Victims Angered at Release of Senior Khmer Rouge Figure Ieng Thirith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4UcLhVpNvo

Peace and justice: Make do in chambers - Op-Ed by So Vere

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

https://www.box.com/s/k15osvk2k8t5b1i134qa

Will Ban Ki-moon practices what he preaches? Will the UN pull out of the KRT if it can't deliver justice to Cambodian victims?

A wall of photos at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the site of infamous Security Prison S-21, documents the Khmer Rouge's brutal treatment of detainees.

On International Day, Ban pays tribute to all those seeking truth and justice

24 March 2012
UN News Centre

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to all the brave individuals worldwide who have devoted their lives to protecting human rights and to promoting access to truth and justice.

The General Assembly in December 2010 proclaimed 24 March as the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims to honour the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations and promote the importance of the right to truth and justice.

Demand for a commemoration monument for victims of the Khmer Rouge as reparation

​បើសិនជា​សាលាក្ដី​ខ្មែរក្រហម​ផ្ដល់​សំណង​ដល់​ជនរងគ្រោះ​...

ថ្ងៃទី 18 មីនា 2012
ដោយ: កែ សាមុត
Cambodia Express News

​បើសិនជា​សាលាក្ដី​ខ្មែរក្រហម​ផ្ដល់​សំណង​ឱ្យ​ជនរងគ្រោះ​វិញ​ខ្ញុំ​នឹង​សូម​ ស្នើសុំ​ឱ្យមាន​ការសាងសង់បូជនីយដ្ឋាន​រំឭក​វិញ្ញាណ​​ក្ខន្ធ​ក្នុងភូមិ​ របស់ខ្ញុំ​ដើម្បីឱ្យ​អ្នកភូមិ​ទាំងអស់​អាច​ប្រារឰ​ពិធី​តាមបែប​ ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនា​ឧទ្ទិស​បុណ្យ​កុសល​ជូន​ដល់​វិញ្ញាណ​ខណ្ឌ​អ្នក​ដែល​បាន​ ស្លាប់​នៅក្នុង​របប​ខ្មែរក្រហម ហើយ​ខ្ញុំ​ក៏​សូម​ឧទ្ទិស​បុណ្យ កុសល​នេះ​ជូន​ដល់​បងប្រុស​ទាំងពីរ​នា​ក់​របស់ខ្ញុំ​ដែល​បាន​ស្លាប់​ដោយ​ គ្មាន​ហេតុផល​។​

ភ្នំពេញ: ​“​ខ្ញុំ​ចង់​ចូលរួម​ក្នុង​សំណុំរឿង​០០១​របស់​តុលាការ​ដោយសារតែ​ខ្ញុំ​បាន​រង​ទុក្ខសោក​ដ៏​ឈឺ​ដោយសារតែ​ការបាត់បង់​បងប្រុស​ម្នាក់​ដោយ​ស្នាដៃ​របស់​ខ្មែរក្រហម​។ ទុក្ខសោក​នេះ​នៅតែ​ដក់​ជាប់​ក្នុង​ចិ​ត្ដ​ខ្ញុំ​រហូតមក ដល់​សព្វថ្ងៃនេះ ហើយ​ជា​លទ្ធផល ខ្ញុំ​បានកើត​ជំងឺ​ដេក​មិន​លក់​”​។
បងប្រុស​ខ្ញុំ​ឈ្មោះ កែ កែង​ស៊ី ហៅ ដែន​ត្រូវបាន​សម្លាប់​នៅ​គុក​ទួលស្លែង​(​មន្ទីរ​ស​-២១)​ក្នុង​របប ខ្មែរក្រហម​។​អស់​រយៈពេល​ជាច្រើន​ឆ្នាំនេះ​ខ្ញុំ​មិន ដែល​បានដឹងថា​បងប្រុស​ខ្ញុំ​គាត់​ត្រូវបាន​សម្លាប់​នៅទីណា ទេ ប៉ុន្ដែ​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​២០០៤ បុគ្គលិក​របស់​មជ្ឈមណ្ឌល​ឯកសារ​កម្ពុជា​បានផ្ដល់​ព័ត៌មាន​លម្អិត​ស្ដីពី​ការ ឃុំខ្លួន​បងប្រុស​ខ្ញុំ​ដែល​បាន​បញ្ជាក់ថា​គាត់​ត្រូវបាន​សម្លាប់​នៅ​គុក ទួលស្លែង​។ ខ្ញុំ​នៅតែ​មិន​យល់ថា​ហេតុអ្វី បានជា​ខ្មែរក្រហម​សម្លាប់​បងប្រុស​គាត់​។​

​ខ្ញុំ​បានដឹងថា​បងប្រុស​ខ្ញុំ​ត្រូវបាន​ចាប់ខ្លួន​នៅ​ខែមីនា ឆ្នាំ​១៩៧៧​។ នៅ​ចន្លោះ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៧៥​និង​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៧៦ មុន​ការចាប់ខ្លួន​របស់គាត់ បងប្រុស​ខ្ញុំ​បាន​មកលេង​ក្រុមគ្រួសារ​ម្ដង​។ នា​អំឡុង​ពេលនោះ បងប្រុស​ខ្ញុំ​មិន បាន​ចែករំលែក​រឿងរ៉ាវ​រប​ស់​គាត់​ជាមួយនឹង​គ្រួសារ​ប៉ុន្មាន​ទេ ហើយ​គាត់​គ្រាន់តែ​និយាយថា​គាត់​ធ្វើការ​ជា ពេទ្យ​ទាហាន​។ រយៈពេល​ពីរ​បី​ថ្ងៃ​ក្រោយមក គាត់​ក៏​ធ្វើដំណើរ​ត្រឡប់​ទៅ​ភ្នំពេញ វិញ​។ ចាប់់តាំងពី ពេល​នោះមក គាត់​មិនដែល​ត្រឡប់មក​ម្ដងទៀត​ឡើយ ហើយ​យើង​ក៏​មិនដែល​ទទួលបាន​ដំណឹង​អ្វី​ពី​គាត់ ឡើយ​។ ខ្ញុំ​មិនដឹងថា​ខ្មែរក្រហម​នាំយក​បងប្រុស​ខ្ញុំ​ទៅណា​ទេ​។

KRT sidesteps victims' rights Theary Seng

(Photo: Reuters)

Thursday, 09 February 2012
By Theary Seng
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

We’re talking about the embedding of dark mentalities by the tribunal with United Nations insignia that will wash through the larger Cambodian society for decades to come – long after the KRT has closed the gates on its military-situated compound and the UN has left on another genocide-chasing mission.

When the initial Duch verdict was handed down in July, 2010, the Civil Parties of Orphans Class—a sub-group of the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia—launched a public campaign for ECCC inventory and provincial learning centres as part of the right to reparations for all Khmer Rouge victims.

Three days after that verdict, the ECCC Trial Chamber offered this as full reparation: “To compile and post on the ECCC’s official website all statements of apology and acknowledgements of responsibility made by [Duch]”

Unsurprisingly, the hollowness and insensitivity of this “reparation” triggered public outrage.

It also raised these rhetorical questions: How many victims own a computer?

And of those who own a computer, how many have access to the internet?

A year later, we issued a similar demand with an open letter to the tribunal’s lead co-lawyers and the 40 intermediary lawyers representing the civil parties to advocate at the ECCC hearings on reparations.

We acknowledged the scope of our demands as follows:

“It is also our understanding that (i) the Chambers may award only “collective and moral reparations to Civil Parties”; (ii) Article 39 of the ECCC Law to “be awarded against, and be borne by, convicted persons” not to exclude the Cambodian government and the United Nations, parties to the laws and agreements establishing the ECCC in the provision of this collective and moral reparation as owners of the inventory; and (iii) any sensitive materials and data can be easily removed and protected before the handing-over of the inventory “In addition, we demand that provincial learning centres-memorials be established in each of the 24 provinces of Cambodia as part of our right to reparation and the legacy of memorialising and education.

Q&A: Bay Area Cambodians and the Khmer Rouge Trials

Jan 08, 2012
Viji Sundaram
New America Media

Editor’s Note: Nearly 2 million Cambodians lost their lives in the infamous killing fields in their homeland between 1974 and 1979. Two months ago, a U.N.-backed tribunal began a trial for three of the accused architects of the genocide. Stanford University psychiatrist Dr. Daryn Reicherter, who has been working with Cambodian refugees in the South Bay for the last seven years, and has visited Cambodia four times, shares his observations with NAM health editor Viji Sundaram on how those whom he counsels are responding to the trial.

What percentage of Cambodians in the Bay Area is here as a direct result of the violence perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge?

All of the (first generation) Cambodian immigrants are here because of the Khmer Rouge. Prior to that, there was very little immigration from Cambodia to the United States. Most of them came as refugees from Thailand in the early 1980s. These people not only suffered at the hands of Pol Pot but they also lived in miserable conditions in the Thai camps, some of them for years.

What are some of the long-term effects of the killing fields experience on the community here in the Bay Area, both in the first and second generation Cambodians?

It’s hard to say definitively. But for the first generation immigrants, such mental health issues as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are very prevalent. The second generation has had difficulties as a result of poverty, poor acculturation of their parents and probably their parenting styles.

Nuon Chea is not happy with the preliminary hearing of Case 002

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_kSV4oS_Vc&feature=player_embedded

‘Quality’ of Justice Needed at Tribunal: Victims

Seng Theary, head of Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia. (Photo: Courtesy of Center for Justice and Reconciliation)

Click on the control below to listen to the audio program in Khmer:

Click here to listen to the audio program in MP3

 
Friday, 24 June 2011
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC

“When there are no investigations into 003 and 004, we don’t have additional information about the darkness of the regime.”

With pressure mounting on the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, two civil party representatives said Thursday the court will be judged on the quality of justice it provides to victims of the regime.

“When we speak about justice, we want to focus on quality,” Seng Theary, a Cambodian-American lawyer who has pushed for more access of victims to court procedures, told “Hello VOA” Thursday.

Ly Monysak, who lost 21 family members to the Khmer Rouge, said he was now concerned a trial of four jailed leaders will not be completed in their lifetimes. The first hearing in that trial is scheduled for June 27.

But the fate of two more cases remains unknown. Critics have said they worry about political obstruction in those cases, 003 and 004, which together would call for five more indictments at the court.

Ceremony To Prepare Ghosts for Khmer Rouge Trial

Skulls of KR victims at Tonle Bat (Photo: Vancouver Sun)

Friday, 24 June 2011
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC

Khmer Rouge survivors will hold a religious ceremony on Saturday at the “killing fields” of Cheoung Ek, where thousands of people were executed and buried in mass graves after they were tortured in various prisons under the regime.

Chum Mey, who lived through incarceration at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, said he plans to tell the souls of the dead to be prepared for their killers to go on trial.

The first UN-backed tribunal hearing for Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith is June 27, marking the beginning of the court’s second trial. The four will be tried for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and other related crimes.

“We have to appeal to those who died to remind them, to have them recall they were killed without doing wrong,” he told VOA Khmer. “We have to remind their ghosts to help them prop up the court, to try [the suspects] immediately and to find justice for those who died, because the four leaders are important, and no others are more important than them.”

AKRVC President Theary Seng’s Open Letter to the “Disloyal Staff at the ECCC” for your “Crime against Bureaucracy”

AKRVCOpenLetterDisloyalStaff10June2011
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/57572882?access_key=key-8btg58pu31b0bwfqa5x

AKRVC President Theary Seng’s

Open Letter to the “Disloyal Staff at the ECCC”

for your “Crime against Bureaucracy”

10 June 2011, Phnom Penh

Dear “Disloyal Staff of the ECCC”:

I would like to publicly and personally express my deep gratitude to you for your courage in releasing information regarding Case 003. I can imagine it was a very difficult decision, but I am glad your higher conscience won out. You may have committed a “Crime against Bureaucracy”, but in doing so, you have provided the victims and the public a powerful weapon to fight against the “Crimes of Idiocy”, an odious offense that is part of a widespread and systematic practice currently in flamboyant display at the Extraordinary Chambers (“ECCC”).

What is happening with regards to Cases 003 and 004 is an affront to 1,700,000 victims and 14,000,000 survivors and kins of the Khmer Rouge regime.

You stand with the heroes and rescuers of past genocides who challenged the power of mindless bureaucracies and blind obedience to authority in the wholesale destruction of lives—what Hannah Arendt termed as the “banality of evil” and Dr. Ervin Staub coined as the response of “passive/active bystanders” in the “continuum of destruction”. The mentality is the same even if the scope and scale are not.

Those we honor for their “crimes against bureaucracy” in responding to the “crimes against humanity” are well-known and countless, including Raoul Wallenberg, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oskar Schindler, etc. You are in good company. Again, the mentality is the same even if the scale is not.

With my highest respect and regards,

Theary C. SENG

Representative of the Civil Parties of Orphans Class

Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia

Civil Party Lawyer Says Tribunal Is Failing Victims

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Wednesday, 01 June 2011

"Meanwhile, in the one case the court has prosecuted, that of prison chief Duch, the reparations it offered were inadequate."

The UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has failed to satisfy the needs of the regime’s victims, a civil party lawyer at the court said Tuesday.

Speaking on a special edition of “Hello VOA,” Som Sokong, who is representing complainants in cases 002 and 003, said victims have not had enough time or information to properly file applications and complaints.

The court has so far failed to adequately provide the names of crime sites that would allow victims to detail their complaints the tribunal victims unit, a major requirement for the inclusion at the court, he said.

Meanwhile, in the one case the court has prosecuted, that of prison chief Duch, the reparations it offered were inadequate, he said.

The tribunal is moving toward trial for Case 002, for four leaders already in custody, but it has come under increased criticism for its handling of cases 003 and 004, which would require further indictments, something Prime Minister Hun Sen opposes.

Long Beach residents' recollections of Cambodian horror will be heard

Statements will form part of evidence against Khmer Rouge leaders.

04/30/2011
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH — A year-and-a-half ago when refugee survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime gathered in Long Beach to fill out forms about atrocities they witnessed in the mid-'70 s in Cambodia, they had no idea whether it would make a difference.

On Saturday, many of them got their answer. Leakhena Nou, a sociology professor at Cal State Long Beach told a gathering that their statements would be part of an upcoming trial against four former leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

"We wanted to make sure your voices are heard thousands of miles away," Nou told the elderly crowd that assembled at the Mark Twain Branch Library.

"Your applications have been heard and have been accepted by the court," Nou said. "You are heroes."

Event puts Khmer Rouge leaders on `trial'

(Photo: AP)

04/25/2011
Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - Residents are invited to a moot Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal Saturday between noon and 4:30 p.m. at the Mark Twain Library, 1401 E. Anaheim St.

The Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia, which was founded by medical sociologist Leakhena Nou, is playing host to the event. Her group helped collect survivor testimonies among Cambodian-American refugees that may be used in the tribunal.

Four surviving Khmer Rouge leaders - Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan - will be on trial. An estimated 2million Cambodians died during the Khmer Rouge reign between 1975 and 1979.

Rob Hamill lodges application with Cambodian court

Rob Hamill lost his brother, Kerry Hamill, at S-21 (Tuol Sleng) jail

Source: Radio New Zealand

A New Zealander who last year watched a court in Cambodia convict the head of the prison where his brother was tortured and killed is now trying to join a case against two other former members of the Khmer Rouge.

From Checkpoint on 11 Apr, 2011 (3′46″)

Click here to listen to the audio program in MP3

"Truth and justice will not bring back to life those who died, but there is no true peace without them": Suyheang Kry

Suyheang Kry talks to students at Hun Sen Ang Snuol High School.

Reflections on Working to Uncover Genocide

Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Suyheang Kry
The Phnom Penh Post

Born eight years after Democratic Kampuchea, I was brought up in a society in which neither my family nor my school taught me about the genocidal regime. When the regime ended in 1979, a politicized national history was created that did not include the Khmer Rouge. Thus, I grew up knowing little to nothing about this tragic period.

As I got older, I became more and more interested in my family’s history during the Khmer Rouge era. Armed with passionate curiosity, I decided to work for the Documentation Center of Cambodia in order to investigate the truth about the regime. Having interviewed hundreds of victims of the regime, I have seen firsthand their remarkable resilience and dignity, despite the barbarous crimes committed upon them. However, ironically, this resilience and dignity were borne partially from a purposeful silence on the past. My father’s words “let bygones be bygones” reflect the sentiments of many victims. However, should we forget the past now that we have peace? Do truth and justice make a difference to those who survived the regime?

My answer is a resolute yes. Truth and justice will not bring back to life those who died, but there is no true peace without them. The brutal violence that devastated Cambodia does not diminish with time; it requires purposeful action and education to overcome the horrors that took place, and commemorating and acknowledging the suffering of victims is the first step towards preventing such atrocities from reoccurring. This is true for both survivors and the next generation, which is why it is imperative that youth learn and understand the truth about Khmer Rouge history to ensure a stronger citizenry as we move forward.

Little Time Left To Organize Tribunal Civil Parties

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Tuesday, 11 January 2011

“They should know their individual clients, how this client suffered at what level, who is giving testimony, about which crimes.” - Theary Seng

The Khmer Rouge tribunal is now facing testimony from more than 2,000 victims that court officials must organize ahead of a trial for four senior leaders of the regime.

Around 2,120 victims who have registered as civil party complainants have been accepted from more than 4,000 applications, and it is now up to the Trial Chamber of the court to decide how they will be used.

Seng Theary, a lawyer who is also a tribunal complainant, says the short time is a concern. Little time remains for preparation, she told VOA Khmer.

Lawyers for the civil parties must study the facts of the case, the crimes and the testimony in advance of questioning of defendants, in this case the four senior-most leaders of the Khmer Rouge: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.

Seng Theary says that means a lot of preparation, lest civil parties be left out of the process. The trial is supposed to begin early this year.

‘Those who have suffered want speedier justice’

Andrew Cayley (Photo: ECCC)

Saturday, Dec 11, 2010
By Yogesh Pawar
DNA (India)

International prosecutor at the United Nations Assistance to Khmer Rouge Trials, Andrew Cayley is an English barrister and writer who has spent 16 years as counsel for major international criminal trials since World War II.

He is currently based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at an UN-assisted court charged with prosecuting those responsible for the deaths of over two million during the Khmer Rouge reign. A former British army officer, University College, London graduate and Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst pass-out, Cayley has prosecuted those responsible for the murder of over 10,000 in Srebrenica in Bosnia Herzegovina in July 1995.

In the Srebrenica case, the prosecuting team secured the first conviction for genocide in Europe since the Nuremberg trials. Cayley also led the International Criminal Court’s investigation and first prosecution case for events in Darfur between 2002 and 2004. DNA caught up with Cayley when he was in Mumbai.

Aren’t UN-backed initiatives like the Khmer Rouge Trials past their ‘use-by-date’? Do they really make a difference?

I can completely understand this question. People who have suffered and are dealing with trauma want to see speedier justice and when that does not happen, cynicism and scepticism can creep in. But, if anything, the importance of these processes has only been heightened, especially after the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1995. While there is a case to build on that and do better, it may not be correct to write it off completely.

From the Nazi pogroms against Jews to the horrific genocides in Cambodia and Bosnia just a decade ago, why are initiatives like tribunals not acting as deterrent enough? Is mere shaming of regimes the right intervention strategy, since bringing the actual perpetrators to book cannot be possible?

You are right that the initiatives do not always have the mandate to prosecute the actual perpetrators. This is more in the way of maintaining pressure on the administrations that this issue will go to the International Criminal Court. The impending embarrassment can work as an advantage as the regimes accept that there has been genocide or gross violation of human rights. Take the case of the Cambodia where, between 1975 and 1999, as many as two million people were killed. While a million of them were actually killed, the others died after being sentenced to hard labour. Or Srebrenica in Bosnia Herzegovina in July 1995 — as many as 10,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in a span of five days. It was deeply disturbing to see this happen in the Europe of the 90s. Yet the prosecuting team secured the first conviction for genocide in Europe since the Nuremberg trials. When British soldiers were found to have been involved in the human rights violations in Iraq, the government had to ensure the guilty were punished.

We know 114 countries have joined the International Criminal Court, including nearly all of Europe and South America, and roughly half the countries in Africa Yet, how can we expect this to have an effect when many of the big nations on both sides of the development-divide have still not ratified the treaty for various reasons?

Yes, it is a stumbling block that we do not have some really big players like China, India, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar and the USas part of this process but we are working towards it. In most cases like Darfur, when we are told that the intervention is a case of too little, too late; there does not seem to be enough appreciation that in such matters the complaint comes to us only when the UN Security Council refers it to us. Since one permanent member wanted to veto the move for this case to be handed to us, it dragged on. But yes, precious time and many more lives were lost.

But isn’t that a problem then, as narratives in foreign policy, commerce and human rights contradict each other? How does this play out?

I agree with you. Sometimes, when commercial consideration are overriding, some regimes will try to curb the criticism or avoid it for the fear that this will affect the trade ties. Look at David Cameron’s statements about China. Right now, the economy of the West is not in the best of health and those countries are all out to woo India and China whose economies are booming; a lot of care is taken to ensure that nothing affects trade ties. While Cameron’s praise for the Chinese enterprise was up there (pointing at ceiling), his criticism of that country’s human rights record was quite feeble (pointing at floor).

India, as you mentioned, is not part of the International Criminal Court? What according to you are some of the concerns that prevent India from coming on board? What efforts are being made to address these concerns?

India has often voiced its concerns over sovereignty issues. It fears that Kashmir — the continued military presence in the Valley, the human rights violations, the extent of displacement for ‘development’ projects and the state’s strategy to quell the alienation and dissent — could be taken up at the international level. There have been attempts at both appreciating where India comes from and assuaging some of its concerns. We would like India to be on board and know that it eventually will.

How soon do you think that could happen?

Well, it will take time… another fifty years at least but we know India will come around.

Which are some of the bigger events in India that are disturbing, given their human rights ramifications?

India witnessed its first genocide at the time of Partition, the aftermath of which is witnessed even today. The country has witnessed innumerable cases of genocide, right from the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 to Gujarat in 2003. Mass killings and destruction of property have left behind devastating consequences for the victims, leaving them with lasting wounds and a feeling of hurt. These are events which the international community is concerned about.

There is a feeling, even among the human rights lobbies in the world, that the International Criminal Court has a skewed way of determining what construes as a problem needing intervention. Issues which the West thinks are important are the only ones that get highlighted.

We’ve heard that criticism too, along with voices that Judeo-Christian values are being foisted upon cultures which have their own understanding of these issues. One can only say that we want to see a liberal and democratic world free of persecution. That cannot be a bad thing universally.

Groups Urge Adding Sexual Violence to Tribunal Charges

The film, called "The Khmer Rouge rice fields, the story of rape survivor Tang Kim" produced by Youk Chhang of DC-Cam, shows the nun, Tang Kim, in search of internal healing after witnessing the murder of her first husband by the Khmer Rouge and then being gang-raped by the perpetrators. (Photo: AP)

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Wednesday, 03 November 2010

Click here to watch this sad DC-Cam video

“According to the investigating judges, rape was not a part of the [Communist Party of Kampuchea] policy.”

Local rights groups and lawyers want the Khmer Rouge tribunal to include sexual violence among the “serious crimes” under its purview as the UN-backed court prepares to try four regime leaders.

By including such crimes, including rape, the court can ensure equal justice to victims, tribunal experts said at the opening of a two-day international conference on gender and justice.

The conference included participants from Cambodia, France, the US, Japan, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, India, Indonesia and others.

Sexual violence must be comprehensively addressed at the tribunal to ensure “the fight against impunity,” said Silke Studzinsky, a German lawyer who represents victims at the court.

The tribunal has so far failed to seriously investigate sexual violence and to set up an effective investigative team that included women, she said.

In the tribunal’s first case, against torture chief Duch, “the court failed to address cases of sexual violence,” she said. “The co-investigating judges failed to indict the defendants in Case 002 with rape and others acts of sexual violence outside of forced marriage.”

Japanese researcher Nakawa Kasumi, who is a professor at the University of Cambodia, said Khmer Rouge sexual violence included gang rape, forced sex after marriage and other acts. At least 200,000 forced marriages occurred under the regime, she said.

Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said Wednesday that rape and forced marriage had both been included in the original prosecution indictments for Case 002, which will try Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith for atrocity crimes.

However, “according to the investigating judges, rape was not a part of the [Communist Party of Kampuchea] policy,” Olsen said. “They said that rape occurred, but it was not a part of CPK policy, because CPK policy appeared to punish those who actually committed rape.”

Making justice relevant for all Cambodians

WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2010
By OU VIRAK
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post

In a recent opinion piece published in The Phnom Penh Post, United States Senator and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry noted the potential of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to leave a lasting legacy “by demonstrating the virtues of judicial independence, fairness and due process of law” (“More justice for cambodians”, August 16). The Cambodian Centre for Human Rights is a strong advocate for maximising the KRT’s positive impact on Cambodia’s wider justice system. In this regard, Senator Kerry touched on an important point: If the KRT’s positive impact is to be maximised, along with an increase in the judiciary’s ability to supply justice, there must be an increase in Cambodians’ demand for justice.

Cambodia’s justice system was rebuilt in the 1980s based on the communist model of its Vietnamese patrons. As in other communist states, courts were established as legal institutions subservient to the ruling party, with no recognition of the concept of an independent judiciary or the separation of powers. Despite the introduction of a new Constitution in 1993, guaranteeing an independent and impartial judiciary, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party has been reluctant to abandon its one-party-state ideology and respect the Constitution. The courts remain a political tool. They are all too often used to silence criticism of the government by the media, opposition politicians and ordinary citizens. It is in this context that we must consider the potential legacy of the KRT.

Senator Kerry posited that “the more Cambodians witness a higher standard of justice, the more they will be inclined to demand it in their own judicial system”. Without strong demand for an independent and impartial legal system from a broad section of society, efforts to develop the knowledge, capacity and resources of the judiciary are unlikely to benefit ordinary citizens. One could argue that such efforts will contribute to demand for change from within the judiciary and a greater pride in work, and will make it harder for wrongs to go unnoticed. On the other hand, such capacity building might be counterproductive to the cause of human rights, improving the sophistication of an institution used to persecute those perceived as opponents of Cambodia’s political and business elite and sharpening a tool of oppression.

The USAID-funded Programme on Rights and Justice has noted: “Despite widespread public dissatisfaction with Cambodia’s legal system, judicial reform has yet to move large constituencies of ordinary citizens or business people to mobilise and take corrective action.” It is essential to expand constituencies for legal and judicial reform beyond Phnom Penh-based NGOs, to include a broad cross-section of society. In order to encourage and empower such demand, the positive demonstration effect of the KRT must be maximised. This can only happen if it is viewed as a credible, independent institution and, further, if it implements legacy initiatives focused on sending clear messages to the Cambodian people about what real justice looks like. The KRT is not a magic cure. But it does have the potential to influence the demand for reform; focusing on supply alone could be a very big mistake.

Ou Virak, President
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights

Comrade Duch Must Not Be Made the Sole Scapegoat of the Khmer Rouge Crimes

17 August 2010
By Theary C. Seng

Late last month, the Extraordinary Chambers (informally, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal) convicted the former commandant of the notorious Tuol Sleng torture center, Comrade Duch, for crimes against humanity in the sadistic murders of at least 14,000 Cambodians (possibly including my father) and a handful of foreigners and sentenced him to 35 years of imprisonment. The conviction marked a milestone for Cambodians after having waited some 30 years for some form of credible justice.

However, many Cambodian survivors, including myself, viewed the sentence to be too lenient and incomprehensible in light of the enormity of his crimes. After the Extraordinary Chambers deducted 5 years to redress violations of his rights when he was held illegally in prior military detention and 11 years for the time he’s already served from the 35 years, the victims are left with Comrade Duch effectively receiving only 11 hours of imprisonment for each life he brutally murdered.

(It should be noted that the Trial Chamber correctly considered Duch’s impressive cooperation—confession and remorse which I believe are genuine—as mitigating factors into their sentence of 35 years.)

Moreover, we are appalled at the scant, laughable reparations offered to the victims of Tuol Sleng. We join the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia in demanding that learning centers be established in all the 24 provinces to be furnished with the assets and equipment of the Tribunal once it has closed operations.

Upon hearing the verdict, Hong Savath, a woman sitting next to me who had been raped and orphaned by the Khmer Rouge and lost a relative at Tuol Sleng, went into shock and almost collapsed in my arms, as captured by the images flashed around the world.

Yesterday, 16 August 2010, the Prosecutors filed an appeal against the lenient sentence. We welcome this appeal even if it has the potential of delaying the trial of the “senior” Khmer Rouge leaders in Case 002 because Comrade Duch’s defense lawyer Kar Savuth had already stated his intention of appealing the verdict anyway. Here, the Prosecutors beat him to it.

Up until this puzzling verdict, we Cambodian survivors have been viewing the Extraordinary Chambers as a very powerful catalyst in breaking the 30 years of “communicative silence” and transitioning us into a culture of dialogue and honorable memorializing.

For many years since Vietnam invaded and ended the Khmer Rouge regime in January 1979, these killer wandered the country with impunity thanks to Cold War politics. Despite their shared Communist ideology, the Soviet Union and Vietnam were sworn Cold War enemies of China: China continued its financial and military support of its satellite, the Khmer Rouge, now straddling the Thai jungle border to the west of the country; the Soviet Union supported the occupation of Vietnam in Cambodia. Still smarting from the Vietnam War and viewing China as an indispensible ally, the US backed a coalition government of Khmer Rouge and non-Communist Cambodian forces with Prince Norodom Sihanouk as its nominal head. This government dominated by the Khmer Rouge was given a seat at the United Nations with support from the US, Europe and pro-West ASEAN nations (e.g. Thailand, Singapore).

The collapse of the Soviet Union brought about the Paris Peace Agreement in 1991 which involved all the four Cambodian factions, including the Khmer Rouge. However, the Khmer Rouge boycotted the 1993 general elections envisioned by this Peace Agreement. The elections produced a 2-headed government of First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen and dwindled the power of the Khmer Rouge.

In June 1997, one month before Prince Ranariddh was to be overthrown in a violent coup d’etat by Hun Sen, the Co-Prime Ministers wrote the Secretary General of the United Nations requesting assistance in trying the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. It would take until June 2003 for the UN and the Hun Sen-government to conclude the Agreement to establish the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (its full official name) and until mid-2006 for this Extraordinary Chambers to come into operation.

Hence, the Extraordinary Chambers is the lowest common denominator resulting from a long entangled political compromise, a broken legal construct from the very beginning, but nonetheless the most serious, credible attempt to try the mass crimes of 1975-79.

Since the Tribunal’s operation, civil society has been engaging the Cambodian population to discuss long overdue topics of history, accountability, trauma, peace and reconciliation using the Extraordinary Chambers to jumpstart these conversations. This “court of law” as an object lesson has helped to multiply the benefits in the “court of public opinion”. However, this lenient verdict has taken the air out of us and broken the momentum in our stride toward a more comprehensive justice of both legal accountability and just peace. We will need to regain our composure and faith very quickly (to fight against the strong tide of cynicism from setting in) from this setback in order to concentrate on the larger picture, which is the demand for the quick start of the "senior Khmer Rouge leaders" in Case 002, the core of the Extraordinary Chambers.

Despite our deep disappointment at the light sentence for the grave crimes committed, Case 001 regarding Comrade Duch is significant in familiarizing us Cambodians with the legal process at the Extraordinary Chambers and raising the comfort level of our participation; in this regards, this simple case was a test-run for the heart of the matter—the more complicated trial of the senior Khmer Rouge leaders, Brother No. Two Nuon Chea, KR former Head of State Khieu Samphan, KR Minister of Foreign Affairs Ieng Sary and his wife, KR Minister of Social Affairs Ieng Thirith.

We must bear in mind that Comrade Duch was the commandant of only one Khmer Rouge detention center (Tuol Sleng) and only one “killing field” (Choeung Ek) among at least 200 detention centers and thousands of killing fields spread across the whole country. Phnom Penh was not the only crime scene, but almost every rice field, pagoda and school in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge rounded up their victims – mainly fellow Cambodians evacuated from the capital Phnom Penh and the major towns, believed to be tainted by western imperialism, thus “new” to hardship and suffering – at night for mass execution into graves dug by the victims the day before. They saved the bullets for the war against Vietnam; with their own people, the Khmer Rouge butchered and whacked them from behind at the stem of the neck by more crude farm instruments like hoes. Many died later from asphyxiation from the 20-30 bodies on top of them in the mass graves and the oppressive tropical heat.

Other detention centers resulted in more deaths than the 14,000 at Tuol Sleng. For example, in the Boeung Rai detention center in the heart of the “Eastern Zone” where I was detained as a 7 year old child, the Khmer Rouge killed 30,000 prisoners including my mother. In this prison, every night the Khmer Rouge guards chained the ankles of all the prisoners; they tried to chain my ankles but they were too bony and could slip in and out of these shackles; my job at night was to bring the toilet bucket to other immobile prisoner. One night, a crazy woman in our cabin screamed “I’m thirsty! I’m thirsty!” and drank from the toilet bucket; later the Khmer Rouge prison guards squeezed her head to death with a coconut cruncher for amusement to pass the languid day.

Comrade Duch is “most responsible”, according to the Tribunal, for these grave crimes against humanity of 14,000 lives at Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek, but he was not a "senior" Khmer Rouge leader and should not be made the sole scapegoat of this murderous, genocidal regime where 1.7 million lives were lost.

His conviction on 26 July 2010 is a very good start, even if disappointing in terms of the light sentencing; but it is only a start in the legal process as well as the journey of healing. The heart of the Extraordinary Chambers is the anticipated trial of the senior Khmer Rouge leaders in Case 002, which we must advocate for it to happen quickly before they die of old age, ill health and/or from more invidious political interests.

Should this Cambodian government make Comrade Duch who was not a “senior” Khmer Rouge leader the sole scapegoat of the regime by obstructing the start and completion of Case 002, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal will be considered a failure for the millions of dollars wasted and the irreversible cynicism it has embedded in a society already fractured by distrust and fear. If that is the case, let the record show, we have registered our deep disappointment.
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Theary C. SENG, a lawyer and first recognized Civil Party to testify at the Extraordinary Chambers, is the author of Daughter of the Killing Fields (first published with Fusion Press London, 2005; to be published in North America for the first time with Seven Stories Press, NYC, forthcoming).