Time Magazine Calls Weekly Program on Khmer Rouge Trial a 'Sleeper Hit' in Cambodia

September 17, 2009
East-West Center

The goal is to help make the trial proceedings accessible to everyone in the interest of furthering the process of international justice.

With up to 3 million viewers each week, "Duch on Trial" program provides many with primary source of information on the international tribunal.

Honolulu, HI (Vocus/PRWEB ) September 17, 2009 -- A current article in Time magazine calls a Cambodian television program that summarizes proceedings in the U.N.-assisted trial of a notorious Khmer Rouge figure "a sleeper hit" that is the main way many Cambodians find out about the trial. According to the article, the "Duch on Trial" program - a collaborative production of the East-West Center, the UC Berkeley War Crimes Study Center and Khmer Mekong Films - garners up to 3 million viewers each week, or 20 percent of Cambodia's population.

"With one in five Cambodians watching the show every week," writes Time correspondent Christopher Shay, "'Duch on Trial' has become the main way many young Cambodians, who were not taught about the Khmer Rouge in school, learn about the historic Khmer Rouge tribunal unfolding in Phnom Penh -- and, in a lot of cases, hear about this dark chapter of their country's history for the first time."

The program, with English subtitles added, can be viewed online by audiences worldwide at forum.eastwestcenter.org/Khmer-Rouge-Trials.

Hosted by veteran Cambodian journalists Neth Pheaktra and Ung Chan Sophea, the weekly half-hour show endeavors to explain the complex legal proceedings in the case against Kaing Guek Eav, alias "Duch," in an accessible and informative manner through the use of trial footage, expert commentary and interviews. Duch has admitted that he ran the Khmer Rouge's dreaded S-21 torture center.

"We consider these films to be a vital tool in helping the Cambodian public and the world at large better understand the complex issues involved in these groundbreaking trials," said David J. Cohen, Director of the Asian International Justice Initiative, or AIJI, which initiated and oversees production of the "Duch on Trial" programs. "The goal is to help make the trial proceedings accessible to everyone in the interest of furthering the process of international justice."

Gregory Stanton, president of the Washington-based NGO Genocide Watch, told Time that the program, with its millions of viewers, has been uniquely effective in bringing the trial into people's lives. "You'll go out to (a) local little village … and there will be almost nothing there," Stanton said. "Yet there will be a TV set hooked up to set of car batteries, and people watching."

The AIJI engaged Cambodia's premier television production company, Khmer Mekong Films, to produce the "Duch on Trial" programs. The programs are shown on Cambodia's most-watched television network, CTN, as well as being available online for easy viewing worldwide.

The AIJI is a collaboration between the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the War Crimes Study Center at UC Berkeley in California. Prior to the start of the trial, the AIJI conducted extensive legal trainings for the officers of the court, as well as a public education campaign that included several informational films that were shown on Cambodian television and at screenings throughout the country. Major funding for the project has come from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh.

Now that the tribunal's first trial is underway, the AIJI has drawn upon five years of experience by the War Crimes Studies Center in conducting human-rights trial monitoring in Sierra Leone, East Timor, Rwanda, and Indonesia to establish a regionally based trial monitoring and film outreach program. The goal of the project is to raise awareness about fair trial rights in Cambodia, as well as document ways in which the trial's proceedings can have a positive impact on Cambodia's domestic criminal trials through the court's interpretation of human rights and domestic criminal procedures.

In addition to a permanent AIJI monitor, the monitoring team includes young lawyers and legal researchers from Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Japan, the Philippines, Switzerland, Germany and the U.S. The monitors write reports on the proceedings as well as assist the film-maker on a weekly basis to choose the highlights from proceedings to be included in 'Duch on Trial'. Additionally, they provide a daily update on the trial which is also utilized by the Court's press and public affairs section. Weekly reports are issued in English, Khmer, Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarin. The team also produces periodic analytical assessments of the trials.

The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations and the governments of the region.

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Report critiques trial pace

Thursday, 30 April 2009
Written by Georgia Wilkins and Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

Says trial of Tuol Sleng chief Duch could drag on to 2010 if translation and other issues are not quickly addressed.

THE WAR crimes trial of former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav could drag on to 2010 if proceedings continue at their current pace, according to a court monitoring report posted online Tuesday evening that also highlights translation issues.

The delays are of particular concern in light of the court's precarious financial situation, which officials say will render the Cambodian side unable to pay staff salaries this month.

"Despite efforts from [Trial Chamber] President Nil Nonn to move proceedings swiftly to the testimony forming the substantive part of the case ... the initial estimates of the trial completing in 12 weeks now seem somewhat unrealistic," states this week's version of the KRT Trial Monitor, a weekly wrap-up sponsored by the Asian International Justice Initiative and the East-West Centre.

"Given the Chamber is yet to hear an estimated 49 further witnesses, proceedings may continue till at least the end of 2009," the report reads.

The report cites translation issues as a key contributor to delays, describing them as "of a magnitude significantly greater and more troubling than previously experienced by other international justice institutions".

"At points, it was impossible for non-Khmer speakers to understand the meaning of exchanges between the judges and the accused person," it reads.

The report also criticises the court for being slow to bring S-21 witnesses to the stand, noting that the trial was dominated by procedural arguments for much of the day on April 22 and adjourned early April 23 to consider outstanding motions.

"Although the accused began his testimony on the establishment of S-21 during Wednesday afternoon [of last week], after three weeks of trial the KRT is yet to hear any witnesses on S-21," it reads.

Ieng Sary at Calmette
Concerns about delays at the court come as Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary was admitted Wednesday to Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh for what court officials described as a routine medical check-up.

Court spokesperson Reach Sambath said the checkup was not conducted because of any "specific health concerns". Ieng Sary has suffered from an array of health problems - including the appearance of blood in his urine - during his pretrial detention.

Brother No 2 Nuon Chea and former head of state Khieu Samphan will soon receive similar checkups, officials said.

Khmer Rouge victims and court observers have repeatedly expressed concern that the other four detained leaders, who are all older than Duch, will die before facing the dock if the court's operations aren't expedited.

Cambodia focus next weekend at EWC [at the University of Hawai'i]

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Advertiser Staff
The Honolulu Advertiser (Honolulu, Hawai'i)

The University of Hawai'i and the East-West Center will present three days of discussion, lectures and exhibits about Cambodia on Friday, Saturday and Nov. 11 that are free and open to the public.

A Cambodia roundtable symposium will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday at the East-West Center's Burns Hall, Room 4005, and will focus on projects related to Cambodia, especially in conservation and cultural revival, by UH faculty, East-West Center fellows and others.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, a conference in the UH Korean Studies Center auditorium will focus on past, present and future initiatives in Southeast Asia and Cambodia by UH and Cambodian experts.

From 2 to 4 p.m. next Sunday, the East-West Center Gallery will feature an exhibit by National Geographic photographer Paul Chesley titled "Living Angkor," along with lectures on conservation efforts in Cambodia, with an emphasis on the living culture.

Hawaii man helping to bring justice to genocide victims

Monday, October 22, 2007
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii, USA)

Phil Estermann of Honolulu is in Cambodia this week with the daunting task of helping create an international court system to try alleged leaders of the Khmer Rouge — while simultaneously educating a mostly illiterate society about a genocide that occurred a generation ago.

"It's tremendously challenging and interesting," said Estermann, grants officer for the Honolulu-based East-West Center. "One of the realities is that across the country there are many former Khmer Rouge living side-by-side in the same communities with non-Khmer Rouge. It's not an easy task to try to deal with that."

Estermann has been back and forth to Cambodia through a partnership between the East-West Center and the War Crimes Studies Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

The nascent courts system — called the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia — is being developed after years of negotiations between the United Nations and the Cambodian government.

It will include closed-door hearings by investigative judges that could last more than a year, followed by a trial chamber and a possible Supreme Court chamber to hear potential appeals.

The various judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys will come from Cambodia, New Zealand, France, Japan, Poland, Sri Lanka, Australia and the Netherlands.

It's Estermann's job to help prepare them for the uncertain future that lies ahead as two former Khmer Rouge officials — Kaing Geuk Eav and Nuon Chea — head toward trials for crimes against humanity.

They're entitled to both international and Cambodian defense attorneys and every document and everything that's said has to be translated into Cambodian, French and English.

"The makeup of the court is extremely complex and, for a lot of the participants, quite frustrating," Estermann said. "Has anything ever been created like this? The answer is no. It is unique in its structure and is located within the Cambodian court system. Therefore the laws that apply are Cambodian as well as international."

He has helped organize workshops in Cambodia for judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys to consider issues such as genocide, command responsibility, joint criminal enterprise and crimes against humanity.

"One of the many complexities is to consider what laws were in existence when the alleged crimes were committed (between 1975 and 1979) and whether they apply," he said. "A whole body of law has been developed since after major tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. So the court is facing immense challenges."

At the same time, he has helped produce two of four planned videos about the Khmer Rouge and the genocide that resulted in an estimated 1 million to 2 million Cambodian deaths over only four years.

The first two videos feature actors who in reality survived the killing fields of Cambodia. They portray parents who are teaching their children about what happened during the reign of the Khmer Rouge and why the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia was created.

On many levels, the task of producing the 15- and 25-minute videos that would both pass court approval and educate a relatively young population is as challenging as setting up a multinational court system.

About 70 percent of Cambodia is younger than 30 and never directly experienced the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.

But it's an even harder challenge to explain complex issues of law to a country that "is 85 percent rural and about 70 percent functionally illiterate," he said. "The average Cambodian might not be familiar with the word for a 'court' and a 'judge' and a 'prosecutor.' "

With $135,000 in grants from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh, the first two videos have aired repeatedly on Cambodian television and have been shown to 20 focus groups in six different locations.

Now, Estermann is working with nongovernmental organizations in Cambodia to show the videos in rural villages that often lack reliable power.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Journey to Cambodia

Hudson's Rachel Belanger with children of Kamponleng fishing village near Siem Reap. (Photo by Contributed)

Fri Aug 17, 2007
By Jeff Malachowski/Correspondent
GateHouse News Service
Hudson Sun (Hudson, Mass., USA)

Many teenagers spend their summer vacations going to movies or the beach, but Hudson’s Rachel Belanger spent her school vacation in a different way than most teens.

Belanger, 16, spent the month of July in Cambodia with an organization called the East-West Center and 20 other students from across the country for a four-week program called "Partnership for Youth: Reporting for Change," in order to create a documentary about various aspects of Cambodian life.

"I never learned about Cambodia’s history or the Khmer Rouge in school, so I was surprised to find out that between 1975 and 1979, about 1-in-4 Cambodians died from execution, starvation, or disease, or that about half a million Cambodians died in the early seventies when the United States illegally bombed Cambodia during the Vietnam War," she said.

Belanger’s journey began with a three-day orientation in Hawaii, before moving on to the city of Siem Reap for six days, then six days of homestays in the Kandal province of Cambodia, before ending the trip with a nine-day stay in Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia.

While in Cambodia, Belanger experienced many layers of Cambodian society by studying the social, political, educational and economic issues the country has faced by speaking with families in various villages, spending time with teenagers and university students, and by living with a host family for six days.

Belanger’s host family was a family of rice farmers which included a 47-year-old widow and her three children in their 20’s. She remarked that although there was no running water, phone line or mail service, the children all had cell phones and used e-mail at Internet cafes in Phnom Phen and lived simple and happy lives.

Her group will be creating a 15-20 minute documentary about the educational opportunities Cambodian children have, and the need for both academic and vocational training in the country and enter the documentary in a film festival in Missouri.

"We’re aiming to have the documentary completed by the November submission date for a film festival in Colombia, MO where two of my group members are from," she said. "We’ve also discussed a book drive in our own communities to send books to some of the schools we visited or even fundraising so some of our Cambodian friends can come to our schools for a year."

In addition to completing the documentary, Belanger and her group will give presentations at their schools about their trip, write op-ed pieces about Cambodia and participate in other follow-up activities such as radio segments or photo exhibits.
Last summer Belanger went to the tsunami affected regions of Thailand with the same organization for a program called "Partnership for Youth: Building Disaster-Resilient Communities."

Belanger, who is entering her second year at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, MA, a liberal arts school for students who have completed tenth and eleventh grade, feels one of the major lessons she learned was although many Cambodians live in poverty, they are still able to live happy and productive lives.

"We met many people who lived in poverty, and many of us were quick to think about how lucky we were to live in the United States," Belanger said. "I realized this only confirmed our cultural obsession with material goods and our assumption that everyone is after the American dream. I realized I shouldn’t take pity on a family that finds happiness and has hope for the future despite all the challenges they face."

East-West Center aids law seminar in Cambodia

By Star-Bulletin staff
citydesk@starbulletin.com
Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Hawaii, USA)

The East-West Center helped to put on a workshop in international criminal law recently in Cambodia to assist defense lawyers in preparing for the trial of Khmer Rouge leaders, according to a news release.

The Asian International Justice Initiative, a collaboration between the East-West Center, Hawaii, and the War Crimes Studies Center at the University of California-Berkeley, is working with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Defense Support Section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia to help Cambodian defense counsel focus on the key legal issues likely to play a role in the upcoming trials.

The training included an overview of the international crimes, including crimes against humanity such as murder, extermination, forced labor and deportation, and sexual violence, as well as genocide.

David Cohen, director of the War Crimes Studies Center and an adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center, chaired the workshop.

A workshop for the Khmer Rouge trials' prosecution teams will be conducted in August.

Funding for the workshop comes from a grant to the East-West Center from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Workshop set for Khmer Rouge trials in Cambodia

The workshop will be held March 26 through 30 in Phnom Penh.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007
By East-West Center Wire

The Asian International Justice Initiative (‘AIJI’), a collaboration between the East-West Center, Hawaii and the War Crimes Studies Center at the University of California, Berkeley will hold a week-long workshop in international criminal law for Cambodian lawyers. The workshop will be held March 26 through 30 in Phnom Penh.

Working with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Defense Support Section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (‘ECCC’), the AIJI workshop will primarily provide Cambodian defense counsel with the opportunity to focus on the key legal issues likely to play a central role in the upcoming trials. This will include an intensive overview of the international crimes contained in the ECCC Law, including crimes against humanity (such as murder, extermination, forced labor and deportation, and sexual violence) as well as genocide. The format, developed by the AIJI in close collaboration with the Principal Defender of the ECCC, Rupert Skilbeck, will be interactive and conducted in seminar style, in order to ensure participation from all parties and to foster a close working relationship between the faculty and participants.

David Cohen, director of the War Crimes Studies Center and the AIJI and EWC adjunct senior fellow, will chair the workshop. He will be joined by a distinguished international faculty of individuals with significant experience at other ‘hybrid’ national/international tribunals. Among those joining Cohen are Alan Gutman, former defense counsel at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor; and Chief Justice of the Massachusetts State Court of Appeals and former Coordinating Judge at the Special Panels, Phillip Rapoza.

A workshop for the Khmer Rouge trials’ prosecution teams will be conducted by the AIJI in August.

Funding for the workshop comes from a grant to the East-West Center from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh.

The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.

East-West Center gets grants for Khmer tribunal work

Friday, March 9, 2007

News Release
The Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii, USA)

The East-West Center received two grants totaling more than $105,000 from the British Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for two projects tied to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

Both projects are part of the Asian International Justice Initiative, a partnership between the EWC and the War Crimes Studies Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

"We certainly appreciate these grants in underwriting our efforts to support development of the rule of law in Cambodia and to help the Khmer Rouge Tribunal bring some closure to a horrific period in Cambodian history," EWC president Charles E. Morrison said in a news release issued today.

One project will include training workshops for Cambodian defense attorneys and prosecutors, focusing on legal issues that will likely play a central role in the Khmer Rouge trials such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and the doctrine of command responsibility.

The second project involves producing videos about the Cambodian court, its missions and its trials. The video-taped programs will be available for showing on national television in Cambodia and distribution to rural areas in the country.

Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the East-West Center is an education and research organization that aims to to strengthen relations among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. Funding for the center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.