Closing Order of Case 002 against Senior KR Leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith

In light of the HISTORIC (!) start of MOST COMPLEX (sic!) trial hearings beginning on 27 June 2011 and again ANOTHER HISTORIC (!) START of this same MOST COMPLEX (sic!) on 21 Nov. 2011 of Case 002 against the surviving Khmer Rouge senior leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, KI Media is posting installations of the public document of the Closing Order of Case 002 (Indictment).  The Closing Order (or INDICTMENT) of the Co-Investigating Judges forms the basic document from which all the parties (Co-Prosecutors, Co-Lead Lawyers for all civil parties, Defense Lawyers) will be making their arguments before the Trial Chamber judges (one Cambodian President, 2 Cambodian Judges, 2 UN judges).  Up until now, the hearings involving these four surviving senior Khmer Rouge leaders have been in the Pre-Trial Chamber over issues of pre-trial detention and jurisdictional issues.  Beginning in June 2011, the Trial Chamber will hear the substantive (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges (e.g. genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956 - sic!).  Available in Khmer, English and French. Contact the ECCC for a free copy. 

 

CLOSING ORDER

of Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde

15 September 2010

IX. ROLES OF THE CHARGED PERSONS

A. NUON CHEA

 Participation in the Common Purpose

Cooperatives and Worksites

902.            Through his various roles within the CPK, Nuon Chea participated in the establishment and operation of cooperatives and worksites.

Participation in the Creation of the Policy

903.            The CPK's progressive organization of collective agricultural production into cooperatives commenced as early as 1970 while Nuon Chea was already Deputy Secretary and a full- rights Member of the Standing Committee. Even before 17 April 1975, Nuon Chea actively participated in the creation of this policy. A former subdistrict committee secretary in Kratie recalls that, in 1973 or 1974, Nuon Chea gave a speech in front of more than 50 CPK cadres of sector, district and subdistrict level explaining how to set up the cooperatives. He introduced two types of cooperatives, low-level and high-level, and stated that yields had to be distributed based on contribution to the cooperatives.³⁸²⁰

904.            Nuon Chea participated in the formulation of this policy at the 20 May 1975 Conference in Phnom Penh.³⁸²¹ As a member of the Standing Committee Nuon Chea was also involved in the formulation of this policy at Standing Committee meetings,³⁸²² as well as in the development of the Four Year Plan to build socialism in all fields.³⁸²³ It was also addressed at an enlarged Standing Committee meeting in September 1975 at which rapid strengthening of agriculture was discussed.³⁸²⁴ He also participated in a CPK Centre meeting dated 8 March 197 6³⁸²⁵ and was at least aware of the development of CPK directives. Nuon Chea reaffirmed his support of this policy at the People's Representative Assembly Conference on 11-13 April 1976.

906. As member of the Standing Committee, Nuon Chea attended the Standing Committee meetings at which the decision was made to establish Kampong Chhnang Airport.³⁸²⁶

Endorsement of the Policy

907. Nuon Chea actively endorsed this policy publicly. During and after the DK regime, in public speeches and statements, Nuon Chea affirmed that all the problems regarding people's living conditions had been resolved and that living conditions had improved through irrigation projects, the collectivisation of economic production and the achievement of the CPK production plan.³⁸²⁷ For instance during the visit of the Workers' Party of Denmark on 29 July 1978, Nuon Chea spoke on behalf of the CPK in the role of Deputy Secretary. He said "As for living conditions, we have basically solved our problems by means of irrigation projects. We are accumulating capital for the development of our country on the basis of independence and self-reliance ".³⁸²⁸ In this same speech he also acknowledged that workers were not getting paid and that people were living collectively.³⁸²⁹

908. In an interview after the regime, Nuon Chea, talking about the Cambodian population, stated

"We purified their minds through education. Firstly through education at school, secondly through sending them to work in the fields. When we'd educated them, then they understood and trusted us. That made our party stronger"

Knowledge and Implementation of this Policy

909.            Nuon Chea was aware of the various ways in which this policy was implemented and participated in its implementation.

910.            Through his participation in meetings dated 20-24 August 1975 and 8 March 1976, he was made aware of the difficult living and working conditions at worksites and cooperatives although these conditions were deemed temporary or blamed on deviations from the Party

line. The conditions reported included food shortages,³⁸³¹ lack of medicine,³⁸³² and high rates

of illness.³⁸³³

911.            Nuon Chea was also regularly copied to telegrams sent by the zones and RAK centre divisions to the Centre that reported on aspects related to cooperatives and worksites, including the working conditions of the people, the planting of rice, and the building of dams and other waterworks.³⁸³⁴ In particular, Nuon Chea was copied to a telegram reporting the visit of Yugoslavian journalists to Trapeang Thma Dam.³⁸³⁵ In an interview after the DK regime, Nuon Chea acknowledged that some Cambodians died of illness, food shortages and disease³⁸³⁶ and added "solving the economic livelihood that was never easy. Some died, some

lived".³⁸³⁷

912.            Nuon Chea participated in disseminating this policy through his involvement in the creation and distribution to CPK cadres of the Revolutionary Youth and Revolutionary Flag magazines, as well as through his involvement in radio broadcasts. Former Military Commander, [REDACTED], was shown Revolutionary Flag number 7 dated July 1976 by investigators, which refers to the role of cooperatives in building socialism and the three-ton per hectare target for rice production. This witness explains "this was all about agricultural works to achieve a three ton plan per hectare. It made people lose their strength and starve". He adds "The persons who wrote them were those from the Central Committee such as Pol Pot, Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary ... the main ideas were theirs because as long as they agreed in the Party then the principles could be adopted and implemented throughout the country"

913.            During the numerous political trainings he conducted for Party cadres and personnel and RAK members in Phnom Penh³⁸³⁹ and for local leadership in the zones,³⁸⁴⁰ Nuon Chea talked about the plan to transform the economy of Cambodia. Further, Nuon Chea visited numerous government facilities, dams, construction sites, warehouses and agricultural sites across Cambodia.³⁸⁴¹ In particular, Nuon Chea visited three of the five worksites under investigation: Srae Ambel government worksite;³⁸⁴² Kampong Chhnang Airport construction site;³⁸⁴³ and the 1^st January Dam³⁸⁴⁴. Additionally, Prey Sar was under his authority. Even if some witnesses state that he might not have been made fully aware of the situation by the local leadership,³⁸⁴⁵ during those visits Nuon Chea saw the people's living and working conditions.³⁸⁴⁶ Witnesses also state that during these visits Nuon Chea made speeches urging the workers to work hard.³⁸⁴⁷ However, another witness nevertheless states that Nuon Chea instructed to help build houses for the people and to provide sufficient food.³⁸⁴⁸

914.            One of Nuon Chea's bodyguards explains that following a visit to the Northwest Zone, he understood that "When Ta Nuon Chea went there, he instructed people to work hard but when Ta Nuon Chea left back, the sector committees forced people to work even harder. I know that Ta Nuon Chea planned to provide people three meals a day and one dessert per week. But the cooperative chiefs and sector committees did not follow the plan. Because he saw people becoming skinny, he went to visit closely at cooperatives". Asked if Nuon Chea would then blame the cooperative chairmen or the sector committees for not following the plan, he explains that he would send them to study at his criticism meetings where he would say that "they must produce three tons of rice per hectare".³⁸⁴⁹

915.            In an interview after the regime, Nuon Chea recognised "that some people died of starvation, but that was beyond our capacity to solve. We tried our best, but it was out of the control of our party. We didn't kill people. We didn't want people to die. We tried to find a solution to the economy and to the living standards of the people, but how many people died no one knows".³⁸⁵⁰