered very soon so that sadness will fade away from the people's hearts," said another relative of the regime's victims, Nob Chin, 72.

Cambodians mark 'Day of Anger' at Khmer Rouge killing fields

Wed, 20 May 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - More than 1,000 Cambodians gathered at one of the Khmer Rouge's notorious killing fields Wednesday to observe an annual "Day of Anger" and remember the almost 2 million people killed during the regime's 1975-79 rule. A crowd of government officials, Buddhist monks, survivors of the regime and victims' families watched high school students re-enact scenes of torture and execution at the Choeng Ek killing fields, where up to 15,000 men, women and children were murdered and buried in mass graves.

The May 20 ceremony marks the day in 1976 when it is believed Khmer Rouge leaders decided to transform Cambodia into a completely agrarian society - a policy that led to mass deaths through execution, starvation and overwork.

During Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia from 1979 to 1989, the event was a well-organized public holiday with ceremonies held throughout the country.

Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, an archival organization dedicated to documenting the history of the Khmer Rouge, said the day was a hugely significant part of the country's path towards reconciliation.

"The anger has faded somewhat because young people today were not around during that period and did not witness what happened," he said. "But it is important to have this day so we can remember what happened and how the millions of deaths made us so angry."

This year's ceremony was held as the trial of the Khmer Rouge's former chief torturer continued before Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes tribunal.

Kaing Guek Eav, known by his revolutionary alias Duch, faces charges of crimes against humanity, torture, premeditated murder and breeches of the Geneva Conventions, allegedly committed while he was warden of the Tuol Sleng torture prison in Phnom Penh.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Youk Chhang said the first trial before the court was an important part of reconciling Cambodia's troubled past.

"We have taken military action against the Khmer Rouge as well as social action, such as today's event, and now the time has come to take legal action," he said. "This must occur for us to become a truly democratic society."

Prisoners at Tuol Sleng were sent to their deaths at Choeng Ek, but the site has since been transformed into a genocide museum and memorial that receives thousands of visitors each year.

'Day of Anger' in Cambodia

Cambodian students (left) take part in a performance to mark the annual 'Day of Anger' at the Choeung Ek killing fields memorial near Phnom Penh. Thousands of people gathered to commemorate the millions of people who died from starvation, overwork or execution during the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge. -- PHOTO: AFP

May 20, 2009
AFP

CHOEUNG EK (Cambodia) - CAMBODIANS marked the annual 'Day of Anger' Wednesday to remember victims of the Khmer Rouge terror as the regime's top torturer was tried by a UN-backed genocide tribunal.

About 2,000 Cambodians, including hundreds of Buddhist monks, gathered at Choeung Ek, a former Khmer Rouge 'killing field' dotted with mass graves about nine miles (15 kilometres) south of Phnom Penh.

Some 40 students re-enacted the torture and executions inflicted by the ultra-communists under whose mid-1970s rule about 1.7 million people perished.

Performers wore black uniforms, the standard attire of the Maoist-inspired movement. Some acted as executioners, swinging bamboo sticks at the heads of victims whose arms were bound behind their backs.

The performance was staged just yards (meters) away from a memorial filled with victims' skulls and mass graves where thousands of the executed were buried.

Relatives of the victims expressed hope that some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders would finally be punished by the ongoing tribunal.

Now being tried is Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who commanded the notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh from where as many as 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been tortured before being sent to Choeung Ek for execution.

Duch (pronounced Doik) is the first senior Khmer Rouge figure to face trial, and the only one to acknowledge responsibility for his actions. Senior leaders Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Ieng Sary's wife, who are all detained, are likely to be tried in the next year or two.

'Why is the court taking so long to prosecute these leaders?' asked Tat Seang Lay, 47, whose two brothers were killed by the Khmer Rouge. 'I want to see justice. I wish the court could end up its trial process within the next few months.' A 50-year-old man, Chhiv Neth, who lost three brothers and his father during Khmer Rouge rule, said the leaders must be heavily punished.

'They are more cruel than tigers. They killed their own people like butchers kill animals,' he said, looking at the mass graves he believes holds one of his brothers executed at Choeung Ek.

A Day to Remember the Killing

A Cambodian villager prays at a memorial stupa filled with the skulls of thousands of victims of the Khmer Rouge on display at Choeung Ek, a "Killing Fields" site located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, during a "Remembrance Day" ceremony May 20, 2008. Thousands of Cambodians including 500 monks gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 May 2008

Thousands of Cambodians gathered for a Buddhist ceremony at the Choeung Ek “killing fields” Tuesday, in a day of remembarence.

As many as 20,000 were dumped in the mass graves outside in Phnom Penh under the Khmer Rouge. They were memorialized by a giant glass stupa full of skulls, where Cambodians made offerings Tuesday.

Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema said the day was necessary to ensure atrocities did not occur in the future.

“I cannot forget the brutality of the Khmer Rouge,” said Ou Savorn, whose parents, brothers and sisters were killed by the regime. “I pray for the killing fields not to return to Cambodia.”

Photos from "Day of Anger" celebration in Choeung Ek

Cambodian villagers light incense at a memorial stupa filled with the skulls of thousands of victims of the Khmer Rouge on display at Choeung Ek, a "Killing Fields" site located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, during a "Remembrance Day" ceremony May 20, 2008. Thousands of Cambodians including 500 monks gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodians perform a play based on the Khmer Rouge regime during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Choeung Ek, a "Killing Fields" site located 17km (11 miles) south of Phnom Penh, May 20, 2008. Thousands of Cambodians including 500 monks gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodian Buddhist monks watch a performance based on the Khmer Rouge regime during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Choeung Ek, a "Killing Fields" site located 17km (11 miles) south of Phnom Penh, May 20, 2008. Thousands of Cambodians including 500 monks gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
A Cambodian woman cries during a performance based on the Khmer Rouge regime at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Choeung Ek, a "Killing Fields" site located 17km (11 miles) south of Phnom Penh, May 20, 2008. Thousands of Cambodians including 500 monks gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Cambodians perform a play based on the Khmer Rouge regime during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Choeung Ek, a "Killing Fields" site located 17km (11 miles) south of Phnom Penh, May 20, 2008. Thousands of Cambodians including 500 monks gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodians mark 'Day of Anger' with call for speedier KRouge trials

Cambodian students stage re-enactments of Khmer Rouge crimes to mark the country's annual "Day of Anger"

CHOEUNG EK, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodian students staged a re-enactment of Khmer Rouge crimes at a notorious killing field on Tuesday to mark the country's annual "Day of Anger," in memory of those killed by the regime.

Some 2,000 Cambodians attended the rally to commemorate victims at Choeung Ek, a former Khmer Rouge killing field outside the capital Phnom Penh.

Twenty black-clad students mimed bludgeoning, strangling and eviscerating bound victims in front of a memorial stupa, just metres (yards) from mass graves where Khmer Rouge soldiers murdered thousands of people during the regime's 1975-1979 reign.

Many were moved to tears by the performance as survivors called for the former communist regime leaders to finally face war crimes trials.

"I want the trials of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders to take place very soon so that justice can be rendered to millions of victims and survivors," said 63-year-old Un Youk Kroy, whose 20 relatives were killed under the brutal regime.

Ly Kim Huon, who lost about 10 relatives, echoed the sentiment.

"The trials must begin soon. I want to know the truth, why the Khmer Rouge committed such crimes," said the 65-year-old woman.

Up to two million people died from overwork, starvation, torture or execution under the Khmer Rouge as it sought to create an agrarian utopia. A joint Cambodia-UN tribunal was established in 2006 after nearly a decade of haggling.

The five top surviving Khmer Rouge leaders were recently detained by the court on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, and trials are expected to begin later this year.

Former Khmer Rouge social affairs minister Ieng Thirith is scheduled to appear before the court on Wednesday to appeal against her detention.

Day of Anger against the Khmer Rouge celebration in Phnom Penh

Cambodians perform a play based on the Khmer Rouge regime at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Choeung Ek, 17km south Phnom Penh, May 20, 2007. Cambodians gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodians perform a play based on the Khmer Rouge regime at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Choeung Ek, 17km south Phnom Penh, May 20, 2007. Cambodians gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodians perform a play based on the Khmer Rouge regime in Choeung Ek, 17km south Phnom Penh, at a Remembrance Day ceremony May 20, 2007. Cambodians gathered at the site to remember those who perished during the radical communist group's 1975-79 regime. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodian school children stand in front of a glass window of a memorial holding skulls of the Khmer Rouge victims at Choeung Ek 'killing field' in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, May 20, 2007. The students attend the annual 'Day of Anger' event to remember the atrocities and killings committed under the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)