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 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 November 2011, the Trial Chamber will hear the substantive (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges (genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956, etc., only the Phase I Movement in April 1975).  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

Security Centres and Execution Sites

909.            Through his various roles in the CPK, Nuon Chea participated in the reeducation of "bad elements" and the killing of the "enemies" both inside and outside the Party ranks.

Participation in the Creation of this Policy

910.            This policy existed prior to 17 April 1975, while Nuon Chea was already a full-rights member of the Standing Committee and Deputy Secretary of the CPK. According to witnesses, Nuon Chea used to lead study sessions from 1968 to 17 April 1975 related to Party building, self criticism and the need to "eradicate the oppressive classes" ³⁸⁵¹

911.            Later, Nuon Chea was involved in the creation of this policy through his participation at Standing Committee meetings³⁸⁵² as well as in the development of the Four Year Plan to build socialism in all fields.³⁸⁵³ This policy was further discussed at other CPK Centre meetings, such as cadres meetings on propaganda,³⁸⁵⁴ and base work,³⁸⁵⁵ attended by Nuon Chea. Further in July 1975, Nuon Chea attended a RAK gathering at which this policy was discussed.³⁸⁵⁶ He participated in the reaffirmation of this policy at the People's Representative Assembly Conference of 11-13 April 1976, which he attended as Chairman of the Kampuchean People's Representative Assembly and Chairman of its Standing Committee.³⁸⁵⁷

912.            As Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee, Nuon Chea participated in the elaboration of CPK Party documents related to this policy, including the Central Committee directive dated 30 March 1976, which delegated the power to "smash" inside and outside the ranks to the zone and autonomous sector committees.³⁸⁵⁸ Nuon Chea also contributed to the dissemination of the June 1978 Central Committee Directive entitled Guidance of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea on the Party's Policy towards Misled Persons who have joined the CIA, served as Yuon agents or joined the KGB and Opposed the Party, Revolution, People and Democratic Kampuchea. The directive appeared to prescribe reeducation for those who joined the CIA, KGB and Vietnamese before July 1978, but ordered the Party and the Cambodian people to eliminate networks which continued to oppose the Party from July 1978 onwards.³⁸⁵⁹ Further, in September 1978, Nuon Chea attended a large assembly in Phnom Penh together with other senior leaders of the CPK at which Pol Pot announced to hundreds of attendees that the military and the base no longer had the right to arrest anyone. From that point, they only had the right to question people and report to the Centre. ³⁸⁶⁰

Endorsement of this Policy

913.            Nuon Chea disseminated and publicly endorsed this policy during and after the CPK regime. On 29 July 1978, during the visit of the Workers' Party of Denmark,³⁸⁶¹ Nuon Chea spoke and answered questions on behalf of the CPK in his role as Deputy Secretary. Speaking in detail about the need for purges inside the ranks of the CPK he stated, "We investigate life histories and class background both before and after they join the revolution. We do this to prevent infiltration by, for example, CIA, KGB or Vietnamese agents. By adopting these organizational principles, we have unity in the party and can cleanse our party of bad elements. We have not been 100 per cent successful. The enemy is still attempting to undermine the party. Consequently, we are striving to strengthen political and ideological education and to clean the party". He added, "Since liberation, our experience relates to anti-party activities organized inside our party. They usually involve CIA, Vietnamese and KGB agents. Our experiences in this area are very recent, but it appears from what we have been able to learn that CIA, Vietnamese and KGB agents have been working inside the party for a long time ... The leadership apparatus must be defended at any price. If we lose members but retain the leadership, we can continue to win victories. Defending the leadership of the party is strategic. As long as the leadership is there, the party will not die. There can be no comparison between losing two to three leading cadres and 200—300 members. Rather the latter than the former. Otherwise the party has no head and cannot lead the struggle ".³⁸⁶²

921. During his initial appearance before the Co-Investigating Judges, Nuon Chea stated, "There were American CIA and Soviet KGB agents, the Free Khmer and Vietnamese secret agents who were hiding within the Party, among the population and in our cooperatives; they were the ones who caused the Party line to be 'raw ' and 'burnt', and then destroyed the country, Party and people" .³⁸⁶³

922. Nuon Chea, after the CPK regime, also explained "Some of the people who were in charge of districts and provinces were our enemies. They were hidden in our party; they destroyed our rice yield. Our policy was to feed the people well and equally, but these traitors didn't follow our policy and we couldn't control them because there weren't enough senior party cadres". ³⁸⁶⁴ In an interview with a journalist, Nuon Chea stated "At that time it was very confused. There were Khmer Serei, the CIA, the KGB, the Yuon, the Yuon Serei. So society was very complicated. On this matter, we do not deny responsibility. We were responsible, but it was unintentional. We had no intention of killing the people. My family, my siblings' families, we lost 40 persons. Some were colonels, some teachers, they did many things". Asked if he thought the revolution was "just" he said "I would say it was just, because it smashed and eliminated enemies, maintained an independent Kampuchea, neutral, non-aligned, that is, all the struggles prevented the nation from falling into the hands of foreigners" ²⁸⁶⁵ In another interview responding to the statement "Many former comrades of yours, senior members of the party, were purged and lost their lives," Nuon Chea stated "Not many. Some didn't admit their mistakes, but others knew and they admitted them in our meetings and they were accepted. We didn't kill many; we killed only the bad people, not the good"³⁸⁶⁶ In a further interview he added "I would show my respect for the souls of my people who gave up their lives at that time. And I would express my condolences to the people. And I would tell them that it wasn't the Khmer Rouge that killed our people, it was the enemy - the country that was

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our enemy".

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