Red Cross Declines Funding Women's Statue

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 March 2008

The Cambodian Red Cross said Tuesday it would be unable to fund a statue in memory of women and victims of the Khmer Rouge.

The statue, of woman and child, proposed by Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, would commemorate the many women who struggled to rebuild Cambodia following the fall of the Khmer Rouge.

Youk Chhang put forward the idea to the Cambodian Red Cross, led by Bun Rany, wife of Prime Minister Hun Sen, in a proposal on International Women's Day, March 8.

"We can only submit our appreciation and respect to Youk Chhang for his good initiative," Cambodian Red Cross Cabinet Chief Men Neary Sopheak said. "However, the Cambodian Red Cross believes the realization [of the statue] exceeds its current capacity."

Youk Chhang said he did not regret the decision, but urged the government, the Khmer Rouge tribunal courts and all Cambodian citizens to consider common compensation for Khmer Rouge atrocities.

The proposed statue seeks to provide some of that reconciliation.

Twenty meters tall, the statue would stand in Phnom Penh's Hun Sen Park, the bottom three of seven parts buried in the ground, to commemorate 3 million dead or disappeared under the Khmer Rouge, Youk Chhang proposed.

The woman would be holding a child in her arms, to symbolize remembrance of the genocide for later generations. The woman would face west, into the setting sun, her long shadow a reminder of the past, her face aglow at dusk, to look toward the future, Youk Chhang said in his proposal.

He said Wednesday he would continue to seek sponsors for the statue.

Political Cartoon: The Art Monument of Pol Pot's Victims

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Statue to commemorate Pol Pot’s victims [proposed by Youk Chhang to Bun Rany Hun Sen]

10 March 2008
By Kong Sothanarith
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

A giant statue, 20-meter high, would be built in downtown Phnom Penh to commemorate the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime. This initiative could become a true symbol of peace in the kingdom.

An art monument dedicated to Pol Pot’s victims, that was what Youk Chhang, the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), proposed to Bun Rany Hun Sen, the Red Cross director, on the International Women’s Day.

“This statue would be built in Hun Sen park, in order to attract the attention of all the passers-by on what took place during that era,” Youk Chhang said in a letter he sent to Bun Rany Hun Sen. Holding a child’s hand, the statue would symbolize the memory of the genocide, and also the passing down of history to younger Cambodian generations.

The statue would consist of seven parts, representing the 7 million Cambodians living in the country when the KR came to power. Three of the 7 parts would be buried to remind the 3 million people who died or disappeared. “The face of the statue would face the west, and it would reflect artistic and human characteristics, while leaving aside revenge and grudges,” Youk Chhang said. “On 08 March of each year, this mother and child will bear a message of peace.”

There is no official reaction from Bun Rany’s Red Cross yet. Men Neary Sopheak, Bun Rany’s cabinet director, declined to comment because she did not see Youk Chhang’s letter yet.

At the ECCC, the reactions were positive. Reach Sambath, spokesman for ECCC, indicated that it was a “nice gift for the victims. We congratulate such initiatives.” Kek Galabru, Licadho human rights organization President, had the same reaction and she applauded Youk Chhang’s undertaking.