Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
At a time when the ECCC co-prosecutors have named 5 Khmer Rouge leaders, Nuon Chea, the former president of the Assembly of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime, sent a message through us during our meeting with him at the end of last week. Nuon Chea asked that Cambodians should stop considering their Cambodian compatriots as their enemies as was done before, in order to preserve the Cambodian unity and to prevent the country and the [Cambodian] population from being destroyed. In addition, he also asked all Cambodians nowadays and into the future to stop being greedy and never be satisfied with wealth.
The 82-year-old Nuon Chea was flanked by his wife and children sitting on chairs in a wooden home covered with corrugated metal roof, located not too far from the borderline between Cambodia and Thailand, next to the Prom market, Stung Kach commune, Sala Krav district, Pailin province. On one side of his home, there is a thick growth of bamboo trees, and on the other side of the house is the entrance to the house which is fenced with bamboo sticks and wood. The fence itself does not look solid, but near it, plain clothe policemen are on surveillance. Nevertheless, the surveillance is not as strict as it used to be before.
Surrounding Nuon Chea’s house, the scenery is lush green from the rainy season. The house has a pleasant atmosphere as the hosts are hospitable to the guests who come to visit. In his house, guests are going in an out almost nonstop.
Holding in one hand a commentary dharma book titled “The 28 dharma views” authored by But Savong, Nuon Chea came out to greet us. When we were staring at the book in his hand, he smiled and told us that people who can observe the 5 Buddhist silas and up, are very good, and they should stop being greedy or allow money to control us.” He said: “This dharma book is written in easy to understand words, but it has depth for the general public.”
The conversation with him continued on until we reached the case of the ECCC co-prosecutors who issued the names of 5 Khmer Rouge on 18 July 2007. Nevertheless, the ECCC did not reveal yet the names of the 5 accused to the public yet.
Regarding this issue, Nuon Chea said that if he is charged, he will be glad and he will not be horrified at all to provide clarification on the truth, “it’s the truth that I must tell Cambodian children.” He called the Khmer Rouge tribunal a fighting battlefield for him, and he is not scared about it.
Nuon Chea said: “I will tell them who are the friends and who are the enemies.” The tribunal must evaluate “if the joint tribunal which includes both Cambodians and foreign (judges), like this one, can find justice for Cambodians or not? But, I do not trust it at all.”
Regarding his responsibility in the killing fields of the DK regime, of which he was the president of the Assembly and of which he was nicknamed by foreigners as “Brother No. 2” right after Pol Pot, Nuon Chea reminded that “the Assembly during that period, we didn’t have power, and I did not have the right to be a permanent member of the party either. I did not hold power, and I was far from the party power, the state, and from each zone. Therefore, how can I order anybody and for them to listen to me? How can I lead the troop to the battlefield? How can I move people around and starve them? During that time, I asked for negotiations, and I asked that there be no fight with Vietnam along the border, but who listened to me? The troops didn’t even know me.”
According to Khmer Rouge historical documents, the Khmer Rouge central committee, and Le Duan, the secretary-general of the Vietnamese communist party, all have estimated that Nuon Chea and Son Sen, the vice-prime minister and minister of defense, have sympathy for Vietnam, and in general the Nuon Chea-Son Sen group are easier to talk to as compared to Pol Pot and Ieng Sary.
Regarding the current progress made on the living condition of the population in general, Nuon Chea praised that all this was done for the population.
But when asked as to why the living condition of his family looks so scarce when compared to that of other Khmer Rouge leaders and Khmer Rouge members, Nuon Chea said: “Don’t be excited, when we were struggling, we only had one pair of pants on us only, and we were able to liberate the nation from feudalism, capitalism, and from being a slave of foreigners. It was under this condition (like what he is living right now) that one can be considered as a leader of the popular struggle.” This living condition allows him to have peace of mind and have wellbeing.
Nuon Chea also raised that: “When you money and wealth, it’s good, but it is not good for everything. Some have lust and they contracted AIDS, some met with accidents because of wealth. Therefore, only peace of mind and observation of religion are good paths for human beings.”
The 82-year-old Nuon Chea was flanked by his wife and children sitting on chairs in a wooden home covered with corrugated metal roof, located not too far from the borderline between Cambodia and Thailand, next to the Prom market, Stung Kach commune, Sala Krav district, Pailin province. On one side of his home, there is a thick growth of bamboo trees, and on the other side of the house is the entrance to the house which is fenced with bamboo sticks and wood. The fence itself does not look solid, but near it, plain clothe policemen are on surveillance. Nevertheless, the surveillance is not as strict as it used to be before.
Surrounding Nuon Chea’s house, the scenery is lush green from the rainy season. The house has a pleasant atmosphere as the hosts are hospitable to the guests who come to visit. In his house, guests are going in an out almost nonstop.
Holding in one hand a commentary dharma book titled “The 28 dharma views” authored by But Savong, Nuon Chea came out to greet us. When we were staring at the book in his hand, he smiled and told us that people who can observe the 5 Buddhist silas and up, are very good, and they should stop being greedy or allow money to control us.” He said: “This dharma book is written in easy to understand words, but it has depth for the general public.”
The conversation with him continued on until we reached the case of the ECCC co-prosecutors who issued the names of 5 Khmer Rouge on 18 July 2007. Nevertheless, the ECCC did not reveal yet the names of the 5 accused to the public yet.
Regarding this issue, Nuon Chea said that if he is charged, he will be glad and he will not be horrified at all to provide clarification on the truth, “it’s the truth that I must tell Cambodian children.” He called the Khmer Rouge tribunal a fighting battlefield for him, and he is not scared about it.
Nuon Chea said: “I will tell them who are the friends and who are the enemies.” The tribunal must evaluate “if the joint tribunal which includes both Cambodians and foreign (judges), like this one, can find justice for Cambodians or not? But, I do not trust it at all.”
Regarding his responsibility in the killing fields of the DK regime, of which he was the president of the Assembly and of which he was nicknamed by foreigners as “Brother No. 2” right after Pol Pot, Nuon Chea reminded that “the Assembly during that period, we didn’t have power, and I did not have the right to be a permanent member of the party either. I did not hold power, and I was far from the party power, the state, and from each zone. Therefore, how can I order anybody and for them to listen to me? How can I lead the troop to the battlefield? How can I move people around and starve them? During that time, I asked for negotiations, and I asked that there be no fight with Vietnam along the border, but who listened to me? The troops didn’t even know me.”
According to Khmer Rouge historical documents, the Khmer Rouge central committee, and Le Duan, the secretary-general of the Vietnamese communist party, all have estimated that Nuon Chea and Son Sen, the vice-prime minister and minister of defense, have sympathy for Vietnam, and in general the Nuon Chea-Son Sen group are easier to talk to as compared to Pol Pot and Ieng Sary.
Regarding the current progress made on the living condition of the population in general, Nuon Chea praised that all this was done for the population.
But when asked as to why the living condition of his family looks so scarce when compared to that of other Khmer Rouge leaders and Khmer Rouge members, Nuon Chea said: “Don’t be excited, when we were struggling, we only had one pair of pants on us only, and we were able to liberate the nation from feudalism, capitalism, and from being a slave of foreigners. It was under this condition (like what he is living right now) that one can be considered as a leader of the popular struggle.” This living condition allows him to have peace of mind and have wellbeing.
Nuon Chea also raised that: “When you money and wealth, it’s good, but it is not good for everything. Some have lust and they contracted AIDS, some met with accidents because of wealth. Therefore, only peace of mind and observation of religion are good paths for human beings.”
