The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Born into a wealthy Sino-Cambodian family, Nuon Chea grew up fighting anti-colonial forces in Cambodia. He now faces trial, accused of being a key architect of the Khmer Rouge's bloody rule that left 1.7 million of his countrymen dead.
After being educated in neighboring Thailand, Nuon Chea returned to Cambodia in 1950 where he became involved in the struggle for independence from French rule and joined the Indochinese Communist Party. He rose up through the ranks to become a senior leader of the murderous Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s.
His transformation into a leader of the brutal Khmer Rouge began in 1975, just about a month after it took power. Joined by his late boss Pol Pot, Nuon Chea addressed a meeting of the movement's leaders from across the country in Phnom Penh, according to a document from the Documentation Center of Cambodia, an independent group gathering evidence of the Khmer Rouge atrocities.
Known as Brother No. 2, Nuon Chea allegedly laid out the Khmer Rouge "master plan," which called for the abolition of money, religion, monks, and the expulsion of ethnic Vietnamese.
"All efforts toward executing the general political guideline came from Nuon Chea," the document said. It added that the word "smash" used during the Khmer Rouge to mean the killing of its internal and external enemies also "came from Nuon Chea."
"On May 20, 1975, Nuon Chea addressed a meeting in Phnom Penh related to the construction of socialism in Cambodia relying upon industry and agriculture," the document said. "He requested that cautious attention be paid to any hidden enemies burrowing from inside the party ... the government and the masses."
Nuon Chea also allegedly supervised the inner workings of S-21 prison, where up to 16,000 people were tortured before being executed.
Over the next four years, the regime's fanatical efforts to realize a utopian society led to the death of some 1.7 million people from starvation, disease, overwork and execution.
The Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979 and its leadership, including Nuon Chea, fled into the jungles. Leaders finally surrendered in 1998 and Nuon Chea spent his later years living in relative seclusion in a wooden house near the Thai border.
Long a secretive man, 82-year-old Nuon Chea came to relish visits from journalists between listening to the news on the radio, watching English football and practicing Buddhism. He acknowledged the regime committed errors but denied he was guilty of genocide.
"I admit that there was a mistake. But I had my ideology. I wanted to free my country. I wanted people to have well-being," Nuon Chea told The Associated Press in 2004 from his modest bungalow in Pailin, the movement's former stronghold.
"I didn't use wisdom to find the truth of what was going on, to check who was doing wrong and who was doing right. I accept that error," he said.
When his health worsened after a stroke, critics feared he would never see the inside of a courtroom.
But on Wednesday, police served him with an arrest warrant at his home. He was whisked off by helicopter to Phnom Penh and charged a few hours later with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
As he was driven from his home early Wednesday, Nuon Chea looked silently out a car window.
"My father is happy to shed light on the Khmer Rouge regime for the world and people to understand," his son Nuon Say said afterward.
After being educated in neighboring Thailand, Nuon Chea returned to Cambodia in 1950 where he became involved in the struggle for independence from French rule and joined the Indochinese Communist Party. He rose up through the ranks to become a senior leader of the murderous Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s.
His transformation into a leader of the brutal Khmer Rouge began in 1975, just about a month after it took power. Joined by his late boss Pol Pot, Nuon Chea addressed a meeting of the movement's leaders from across the country in Phnom Penh, according to a document from the Documentation Center of Cambodia, an independent group gathering evidence of the Khmer Rouge atrocities.
Known as Brother No. 2, Nuon Chea allegedly laid out the Khmer Rouge "master plan," which called for the abolition of money, religion, monks, and the expulsion of ethnic Vietnamese.
"All efforts toward executing the general political guideline came from Nuon Chea," the document said. It added that the word "smash" used during the Khmer Rouge to mean the killing of its internal and external enemies also "came from Nuon Chea."
"On May 20, 1975, Nuon Chea addressed a meeting in Phnom Penh related to the construction of socialism in Cambodia relying upon industry and agriculture," the document said. "He requested that cautious attention be paid to any hidden enemies burrowing from inside the party ... the government and the masses."
Nuon Chea also allegedly supervised the inner workings of S-21 prison, where up to 16,000 people were tortured before being executed.
Over the next four years, the regime's fanatical efforts to realize a utopian society led to the death of some 1.7 million people from starvation, disease, overwork and execution.
The Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979 and its leadership, including Nuon Chea, fled into the jungles. Leaders finally surrendered in 1998 and Nuon Chea spent his later years living in relative seclusion in a wooden house near the Thai border.
Long a secretive man, 82-year-old Nuon Chea came to relish visits from journalists between listening to the news on the radio, watching English football and practicing Buddhism. He acknowledged the regime committed errors but denied he was guilty of genocide.
"I admit that there was a mistake. But I had my ideology. I wanted to free my country. I wanted people to have well-being," Nuon Chea told The Associated Press in 2004 from his modest bungalow in Pailin, the movement's former stronghold.
"I didn't use wisdom to find the truth of what was going on, to check who was doing wrong and who was doing right. I accept that error," he said.
When his health worsened after a stroke, critics feared he would never see the inside of a courtroom.
But on Wednesday, police served him with an arrest warrant at his home. He was whisked off by helicopter to Phnom Penh and charged a few hours later with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
As he was driven from his home early Wednesday, Nuon Chea looked silently out a car window.
"My father is happy to shed light on the Khmer Rouge regime for the world and people to understand," his son Nuon Say said afterward.
