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 (or, Indictment). The Closing Order of the Co-Investigating Judges forms the basic document from which all the parties (co-prosecutors, lead co-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 is hearing the substantive (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges (genocide against Buddhists, genocide against Vietnamese, genocide against Cham Muslims, crimes against humanity at the 200 prisons, mass crimes in countless killing fields, Eastern Zone purges, penal code of 1956, etc.) of only the Phase I Movement in April 1975.
Available in Khmer, English and French. Contact the ECCC for a free copy.
Available in Khmer, English and French. Contact the ECCC for a free copy.
CLOSING ORDER (or, INDICTMENT)
of Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde
15 September 2010
IX. ROLES OF THE CHARGED PERSONS
D. IENG THIRITH
Roles and Functions
1207. Ieng Thirith was neither a member of the Standing Committee nor of the Central Committee. Of the 19 surviving Standing Committee meeting minutes,4890 15 of which contain records of attendance4891 she is not listed as having attended any. No witnesses have identified her as a member of the Standing Committee. Although one witness, [REDACTED], identifies Ieng Thirith as a member of the Central Committee,4892 he is contradicted on this point by Khieu Samphan4893 and Duch.4894 It appears however that she did attend some Central Committee meetings.
1208. Ieng Thirith participated in meetings with other senior CPK leaders where CPK policies were discussed, including monthly meetings at K-1 and K-3,4896 meetings of the Council of Ministers,4897 and meetings on health and social affairs.4898
Minister of Social Affairs
1209. The Ministry of Social Affairs, also referred to as the Ministry of Social Action, operated from at least October 19754899 through the fall of the regime and thereafter.4900 The precise structure of the Ministry evolved throughout the regime. Minutes of a meeting on health and social affairs show that the structure of the Ministry existed at least since October 1975.4901 Its creation was formally endorsed in April 1976 at the People's Representative Assembly of Kampuchea.4902
1210. The Ministry of Social Affairs was in charge of a number of hospitals as well as of medicine production and distribution in Phnom Penh and throughout Cambodia.4903 In Phnom Penh, this included: Ph-1;4904 Ph-2 at Chroy Changva;4905 Ph-3 (Psah Cha);4906 Ph-4 (former Dumex);4907 Po-17/17 April Hospital;4908 Po-1/Calmette;4909 Po-2;4910 Po-3;4911 Po-4 (later known as Po-6 or 6 January Hospital);4912 Ph-5;4913 and the Malaria Eradication Office.4914
1211. The Ministry of Social Affairs central office, code named Office K-2,4915 was located near the current Ministry of Defence on Kampuchea Krom.4916 Office K-2 employed hundreds of staff4917 and was comprised of a number of sections, including a communication section,4918 which only dealt with incoming and outgoing "inter-ministerial" communications.4919 Office K-2 was successively headed by Ieng Thirith's deputies, Sin Phal Kun alias Sou4920 (until her arrest in late 1977 or early 1978),4921 Chhun,4922 and possibly others.4923 Leng Pisei, alias Leng Seum Hak, alias Sei was also an initial member of the Committee of Social Affairs4924 and the head of the 17 April Hospital.4925
1212. The Ministry of Social Action held regular meetings, some at its central office, and others in hospitals and pharmaceutical factories, with the chairpersons of its subordinate units4926 or all the Ministry staff members.4927 The Ministry also organised political4928 and medical training sessions, mostly held at Ph-5 near the train station,4929 with medical staff from the country or the military.4930 This medical training was rudimentary.4931
1213. Minutes of a meeting of the Standing Committee establish that Ieng Thirith held responsibilities for Social Action from at least 9 October 1975.4932 She was formally appointed to be the Minister of Social Affairs by the People's Representative Assembly of Kampuchea in April 1976.4933 Ieng Thirith has admitted that she was in charge of Social Affairs "since 1976 after the elections",4934 which is confirmed by a number of witnesses4935 and surviving meeting minutes.4936 She held that position throughout4937 and after the fall of the regime.
1214. As Minister of Social Affairs, Ieng Thirith also sat on the Council of Ministers where the Party guidelines were issued for the Ministers to implement.4939 At the first meeting of the Council of Ministers on 22 April 1976, Pol Pot explained that the government was to meet for one day each month to agree on the views of the Party and disseminate them accordingly within each Ministry.4940 By that date, each ministry had already been given "its own detailed plan" 4941 At the second meeting of the Council of Ministers on 31 May 1976, Pol Pot set out the duties of the various ministries, including duties related to social and health issues. At that meeting, Ieng Thirith reported to Angkar on the activities of the Ministry of Social Affairs.4942
1215. Ieng Thirith also attended meetings specifically related to health and social affairs where she reported to Nuon Chea and Pol Pot. For example, on 10 June 1976, Ieng Thirith and other leading cadres of her Ministry reported in detail on the activities of the Ministry and its various sections and Pol Pot and Nuon Chea expressed their views on the topics discussed.4943
1216. Witnesses assert that Ieng Thirith would go to K-3 or K-1 once or twice a month to meet with leaders of the Party Centre, and in particular with Nuon Chea.4944 Ieng Thirith's [REDACTED] [REDACTED] stated "some administrative works had to be reported to Nuon Chea"4945 and "all documents were issued from K-3. For instance, the letters to authorize medicines distribution to zones, sectors and divisions were issued from K-3".4946 Further, a former servant of Ieng Thirith explains that she personally took some of her letters to the messengers of Pol Pot, Nuon Chea and Son Sen.4947
1217. According to Duch, both Pol Pot and Nuon Chea monitored Ieng Thirith and her Ministry. He understands that Nuon Chea was effectively responsible for overseeing the Ministry of Social Affairs. He explained that this was decided by the Standing Committee on 9 October 1975 because Ieng Thirith was not a full-rights member of the Central Committee.4948 [REDACTED], a witness who lived in Ieng Thirith's house, also states that Nuon Chea had authority over the Ministry.4949 Duch also indicated that "Pol Pot attempted to intervene in the operations of both the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health more than in other Ministries, perhaps because he was not happy with their work".4950 This statement is supported by the fact that Pol Pot was actively involved in the first National Medical Conference held in 1978, where a number of health and social affairs resolutions were adopted.4951
1218. Within the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ieng Thirith was in overall charge. Although it appears that Ieng Thirith's deputy played a significant role,4952 Ieng Thirith exercised control over the Ministry and Office K-2.4953 She participated in the most important decisions.4954 [REDACTED], a witness who worked at Office K-2 from April or May 1976 until 1979, explains "When a hospital telephoned to request something, we wrote down their request on a sheet of paper, and then forwarded that request to Chhun who was the chairperson of K-2. When Chhun received that request, he took it to meet with Grandaunt Phea (Ieng Thirith) in order to ask for a decision ... After Grandaunt Phea had decided, Chhun took the request back and gave it to us to deliver to the section involved. As for the less important request, Chhun would make his own decision, but if it was an important request, Grandaunt Phea was the one to decide on it" 4955 Further, this witness indicated that Ieng Thirith had her own telephone with a direct line.4956
1219. There were many different aspects to Ieng Thirith's role at the Ministry of Social Affairs. As the head of the Ministry, she was responsible for the purchase, production and distribution of medicine in Phnom Penh and throughout the country. 4957 In these roles, she was assisted by the chairperson of Office K-2.4958 She also had to cooperate with the Ministry of Commerce.4959 She was kept appraised of the situation in hospitals and pharmaceutical factories in Phnom Penh through her regular visits and inspections.4960 She also occasionally visited hospitals throughout the country. 4961
1220. As Minister of Social Affairs, Ieng Thirith exercised control over the personnel of the hospitals and pharmaceutical factories. Her former driver [REDACTED] asserted that she "had the authority to remove, assign, follow up and report [to superiors] on this staff"' 4962 The former chairpersons of Hospital P-4 (later P-6), 17 April Hospital and Ph-2 confirmed that they had been appointed by Ieng Thirith.4963 It is worth noting that a number of Ieng Thirith's daughters or their husbands were chairwomen or chairmen of the Ministry's hospitals or pharmaceutical factories. [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] successively headed various hospitals, and [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were the Chairwomen of Ph-1 and Ph-2, respectively.4964
1221. Ieng Thirith held regular meetings and training sessions within the Ministry of Social Affairs. Meetings were held with the chairpersons of the hospitals and pharmaceutical factories. At these meetings, the chairpersons would report on the situation of their units and Ieng Thirith would give them her instructions.4965 She also chaired training sessions at Ph-5 with the personnel of the whole Ministry or some of its units4966 as well as medical staff and hospital chairpeople from the provinces.4967
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