Helping young Cambodians better understand the darkest stage and political problems of their country’s history.
On October 9, the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) distributed textbooks about the Khmer Rouge to high school students in the Samrong district of the Takeo province. The book, A History of Democratic Kampuchea, was written by Khamboly Dy of DC-Cam in partnership with the Cambodian Ministry of Education.According to one estimate by the Cambodian Ministry of Education, about 85 percent of educated people were killed during that time.Khamboly Dy compared Cambodian society after the fall of the Khmer Rouge to a broken glass; a shattered society which was very difficult to reconstruct. Khamboly Dy further remarked that none of the students in the audience were alive during the period of Democratic Kampuchea, but that many of their parents and grandparents suffered during that time. He argued that there was even a greater imperative for students to learn about the history of the Khmer Rouge. The younger generation, he explained, could draw on this knowledge to build a more peaceful society.
Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said that the institute has planned to distribute more than a million Khmer Rouge history books to the students in 1,321 schools over the country, and that over the course of the year has distributed only about 400,000 books because of an insufficient budget for printing the books.
“We are going to distribute around 700,000 Khmer Rouge history books next year to the other students who have not got the book yet, and I think at least they have one Khmer Rough history book in their hand,” he said.
He added that the centre doesn’t force them to learn, but that it is their obligation to be informed about the era. As Khmer children, they have to learn about their own history in order to build the country. Youk Chhang said, “If we don’t learn our history, it is very difficult to build our country in the future”.
“For the first time, everyone thinks that Khmer Rouge is a political problem, but actually it is not, and I think the students are the effective agents of change for our country by changing their lives to be educators by learning the Khmer history,” Youk Chhang said.
Tan Ratana, 20, a 12th-grade student at Russey Keo High School, said that her parents and grandmother used to tell her about the Khmer Rouge regime.
“Even though I was not yet born at that time, I believe that Cambodia suffered the brutality of the Pol Pot regime in our country, but as I read, watched and listened to the old people speak about that convincingly, I became horrified and surprised. I believed it had those adverse effects, with a turn of events that was cruel and unbelievable to the extent of Khmer people daring to kill each other like that,” she said.
“I have never learned about the Khmer Rouge history, but I am happy if I can learn about it because I am afraid of foreign youths or students asking me, and it will be shameful if I cannot answer their questions about the Khmer Rouge,” she said.
Luch Bunchhoeun, 28, a 12 th-grade student at the Prah Soramarith Buddhist school, said he has nearly finished reading the Khmer Rouge history book he recieved from DC-Cam.
“Before, I did not read it and I believed only 50 percent of it to be true, but now I do believe it entirely because what the elder witnesses of the regime have said has proved to be evidence,” he said.
He added that what they did at that time was very wrong and cruel – and that as human beings they should not kill someone.
“Younger generations have to learn about Khmer Rouge history, but the trainers have to find the ways of teaching them in order to avoid the students following the Khmer Rouge leaders’ step,” Luch Bunchhoeun said.
Ros Ravuth, a teacher at Chaktomok High School, said that he supports and encourages the Cambodian students learning about Khmer Rouge history.
“The Khmer Rouge history is not only intended for the knowledge of older people, but also for Khmer youths. As they are young and impressionable, it is critical that they know about Khmer history,” he said.
He continued that it can be of significance to the students’ feelings, as many are not aware about the atrocities and bloodshed that the nation committed within its own borders by killing intellectuals in religious, scientific and artistic communities.
“The aim of the education is not to turn the students against the leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime in order to avenge their forefathers,” he added.
“We simply want them to know and review what happened with their parents or relatives at that time.”
Ou Eng of the Ministry of Education said that students and youths should take the effort to read as many books as they can about the Khmer Rouge history.
“Most young people, in this age of technology and globalisation, don’t believe what happened during the Khmer Rouge regime, and they laughed when they learned that people of that era did not have anything to eat,” he said.
“I think it is very good for all young students to learn to know their country’s history in order for them to be mindful of what they have to avoid and which successes or merits they have to follow."
Dy Khamboly, the author of the Khmer Rouge history book, regards the text as a document to be used by the next generation to find the solutions to prevent a similar apocalypse from again engulfing the country.
“I think that they will not become vindictive after absorbing lessons from the book, but they can find solutions for finding peace, harmony and reconciliation,” he said.
“We introduce the facts about the Khmer Rouge – we don’t use the interpretation, we don’t use propaganda, we use facts. And we try to balance, to make the book neutral, not to take sides,” he added.
“That is very important, to know exactly what happened in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979; the real events – not the propaganda, not the hatred – because from now on we need to focus on peace and reconciliation, and justice. Not on hatred or any propaganda.”
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
“Turning a river of blood into a river of reconciliation”: Cambodia’s catastrophe
Dr. Annie Stopford
“After 25 years people are still asking the same questions...we deserve justice as human beings. Victims are just like a glass that has dropped on the floor and broken, and you try to glue it back together. That’s what we are, broken people living in a broken society”. Youk Chhang, Director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia
In August this year I returned to Cambodia for a brief visit after a gap of 28 years. I had no particular plans when I set off, but felt a need to honour a promise I’d made to myself many years ago that one day I would return. It was intensely emotional to be back in Phnom Penh after so long, with an odd feeling of things being so different, and yet still the same. There is freedom of movement, the streets are alive and colourful, and the tense, paranoid atmosphere I experienced in 1980 is gone, but the distress is still palpable. As Christina Carey from the University of Southern California writes; “Even though thirty years have gone by, the Khmer Rouge and the regimes following it have left Cambodia in a state of chronic pain.” (2009). As it happened, my visit coincided with the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (“Duch”), the former superintendent of S21 (Tuol Sleng) prison where over 15,000 men, women and children were tortured and executed during the four years of Khmer Rouge control. Any thoughts of heading off to Siem Riep to see Angkor Wat were soon abandoned, and I spent the first day of my week in Phnom Penh attending the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
It took ten years of wrangling between the Cambodian government and the United Nations to set up this special international court for the specific purpose of prosecuting some senior members of the Khmer Rouge leadership, and the atmosphere surrounding the court is highly charged. There have been accusations of corruption amongst Cambodian ECCC officials, disagreements between the national and international co-prosecutors about whether to prosecute additional Khmer Rouge leaders, and dire warnings from Prime Minister Hun Sen that any further prosecutions would run the risk of plunging Cambodia into civil war. There are many previous Khmer Rouge cadres holding powerful positions in the current Cambodian government, and the blurry line between perpetrator and victim (many Khmer Rouge cadres were children when they were recruited) is a major political and psychological challenge for Cambodia . The proceedings of the ECCC are carefully monitored by numerous interested parties, including national and international journalists, the Cambodian Documentation Centre (DC-Cam), and the Centre for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law.
The day I attended the tribunal there were a few other foreigners, and hundreds of rural Cambodians who had been bussed in by the government due to a concern that 75% of the Cambodian population are not aware of the ECCC. Attending the ECCC tribunal so early on in my visit was like diving straight into Cambodian and international politics, and added to the surreal feeling of past and present converging. My first visit to Cambodia in 1980 was very soon after the Vietnamese invasion ended the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, and Cambodia was in the grip of catastrophic trauma. During the previous 4 years an estimated 21% of the population (close to 2 million people) died as a result of starvation, illness, overwork, torture and execution as “Angkar”, or the Organization, set out to create their Marxist-Leninist- Maoist inspired utopian vision of the ideal agrarian based communist society. When I arrived in Cambodia I could speak only a few words of Khmer, and minimal French, and the Khmer people I met could speak almost no English, but through words, gestures and drawings the people I encountered on my journey from the border of Thailand to Sisophon, Battambang and Phnom Penh managed to convey some of the immeasurable suffering, terror, loss and trauma of the previous 4 years.
The extreme ideologically driven violence, paranoia and cruelty of the Khmer Rouge almost defy imagination. Under the Khmer Rouge cities were emptied, money, wages and private property were abolished, universities, schools, places of worship, cultural institutions, and government buildings destroyed, religious practices and education prohibited, families forcibly separated, and “illegal” sexual activity punished with execution. Everyone lived in constant fear. Children were turned into informers against their parents, uneducated teenagers sent to run hospitals, intellectuals, doctors, scientists and artists killed, and all material goods associated with the “bourgeois” west, such as televisions, books and cars, destroyed. In their attempts to turn Cambodia almost overnight into a “pure” communist society the Khmer Rouge leaders destroyed almost every dimension of Cambodian society. The word used by the Khmer Rouge to describe the action that should be taken against perceived enemies of their revolution was “smashed”, and that is exactly what they did to the country.
As John Le Carre writes in his introduction to a book written by the only westerner to survive imprisonment by the Khmer Rouge, a French man named Francois Bizot; “There is pain that is perceived, and there is pain that is endured, and they are two different worlds, inhabited by creatures of two different races...In the scale of human suffering I did not even qualify for a mention” (200, pg viii). Precisely. Nevertheless, to be in Cambodia in the immediate aftermath of one of the most extreme and brutal regimes in history was profoundly impactful, perhaps heightened by the fact that I was in quite challenging conditions myself. Apart from occasional conversations about practical matters such as food, and insistent questioning by various authorities as to why I was in Cambodia , the only conversations and interactions I had for two months were about what happened under the Khmer Rouge, and I often found myself numb from the extreme horror. The married couple caretakers of the Phnom Penh house where I lived, for example, had had 2 babies during the Khmer Rouge years, both of whose skulls were smashed by young Khmer Rouge cadres in order to ensure that their mother kept working in the rice fields.
I learned in the most immediate and visceral way about the need we humans have to tell our stories, to be heard and recognized, and to have what Martin Buber describes as the “I – Thou” encounter. I have no doubt that this experience was formative in my eventually becoming a psychotherapist. I tried desperately not to dissociate, but of course I did, culminating in nearly fainting when I was taken to see Tuol Sleng ( camp S 21) a few days before leaving Cambodia . Blood stains were still visible on the floor, and the torture instruments displayed, along with thousands of skulls, and “confessions” and photos of the distressingly blank faces of the victims, including 2 young men from Australia and New Zealand who had been “captured” while sailing their yacht off the Cambodian coast.
When I Ieft Cambodia in late January 1981 I wanted to try to stay connected to the country, perhaps through becoming involved in some way with Cambodian refugees in Australia, but instead I became a drug and alcohol counsellor in a women’s refuge in King’s Cross. For many years I gave little conscious thought to what had happened in Cambodia . I was in survival mode myself to some degree, and the dissociation from the unbearable horror of genocide that had begun while I was in Cambodia continued when I returned to Australia . I wanted to believe that the Khmer Rouge’s defeat by the Vietnamese marked a clear cut end to the extreme suffering of the Cambodian people, and the end of the Khmer Rouge, so it came as quite a shock when I read “The Lost Executioner” by Nic Dunlop (2005) after my recent trip and discovered that in fact the Khmer Rouge (backed by the U.S., Thailand and China) remained a considerable threat to Cambodia’s peace and security until the early 1990’s.
As psychotherapists we are interested in the unconscious and dissociative processes that shape lives, and in hindsight it’s easy to see the connection between what I had experienced in Cambodia , and the fact that so soon after my return to Australia I found myself working with drug and alcohol dependent sex workers with their own histories of trauma. I did not have the maturity or psychological capacity to continue what John Pilger describes as the “journey into the dark, suffering heart of Cambodia ” (2005), so I unconsciously found a way to work with suffering that was more “bearable”. On this last visit I made a conscious decision to try to stay as open and receptive as I could to the past and present pain of Cambodia, so in the days after I attended the ECCC, and upon return to Australia, I immersed myself in reports about the trial proceedings, and in literature about the Khmer Rouge, including many accounts by survivors. I have the same response every time I read about the Khmer Rouge as I had when I visited Tuol Sleng in 1980; nausea, dizziness, and a sense of overwhelming horror that leaves me feeling hollow, despairing and drained for days. Many people who research and write about the Holocaust describe similar responses.
Besides attending the ECCC, I also visited several organizations in Phnom Penh that are actively involved in documentation, healing, reconciliation and rescue work. The first on my list was the Cambodian Documentation Centre (DC-Cam), whose motto is “turning a river of blood into a river of reconciliation”. This centre was founded after the US Congress passed the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act in April 1994 and established the Office of Cambodian Genocide Investigations. The Office announced grants to Yale University in 1995 and 1997, enabling Yale’s Cambodian Genocide Program to conduct research on the Khmer Rouge regime, and in 1995 the CGP founded DC-Cam as a field office in Phnom Penh , under the leadership of Youk Chhang, a survivor of Cambodia ’s “killing fields”. In 1997 DC-Cam became fully independent, with a wide variety of donors. The centre concentrates on two major objectives, the first being to record and preserve the history of the Khmer Rouge regime for future generations (memory), and the second to compile and organize information that can serve as potential evidence in any legal proceedings against the Khmer Rouge (justice).
The DC-Cam website includes the following poignant and powerful statement about the destruction and healing of Cambodia :
“DC-Cam's quest for memory and justice has more to do with the future than with the past. It is about the struggle for truth in the face of an overwhelming power that virtually destroyed our society, a power that continues in more subtle ways to threaten our aspirations for a peaceful future. The violence of that power shattered Cambodian society and scattered the Cambodian people across the planet in a terrible diaspora. But no matter how far or near to the homeland, and whether they are survivors or the new generation born after the overthrow of Pol Pot, all Cambodians still suffer from a profound sense of dislocation. This dislocation is rooted in a loss deeper than material deprivation or personal bereavement. It is a loss that can never be recovered, and thus full healing of the wounds of genocide will require that something new be built to take the place of that which has been lost. By reconstructing a historical narrative of what happened to Cambodia, and by striving for justice where that is an appropriate remedy, we aim to lay a foundation upon which all Cambodians can find firm footing in moving toward a better future. Reconciliation in Cambodia will happen one heart at a time.”
When I met with Youk Chhang he said that he feels that unlocking and expressing emotion is the most important task for Cambodia , through theatre, art, Buddhist ceremonies, and education. When at least 40% of the Cambodian population suffers from the legacy of the thirty years of war and the Khmer Rouge genocide, individual therapy is obviously not the answer for the vast majority, and there are numerous individuals, organizations and agencies (including many Australians) involved in trying to find ways to improve the material, emotional and spiritual dimensions of Cambodians’ lives that do not necessarily involve one to one therapeutic work with the very small number of Cambodian psychologists and psychiatrists.
In fact, according to the executive director of the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO), Dr Chhim Sotheara, (who also uses the word “broken” to describe Cambodia), many Cambodians’ symptoms do not fit the western medical model of PTSD. Thus, although he is a psychiatrist working with enormous numbers of people suffering from what most western psychotherapists would describe as trauma, he prefers the term “psychosocial distress” as a signifier for a combination of conditions including poverty, alcoholism, domestic and sexual violence, psychosis, paranoia, anxiety, depression and fear. The day before I met with Chhim Sotheara at the TPO he had appeared as an expert witness for the ECCC, and his testimony about the massive mental health problems associated with the Khmer Rouge genocide, and the importance of the ECCC prosecutions as “symbolic justice”, was widely quoted in the national and international press.
In our meeting Sotheara described how during his testimony at the ECCC, the defendant Duch (who has basically admitted his guilt) tried to make eye contact with him many times, and actually bowed to him at one point. When I asked him how he felt about this, Sotheara said that he wanted to avoid eye contact because he felt afraid of Duch, knowing that if he had met him in 1975 Duch would have had him killed as a member of the educated classes. However, in the interests of reconciliation, he did eventually nod and bow to Duch. As in South Africa after the end of apartheid, both perpetrators and victims live cheek by jowl in Cambodia , with the added issue that many perpetrators were also victims themselves, or would have been, if they had not followed orders. Cambodia is still politically volatile, with endemic corruption, and while many Cambodians want to see justice done, they are realistic about the constraints of the current climate.
Attending the ECCC and talking with both Cambodian and non Cambodians about the widespread psychosocial distress raised many important questions about differences and similarities between individual and collective trauma, and about the kinds of healing work required in situations of mass distress, As a psychotherapist working in private practice I love the special space and relationship that is created in one to one long term therapy, but at the same time I often struggle with the reality that many people who need psychological support, education and healing will probably never have access to such a resource. This feeling was of course greatly amplified in Cambodia, and my brief trip exposed me for the first time to some of the debate going on in several overlapping communities (in academic, medical, mental health and NG0 circles, e.g.) about what one Australian academic I met in Phnom Penh rather derisively calls “the trauma industry”, i.e. Western agencies and organizations offering trauma treatments in non Western contexts. Increasingly there is awareness that “trauma is a category largely codified by Western medical and psychological institutions, that “trauma studies” as a field has been grounded in events and processes of Western modernity...and that there has been insufficient exploration not only of how Western theoretical and diagnostic models translate into a “non-Western” context but of how sites of traumatic memory in South East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (dis)confirm, challenge, or revise dominant Western conceptions of trauma and memory” (Saunders and Aghaie, 2005, p. 16).
I am not familiar enough with the literature about this debate or with the realities of working in the mental health field in Indo China to form a strong opinion on the applicability of Western derived knowledge and methods in Cambodia . However, time spent at ECCC, DC-Cam and TPO, and later on at a French NGO in Phnom Penh for abused, neglected, trafficked and abandoned children (whose Cambodian and Western carers are also traumatized), left me feeling that probably many kinds of psychological support and knowledge are needed in Cambodia. While non Cambodians such as the French director of the aforementioned NGO (who told me she is desperate for her own supportive therapy) might benefit from the kind of one to one therapy we offer in the ANZAP community, if only it were available, what most Cambodian mental health workers want is for their indigenous traditions, practices and resources to be respected and recognised. While they appreciate the support and resources offered by the West, they do not want the all too frequent scenario of Western practitioners assuming that their knowledge and methods are inherently superior. In an interview with Helen Basili after a visit to a mental health clinic in Cambodia, Meng Eang Thai, a Cambodian counsellor at the NSW Service for the treatment and rehabilitation of torture and trauma survivors (STARTTS) says, “I have been arguing with people to acknowledge that Cambodians have had the concept of counselling for a long, long time but most of the Western practitioners have disagreed. ..We have to acknowledge that although the Cambodian idea of counselling is different from the Western tradition, it still exists. It’s a matter of integrating the two into one form”.
References
Basili, H. (2007). Mental health services in Cambodia ; Interview with Meng Eang Thai, STARTTS newsletter
Carey, C. (2009). Addressing the wounds: The process of reconciliation and seeking justice in post-genocide Cambodia . DC-Cam document.
Dunlop, N. (2005). The lost executioner: A story of the Khmer Rouge. Bloomsbury: London
Le Carre, J. (2000). Foreword, “The Gate”, by Francois Bizot, Harvill Press: London
Pilger, J. (2005). Front cover comment on “The lost executioner” by Nic Dunlop, Bloomsbury: London
Saunders, R., & Aghaie, K. (2005). Introduction: Mourning and memory. Comparative Studies of South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East . 25.1 p. 16
For daily report on the ECCC, visit www.cambodiatribunal.org
“After 25 years people are still asking the same questions...we deserve justice as human beings. Victims are just like a glass that has dropped on the floor and broken, and you try to glue it back together. That’s what we are, broken people living in a broken society”. Youk Chhang, Director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia
In August this year I returned to Cambodia for a brief visit after a gap of 28 years. I had no particular plans when I set off, but felt a need to honour a promise I’d made to myself many years ago that one day I would return. It was intensely emotional to be back in Phnom Penh after so long, with an odd feeling of things being so different, and yet still the same. There is freedom of movement, the streets are alive and colourful, and the tense, paranoid atmosphere I experienced in 1980 is gone, but the distress is still palpable. As Christina Carey from the University of Southern California writes; “Even though thirty years have gone by, the Khmer Rouge and the regimes following it have left Cambodia in a state of chronic pain.” (2009). As it happened, my visit coincided with the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (“Duch”), the former superintendent of S21 (Tuol Sleng) prison where over 15,000 men, women and children were tortured and executed during the four years of Khmer Rouge control. Any thoughts of heading off to Siem Riep to see Angkor Wat were soon abandoned, and I spent the first day of my week in Phnom Penh attending the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
It took ten years of wrangling between the Cambodian government and the United Nations to set up this special international court for the specific purpose of prosecuting some senior members of the Khmer Rouge leadership, and the atmosphere surrounding the court is highly charged. There have been accusations of corruption amongst Cambodian ECCC officials, disagreements between the national and international co-prosecutors about whether to prosecute additional Khmer Rouge leaders, and dire warnings from Prime Minister Hun Sen that any further prosecutions would run the risk of plunging Cambodia into civil war. There are many previous Khmer Rouge cadres holding powerful positions in the current Cambodian government, and the blurry line between perpetrator and victim (many Khmer Rouge cadres were children when they were recruited) is a major political and psychological challenge for Cambodia . The proceedings of the ECCC are carefully monitored by numerous interested parties, including national and international journalists, the Cambodian Documentation Centre (DC-Cam), and the Centre for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law.
The day I attended the tribunal there were a few other foreigners, and hundreds of rural Cambodians who had been bussed in by the government due to a concern that 75% of the Cambodian population are not aware of the ECCC. Attending the ECCC tribunal so early on in my visit was like diving straight into Cambodian and international politics, and added to the surreal feeling of past and present converging. My first visit to Cambodia in 1980 was very soon after the Vietnamese invasion ended the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, and Cambodia was in the grip of catastrophic trauma. During the previous 4 years an estimated 21% of the population (close to 2 million people) died as a result of starvation, illness, overwork, torture and execution as “Angkar”, or the Organization, set out to create their Marxist-Leninist- Maoist inspired utopian vision of the ideal agrarian based communist society. When I arrived in Cambodia I could speak only a few words of Khmer, and minimal French, and the Khmer people I met could speak almost no English, but through words, gestures and drawings the people I encountered on my journey from the border of Thailand to Sisophon, Battambang and Phnom Penh managed to convey some of the immeasurable suffering, terror, loss and trauma of the previous 4 years.
The extreme ideologically driven violence, paranoia and cruelty of the Khmer Rouge almost defy imagination. Under the Khmer Rouge cities were emptied, money, wages and private property were abolished, universities, schools, places of worship, cultural institutions, and government buildings destroyed, religious practices and education prohibited, families forcibly separated, and “illegal” sexual activity punished with execution. Everyone lived in constant fear. Children were turned into informers against their parents, uneducated teenagers sent to run hospitals, intellectuals, doctors, scientists and artists killed, and all material goods associated with the “bourgeois” west, such as televisions, books and cars, destroyed. In their attempts to turn Cambodia almost overnight into a “pure” communist society the Khmer Rouge leaders destroyed almost every dimension of Cambodian society. The word used by the Khmer Rouge to describe the action that should be taken against perceived enemies of their revolution was “smashed”, and that is exactly what they did to the country.
As John Le Carre writes in his introduction to a book written by the only westerner to survive imprisonment by the Khmer Rouge, a French man named Francois Bizot; “There is pain that is perceived, and there is pain that is endured, and they are two different worlds, inhabited by creatures of two different races...In the scale of human suffering I did not even qualify for a mention” (200, pg viii). Precisely. Nevertheless, to be in Cambodia in the immediate aftermath of one of the most extreme and brutal regimes in history was profoundly impactful, perhaps heightened by the fact that I was in quite challenging conditions myself. Apart from occasional conversations about practical matters such as food, and insistent questioning by various authorities as to why I was in Cambodia , the only conversations and interactions I had for two months were about what happened under the Khmer Rouge, and I often found myself numb from the extreme horror. The married couple caretakers of the Phnom Penh house where I lived, for example, had had 2 babies during the Khmer Rouge years, both of whose skulls were smashed by young Khmer Rouge cadres in order to ensure that their mother kept working in the rice fields.
I learned in the most immediate and visceral way about the need we humans have to tell our stories, to be heard and recognized, and to have what Martin Buber describes as the “I – Thou” encounter. I have no doubt that this experience was formative in my eventually becoming a psychotherapist. I tried desperately not to dissociate, but of course I did, culminating in nearly fainting when I was taken to see Tuol Sleng ( camp S 21) a few days before leaving Cambodia . Blood stains were still visible on the floor, and the torture instruments displayed, along with thousands of skulls, and “confessions” and photos of the distressingly blank faces of the victims, including 2 young men from Australia and New Zealand who had been “captured” while sailing their yacht off the Cambodian coast.
When I Ieft Cambodia in late January 1981 I wanted to try to stay connected to the country, perhaps through becoming involved in some way with Cambodian refugees in Australia, but instead I became a drug and alcohol counsellor in a women’s refuge in King’s Cross. For many years I gave little conscious thought to what had happened in Cambodia . I was in survival mode myself to some degree, and the dissociation from the unbearable horror of genocide that had begun while I was in Cambodia continued when I returned to Australia . I wanted to believe that the Khmer Rouge’s defeat by the Vietnamese marked a clear cut end to the extreme suffering of the Cambodian people, and the end of the Khmer Rouge, so it came as quite a shock when I read “The Lost Executioner” by Nic Dunlop (2005) after my recent trip and discovered that in fact the Khmer Rouge (backed by the U.S., Thailand and China) remained a considerable threat to Cambodia’s peace and security until the early 1990’s.
As psychotherapists we are interested in the unconscious and dissociative processes that shape lives, and in hindsight it’s easy to see the connection between what I had experienced in Cambodia , and the fact that so soon after my return to Australia I found myself working with drug and alcohol dependent sex workers with their own histories of trauma. I did not have the maturity or psychological capacity to continue what John Pilger describes as the “journey into the dark, suffering heart of Cambodia ” (2005), so I unconsciously found a way to work with suffering that was more “bearable”. On this last visit I made a conscious decision to try to stay as open and receptive as I could to the past and present pain of Cambodia, so in the days after I attended the ECCC, and upon return to Australia, I immersed myself in reports about the trial proceedings, and in literature about the Khmer Rouge, including many accounts by survivors. I have the same response every time I read about the Khmer Rouge as I had when I visited Tuol Sleng in 1980; nausea, dizziness, and a sense of overwhelming horror that leaves me feeling hollow, despairing and drained for days. Many people who research and write about the Holocaust describe similar responses.
Besides attending the ECCC, I also visited several organizations in Phnom Penh that are actively involved in documentation, healing, reconciliation and rescue work. The first on my list was the Cambodian Documentation Centre (DC-Cam), whose motto is “turning a river of blood into a river of reconciliation”. This centre was founded after the US Congress passed the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act in April 1994 and established the Office of Cambodian Genocide Investigations. The Office announced grants to Yale University in 1995 and 1997, enabling Yale’s Cambodian Genocide Program to conduct research on the Khmer Rouge regime, and in 1995 the CGP founded DC-Cam as a field office in Phnom Penh , under the leadership of Youk Chhang, a survivor of Cambodia ’s “killing fields”. In 1997 DC-Cam became fully independent, with a wide variety of donors. The centre concentrates on two major objectives, the first being to record and preserve the history of the Khmer Rouge regime for future generations (memory), and the second to compile and organize information that can serve as potential evidence in any legal proceedings against the Khmer Rouge (justice).
The DC-Cam website includes the following poignant and powerful statement about the destruction and healing of Cambodia :
“DC-Cam's quest for memory and justice has more to do with the future than with the past. It is about the struggle for truth in the face of an overwhelming power that virtually destroyed our society, a power that continues in more subtle ways to threaten our aspirations for a peaceful future. The violence of that power shattered Cambodian society and scattered the Cambodian people across the planet in a terrible diaspora. But no matter how far or near to the homeland, and whether they are survivors or the new generation born after the overthrow of Pol Pot, all Cambodians still suffer from a profound sense of dislocation. This dislocation is rooted in a loss deeper than material deprivation or personal bereavement. It is a loss that can never be recovered, and thus full healing of the wounds of genocide will require that something new be built to take the place of that which has been lost. By reconstructing a historical narrative of what happened to Cambodia, and by striving for justice where that is an appropriate remedy, we aim to lay a foundation upon which all Cambodians can find firm footing in moving toward a better future. Reconciliation in Cambodia will happen one heart at a time.”
When I met with Youk Chhang he said that he feels that unlocking and expressing emotion is the most important task for Cambodia , through theatre, art, Buddhist ceremonies, and education. When at least 40% of the Cambodian population suffers from the legacy of the thirty years of war and the Khmer Rouge genocide, individual therapy is obviously not the answer for the vast majority, and there are numerous individuals, organizations and agencies (including many Australians) involved in trying to find ways to improve the material, emotional and spiritual dimensions of Cambodians’ lives that do not necessarily involve one to one therapeutic work with the very small number of Cambodian psychologists and psychiatrists.
In fact, according to the executive director of the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO), Dr Chhim Sotheara, (who also uses the word “broken” to describe Cambodia), many Cambodians’ symptoms do not fit the western medical model of PTSD. Thus, although he is a psychiatrist working with enormous numbers of people suffering from what most western psychotherapists would describe as trauma, he prefers the term “psychosocial distress” as a signifier for a combination of conditions including poverty, alcoholism, domestic and sexual violence, psychosis, paranoia, anxiety, depression and fear. The day before I met with Chhim Sotheara at the TPO he had appeared as an expert witness for the ECCC, and his testimony about the massive mental health problems associated with the Khmer Rouge genocide, and the importance of the ECCC prosecutions as “symbolic justice”, was widely quoted in the national and international press.
In our meeting Sotheara described how during his testimony at the ECCC, the defendant Duch (who has basically admitted his guilt) tried to make eye contact with him many times, and actually bowed to him at one point. When I asked him how he felt about this, Sotheara said that he wanted to avoid eye contact because he felt afraid of Duch, knowing that if he had met him in 1975 Duch would have had him killed as a member of the educated classes. However, in the interests of reconciliation, he did eventually nod and bow to Duch. As in South Africa after the end of apartheid, both perpetrators and victims live cheek by jowl in Cambodia , with the added issue that many perpetrators were also victims themselves, or would have been, if they had not followed orders. Cambodia is still politically volatile, with endemic corruption, and while many Cambodians want to see justice done, they are realistic about the constraints of the current climate.
Attending the ECCC and talking with both Cambodian and non Cambodians about the widespread psychosocial distress raised many important questions about differences and similarities between individual and collective trauma, and about the kinds of healing work required in situations of mass distress, As a psychotherapist working in private practice I love the special space and relationship that is created in one to one long term therapy, but at the same time I often struggle with the reality that many people who need psychological support, education and healing will probably never have access to such a resource. This feeling was of course greatly amplified in Cambodia, and my brief trip exposed me for the first time to some of the debate going on in several overlapping communities (in academic, medical, mental health and NG0 circles, e.g.) about what one Australian academic I met in Phnom Penh rather derisively calls “the trauma industry”, i.e. Western agencies and organizations offering trauma treatments in non Western contexts. Increasingly there is awareness that “trauma is a category largely codified by Western medical and psychological institutions, that “trauma studies” as a field has been grounded in events and processes of Western modernity...and that there has been insufficient exploration not only of how Western theoretical and diagnostic models translate into a “non-Western” context but of how sites of traumatic memory in South East Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (dis)confirm, challenge, or revise dominant Western conceptions of trauma and memory” (Saunders and Aghaie, 2005, p. 16).
I am not familiar enough with the literature about this debate or with the realities of working in the mental health field in Indo China to form a strong opinion on the applicability of Western derived knowledge and methods in Cambodia . However, time spent at ECCC, DC-Cam and TPO, and later on at a French NGO in Phnom Penh for abused, neglected, trafficked and abandoned children (whose Cambodian and Western carers are also traumatized), left me feeling that probably many kinds of psychological support and knowledge are needed in Cambodia. While non Cambodians such as the French director of the aforementioned NGO (who told me she is desperate for her own supportive therapy) might benefit from the kind of one to one therapy we offer in the ANZAP community, if only it were available, what most Cambodian mental health workers want is for their indigenous traditions, practices and resources to be respected and recognised. While they appreciate the support and resources offered by the West, they do not want the all too frequent scenario of Western practitioners assuming that their knowledge and methods are inherently superior. In an interview with Helen Basili after a visit to a mental health clinic in Cambodia, Meng Eang Thai, a Cambodian counsellor at the NSW Service for the treatment and rehabilitation of torture and trauma survivors (STARTTS) says, “I have been arguing with people to acknowledge that Cambodians have had the concept of counselling for a long, long time but most of the Western practitioners have disagreed. ..We have to acknowledge that although the Cambodian idea of counselling is different from the Western tradition, it still exists. It’s a matter of integrating the two into one form”.
References
Basili, H. (2007). Mental health services in Cambodia ; Interview with Meng Eang Thai, STARTTS newsletter
Carey, C. (2009). Addressing the wounds: The process of reconciliation and seeking justice in post-genocide Cambodia . DC-Cam document.
Dunlop, N. (2005). The lost executioner: A story of the Khmer Rouge. Bloomsbury: London
Le Carre, J. (2000). Foreword, “The Gate”, by Francois Bizot, Harvill Press: London
Pilger, J. (2005). Front cover comment on “The lost executioner” by Nic Dunlop, Bloomsbury: London
Saunders, R., & Aghaie, K. (2005). Introduction: Mourning and memory. Comparative Studies of South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East . 25.1 p. 16
For daily report on the ECCC, visit www.cambodiatribunal.org
A SYMBOL OF INDIVIDUAL RECONCILIATION IN CAMBODIA
Former S-21 head of prison guard, Him Huy, and former S-21 child survivor, Norng Chan Phal who lost his parents at S-21, are distributing the textbook, "A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)" to high school students in Cambodia. At S-21, approximately 14,000 prisoners were tortured and executed. When Vietnamese forces entered Cambodia and discovered S-21 on 10 January, 1979, there were only five survivors at the prison; all five were children and Norng Chan Phal was one of them. The textbook book distribution is part of the Documentation Center of Cambodia's (DC-Cam) Genocide Education project in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. In Cambodia, there are 1,321 high schools with one million students from grades 9-12. DC-Cam aims to distribute textbooks to at least 500,000 students by December 2009. (DQK)
Photo by: Heng Sinith (Him Huy is in blue shirt and Norng Chan Phal is in white shirt). Date: Octoer 9, 2009 at Youkunthor High School in Phnom Penh.
Photo by: Heng Sinith (Him Huy is in blue shirt and Norng Chan Phal is in white shirt). Date: Octoer 9, 2009 at Youkunthor High School in Phnom Penh.
FOCUS: Cambodia's Killing Fields, unfinished justice
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 14 KYODO
Thirty years after Cambodia's ''Killing Fields''
regime collapsed, and despite a Khmer Rouge trial process that began three
years ago, bringing justice to hundreds of thousands of Cambodians is far
from concluded.
Even though five former Khmer Rouge leaders are being
tried for their roles in the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians in
the late 1970s, it remains hard, even for Khmer Rouge victims, to solemnly
decide what is just.
And even now, with only Kaing Guek Eav, better known
as Duch, on trial no verdict on him is expected before next year and the
actual proceedings against the four other aging leaders are unlikely to
start until next year, or the year after.
The special U.N.-backed court trying the former
leaders became operational in 2006, but it has already seen two critical
budget shortfalls and many in Cambodia fear more trouble lies ahead.
In the previous shortfalls, only Japan was moved
quickly to inject funds keep proceedings going ahead.
It has been joined by other donors, but there is
still no guarantee there will enough money, or enough will, to bring the
trials to conclusion.
Budget aside, the Extraordinary Chambers in the
Courts of Cambodia have struggled through a corruption scandal, many fear
the aged Khmer Rouge leaders will die before they are brought to justice and
even decisions on who to call as witnesses are fraught with controversy.
Many of Cambodia's current leaders have the taint of
Khmer Rouge affiliation in their backgrounds and simply the idea of calling
some of them to testify, or even prosecuting some of them, brings fears of
recrimination and civil war that linger barely below the surface of the
Cambodian psyche even today.
Yuko Maeda, spokeswoman for the ECCC, told Kyodo News
that in principle, in accordance with the Cambodian law an the agreement
made with the United Nations, only senior leaders and those the most
responsible for the crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge's Democratic
Kampuchea regime between 1975 and 1979 are to be tried.
Many interpret that to mean only the current five
''suspects'' are to ever face trial for the Khmer Rouge atrocities.
And some trial monitors wonder, given the complex
procedural, political, administrative and legal aspects of the cases, if the
four yet to go on trial will be the prisoner's dock before 2011, if ever.
The four now charged with war crimes and crimes
against humanity since late 2007 are Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No.
2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy after leader Pol Pot;, Khieu Samphan, who was
head of state; Ieng Sary, the regime's foreign minister; and his wife Ieng
Thirith, who was social affairs minister.
Duch, 66, was chief of Tuol Sleng Prison in central
Phnom Penh, code named S-21, from early 1976 through 1979.
He has already admitted responsibility for 12,380
deaths.
Some scholars and historians believe Duch was
responsible for the deaths of at least 14,000 prisoners.
Gathering evidence and prosecuting genocide of that
scale -- and the other leaders are charged with being behind the deaths of
many, many more Cambodians -- is turning out to be prohibitively expensive.
The initial ECCC budget, for three years from 2006 to
2009, was $56.3 million.
Maeda now says the ECCC will have spent about $85
million by the end of this year, and the court still needs funds for 2010
and 2011.
Assuming the money to continue is found, whether or
not justice will be ultimately rendered is open to debate.
Chum Mey, one of three surviving victims from the
S-21 torture center, said he is not expecting ''100 percent justice,'' but
will be ''satisfied'' if after Duch and the other four are tried and
convicted.
Chum Mey, 76, was jailed and tortured for more than
three months from late 1978 until the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed on Jan.
7, 1979.
Independent political analyst Chea Vannath believes
simply completing the five trials will be a ''big achievement and success if
the current five people in the custody could have fair trials.''
There would be ''no need to extend, prolong any
further,'' she added.
''The important message from the court is to alert
all leaders that justice will take place. It does not matter when, where,
and how late,'' she said.
Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of
Cambodia, a nonprofit organization that archives the Khmer Rouge atrocities,
said for him ''the process is most important for all. It is a foundation for
us all to decide what is just being done for us so that we can move on into
the future.''
''Justice has been defined by the victims in many
different ways...,'' he said.
He sees the court as having two distinct roles --
reaching final judgments on the accused and providing formal recognition of
the crimes committed against the Cambodian people.
''Finally,'' he said, it is ''not about victory but
reconciliation of a nation.''
For others, the question remains if more former Khmer
Rouge leaders and cadres should also face trial.
The international co-prosecutor and co-investigating
judge have both sought charges against at least five more suspects, but the
Cambodian co-prosecutor and co-judge, as well as Cambodia's current
political leadership, have resisted all attempts to expand the tribunal.
''If you try more suspects without taking account of
national reconciliation and peace and if war recurs, killing 200,000 to
300,000 more people, who would be responsible?'' Prime Minister Hun Sen has
asked on several occasions.
Pol Pot, mastermind of the ''Killing Fields,'' died
in 1998 and several other Khmer Rouge leaders, including the ''Butcher'' Ta
Mok and National Security Minister Son Sen, are also dead.
Remaining possible suspects tend to be further down
the Khmer Rouge pecking order, and some are very close to the current
government, making deciding who to try and who to ignore an exercise in near
futility politically.
Sok Samoeun, executive director of the Cambodian
Defenders Project, a well-known Cambodian nongovernmental organization
monitoring Khmer Rouge trial, said it is hard to assume justice for
Cambodians none of the five current cases has reached conclusion.
''Duch is the only small figure, while the other four
are bigger and more important. I'm wondering how they will handle the case
of Ieng Sary. (He) was once pardoned and some of his people are in now
power,'' Sok Samoeun said. ''I cannot expect justice, but it will help close
a dark chapter of Cambodia's history.''
==Kyodo
Thirty years after Cambodia's ''Killing Fields''
regime collapsed, and despite a Khmer Rouge trial process that began three
years ago, bringing justice to hundreds of thousands of Cambodians is far
from concluded.
Even though five former Khmer Rouge leaders are being
tried for their roles in the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians in
the late 1970s, it remains hard, even for Khmer Rouge victims, to solemnly
decide what is just.
And even now, with only Kaing Guek Eav, better known
as Duch, on trial no verdict on him is expected before next year and the
actual proceedings against the four other aging leaders are unlikely to
start until next year, or the year after.
The special U.N.-backed court trying the former
leaders became operational in 2006, but it has already seen two critical
budget shortfalls and many in Cambodia fear more trouble lies ahead.
In the previous shortfalls, only Japan was moved
quickly to inject funds keep proceedings going ahead.
It has been joined by other donors, but there is
still no guarantee there will enough money, or enough will, to bring the
trials to conclusion.
Budget aside, the Extraordinary Chambers in the
Courts of Cambodia have struggled through a corruption scandal, many fear
the aged Khmer Rouge leaders will die before they are brought to justice and
even decisions on who to call as witnesses are fraught with controversy.
Many of Cambodia's current leaders have the taint of
Khmer Rouge affiliation in their backgrounds and simply the idea of calling
some of them to testify, or even prosecuting some of them, brings fears of
recrimination and civil war that linger barely below the surface of the
Cambodian psyche even today.
Yuko Maeda, spokeswoman for the ECCC, told Kyodo News
that in principle, in accordance with the Cambodian law an the agreement
made with the United Nations, only senior leaders and those the most
responsible for the crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge's Democratic
Kampuchea regime between 1975 and 1979 are to be tried.
Many interpret that to mean only the current five
''suspects'' are to ever face trial for the Khmer Rouge atrocities.
And some trial monitors wonder, given the complex
procedural, political, administrative and legal aspects of the cases, if the
four yet to go on trial will be the prisoner's dock before 2011, if ever.
The four now charged with war crimes and crimes
against humanity since late 2007 are Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No.
2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy after leader Pol Pot;, Khieu Samphan, who was
head of state; Ieng Sary, the regime's foreign minister; and his wife Ieng
Thirith, who was social affairs minister.
Duch, 66, was chief of Tuol Sleng Prison in central
Phnom Penh, code named S-21, from early 1976 through 1979.
He has already admitted responsibility for 12,380
deaths.
Some scholars and historians believe Duch was
responsible for the deaths of at least 14,000 prisoners.
Gathering evidence and prosecuting genocide of that
scale -- and the other leaders are charged with being behind the deaths of
many, many more Cambodians -- is turning out to be prohibitively expensive.
The initial ECCC budget, for three years from 2006 to
2009, was $56.3 million.
Maeda now says the ECCC will have spent about $85
million by the end of this year, and the court still needs funds for 2010
and 2011.
Assuming the money to continue is found, whether or
not justice will be ultimately rendered is open to debate.
Chum Mey, one of three surviving victims from the
S-21 torture center, said he is not expecting ''100 percent justice,'' but
will be ''satisfied'' if after Duch and the other four are tried and
convicted.
Chum Mey, 76, was jailed and tortured for more than
three months from late 1978 until the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed on Jan.
7, 1979.
Independent political analyst Chea Vannath believes
simply completing the five trials will be a ''big achievement and success if
the current five people in the custody could have fair trials.''
There would be ''no need to extend, prolong any
further,'' she added.
''The important message from the court is to alert
all leaders that justice will take place. It does not matter when, where,
and how late,'' she said.
Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of
Cambodia, a nonprofit organization that archives the Khmer Rouge atrocities,
said for him ''the process is most important for all. It is a foundation for
us all to decide what is just being done for us so that we can move on into
the future.''
''Justice has been defined by the victims in many
different ways...,'' he said.
He sees the court as having two distinct roles --
reaching final judgments on the accused and providing formal recognition of
the crimes committed against the Cambodian people.
''Finally,'' he said, it is ''not about victory but
reconciliation of a nation.''
For others, the question remains if more former Khmer
Rouge leaders and cadres should also face trial.
The international co-prosecutor and co-investigating
judge have both sought charges against at least five more suspects, but the
Cambodian co-prosecutor and co-judge, as well as Cambodia's current
political leadership, have resisted all attempts to expand the tribunal.
''If you try more suspects without taking account of
national reconciliation and peace and if war recurs, killing 200,000 to
300,000 more people, who would be responsible?'' Prime Minister Hun Sen has
asked on several occasions.
Pol Pot, mastermind of the ''Killing Fields,'' died
in 1998 and several other Khmer Rouge leaders, including the ''Butcher'' Ta
Mok and National Security Minister Son Sen, are also dead.
Remaining possible suspects tend to be further down
the Khmer Rouge pecking order, and some are very close to the current
government, making deciding who to try and who to ignore an exercise in near
futility politically.
Sok Samoeun, executive director of the Cambodian
Defenders Project, a well-known Cambodian nongovernmental organization
monitoring Khmer Rouge trial, said it is hard to assume justice for
Cambodians none of the five current cases has reached conclusion.
''Duch is the only small figure, while the other four
are bigger and more important. I'm wondering how they will handle the case
of Ieng Sary. (He) was once pardoned and some of his people are in now
power,'' Sok Samoeun said. ''I cannot expect justice, but it will help close
a dark chapter of Cambodia's history.''
==Kyodo
THE AUTHORITY OF THE CO-INVESTIGATING JUDGES TO CALL FOR WITNESS TESTIMONY
October 13, 2009
By
Professor David Scheffer, Director of the Center for International Human
Rights,Northwestern University School of Law
and
Michael Saliba, J.D. (Northwestern Law ’09), Consultant to the Center for
International Human Rights,Northwestern University School of Law
On October 7, 2009, the ECCC publicly released several letters issued by the
Co-Investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde that were sent to six high ranking
government officials summonsing them to the court to provide their testimony
as witnesses in Case 002. Early indications suggest that the government is
opposed to the requests from the Co-Investigating Judge. According to
government spokesperson Khieu Kanharith, the government’s position is that
only officials who volunteer are obliged to appear before the court,
regardless of whether or not they are called as witnesses.1 He continued to
say that foreign officials involved in the court could “pack their clothes
and return home” if they were not satisfied with the decision.2 Furthermore,
the Prime Minister recently argued that the government officials should not
testify because they were involved in establishing the tribunal and
therefore their testimony as “plaintiffs” could prejudice the court.3
It is imperative at this stage that there be a clear understanding by all
concerned as to the law being applied by the ECCC and why government
witnesses could be of interest to the Co-Investigating Judges as neither
plaintiffs nor defendants but as witnesses who might assist with
ascertaining the truth while evidence is being collected against the four
suspects being investigated in Case 002.
ECCC Statutory Authority to Hear Witness Testimony
The Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of
Cambodia on the Establishment of the ECCC specifies that procedure shall be
in accordance with Cambodian law.4 Guidance from international procedural
law can be sought when Cambodian law is inconsistent with international
standards or when there is uncertainty regarding the interpretation of a
relevant procedural rule under Cambodian law.5 The 2004 Law on the
Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers grants the Co-Investigating
Judges the power to hear witnesses in accordance with existing procedures in
force.6 Furthermore, the ECCC’s constitutional documents provide that the
Co-Investigating Judges, in discharging their duties (such as hearing
witness testimony), may seek assistance from the Royal Government of
Cambodia, in which case such assistance must be given.7
The Pre-Trial Chamber determined that it is the Internal Rules (IR), rather
than the Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), that form the
authoritative source of procedural law at the ECCC.8 The Pre-Trial Chamber
held that the Internal Rules form a self-contained regime of procedural law
which is required in the case of the ECCC because the tribunal’s focus
differs substantially from the normal operation of Cambodian criminal
courts.9 However, it is noteworthy that both the Internal Rules as well as
the CPC are largely consistent on this issue and both grant broad authority
to Co-Investigating Judges to call witnesses to testify before them in the
course of their investigation.
The Internal Rules provide that the Co-Investigating Judges can take
statements from any person whose testimony they consider will be “conducive
to ascertaining the truth.”10 Any person summoned as a witness must appear
before the Co-Investigating Judges.11 In case of refusal to appear, the
Co-Investigating Judges may issue an order requesting the Judicial Police to
compel the witness to appear.12 Furthermore, a refusal to testify, without
just excuse, will be considered to be an interference with the
administration of justice.13 In such cases, the Co-Investigating Judges may
conduct further investigations to ascertain whether there are sufficient
grounds for instigating proceedings or they may refer the matter to the
appropriate authorities of the Kingdom of Cambodia or the United Nations.14
Sanctions imposed for interfering with the administration of justice are
determined by Cambodian law.15
Even though the Internal Rules take primacy over the Cambodian Criminal
Procedure Code, it is important to note that the two are largely consistent
on this issue. Specifically, an investigating judge may question any person
whose response is deemed useful in the revelation of the truth.16 Any person
summonsed as a witness must appear before the investigating judge.17 If that
person refuses to appear, then the investigating judge may ask the public
force to force the witness to appear, and such public force must act
according to the instructions of the investigating judge.18 Any failure to
appear before the court or to provide information as a witness shall be
punished according to the law.19 Penalties for refusal to testify will
likely be prescribed in the new Cambodian Penal Code whose draft articles
were approved by the National Assembly on October 12. The Penal Code that
was adopted in 1992 by the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
subjected those who failed to appear before the court to a fine.20
ECCC Standard for Hearing Witness Testimony
The Internal Rules statutorily grant the Co-Investigating Judges the power
to receive witness testimony under a very broad standard of “conducive to
ascertaining the truth.” Other international criminal tribunals have held
that even if a witness is able to give relevant and admissible evidence, a
subpoena should only be issued if it is likely to elicit evidence material
to an issue in the case which cannot be obtained without judicial
intervention or through other means.21 However, this “last resort”
requirement and standard for identifying, with heightened specificity, the
content of a witness testimony is borne out of the Rules of Procedure and
Evidence of those international tribunals which are notably different from
the Internal Rules of the ECCC with respect to compelling witness testimony.
The Rules of Procedure and Evidence for the International Criminal Tribunals
for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and for the Special Court for Sierra
Leone provide, in relevant part, that a Judge or a Trial Chamber may issue
such orders, summonses, subpoenas, warrants and transfer orders as may be
necessary for the purposes of an investigation or for the preparation or
conduct of the trial.22 The “last resort” requirement, or the requirement
that the information sought cannot be obtained through other means, has been
introduced into the international jurisprudence because of the statutory
requirement that summonses be necessary for the purposes of an investigation
or the preparation or conduct of the trial.23 The ECCC statute is much more
liberal and gives the Co-Investigating Judges the authority to hear witness
testimony when it is conducive rather than necessary in ascertaining the
truth. Furthermore, the ECCC statute gives the Co-Investigating Judges more
flexibility in compelling witness testimony even when information sought has
not been specifically linked to a clearly identified issue in the
investigation or forthcoming trial.
Moreover, at the investigative stage, given that it is so early in the
process, there is even a greater imperative to grant the Co-Investigating
Judges great latitude in collecting all evidence that may elucidate the
facts surrounding their investigation. A broad reading of the power of the
Co-Investigating Judges to hear witness testimony would be consistent with
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which is enshrined
in the ECCC’s constitution documents and states, in part, that the accused
has a right to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his
behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him.24
Exemptions from testifying
The court shall only issue a summons if the testimony of the witness is
conducive to ascertaining the truth. A testimony sought for other reasons,
such as for a political purpose to embarrass a public official, would amount
to an abuse of process and would be an improper exercise of the summons
power.25 However, once a witness has been properly summonsed, that witness
must testify unless he or she has a “just excuse.” Furthermore, the
obligation to appear as a witness when summonsed extends to government
officials.26
The only excuse that is provided for directly in the Internal Rules is the
universally recognized right against self-incrimination.27 Specifically, no
witness can be forced to make statements that might tend to incriminate him
or her.28 To be sure, the six government officials would be under an
obligation to testify only as witnesses and not as suspects. They may
refuse to answer any questions that would tend to incriminate them. Apart
from this right, international jurisprudence recognizes several other “just
causes” that the ECCC may draw upon in its determination that a witness who
has been summonsed may still be exempt from testifying.
For example, several decisions coming from international criminal tribunals
have recognized that witnesses who have been subpoenaed may be exempt from
testifying where their testimony may have a serious detrimental effect on
their mental or physical health. According to these decisions, the harmful
effect on the health of the witness is an overriding concern that weighs
against allowing the court to execute the subpoena.29 There is no public
information suggesting that the testimony of the six government officials in
this case would have a serious detrimental effect on their health.
Furthermore, many witnesses at the other international criminal tribunals
have refused to testify because they feared for their safety or reprisals
against their family. However, concerns for the safety of witnesses or
their relatives do not automatically override the duty to testify.30 In such
cases, the tribunals must address the security concerns of the witness and
implement protective measures such as providing for, among other measures,
in camera proceedings or testimony by video-conference.31 There is no public
information suggesting at this point that the testimony of the six
government officials in this case would put them or their families at risk.
In limited circumstances international criminal tribunals have found that
certain public policy concerns serve as significant factors against
compelling witness testimony. For example, war correspondents enjoy a
heightened level of protection from testifying because compelling them to
testify would adversely affect their ability to carry out their work which
is deemed an important public interest.32 While that particular public
policy concern is not germane to this case, the ECCC has the authority to
assess its own public policy concerns. However, the public policy concern
must be serious, and it is for the court, and not the witness, to decide
whether the public policy concern should serve to exempt the witness from
testifying.
Conclusion
Despite the objections raised from key government officials, the ECCC may
properly exercise its authority to summon witnesses so long as the testimony
sought is deemed to be conducive in ascertaining the truth. When properly
summonsed, witnesses, including government officials, have an obligation to
appear before the court unless they can show just cause. The six government
officials have yet to specify whether they will comply with the letters from
the Co-Investigating Judge and the basis of their decisions should they
decide not to comply. Therefore, until such time as they can specify and
demonstrate just cause, they have an obligation to appear before the
Co-Investigating Judges to provide their testimony as witnesses. Moreover,
if they fail to appear without just cause, there is the possibility that
they may be subject to penalty under Cambodian law. It remains instructive
that international criminal tribunals outside Cambodia have held several
witnesses in contempt for refusing to testify and have issued sentences
including prison terms.33
***
1 Govt testimony could bias KRT: PM, Phnom Penh Post, 09 October 2009
2 Govt testimony could bias KRT: PM, Phnom Penh Post, 09 October 2009
3 Just because a party may be an interested party does not mean that they
cannot or should not testify. For example, it is common practice for
victims as civil parties to testify against an accused. The six government
officials would still be under an obligation to tell the truth pursuant to
an oath they must take, and the Judges can assess their credibility or
perceived bias to determine the probative value of their testimony.
4 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 12
5 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 12
6 Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, Article 23 new
7 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 12; Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, Article 23 new
8 Nuon Chea, PTC, Decision on Appeal Against Order Refusing Request For
Annulment, 26 August 2008, Para 14; Khieu Samphan, PTC, Decision on
Supplemental Application for Release, 24 Dec 2008, Para 16
9 Nuon Chea, PTC, Decision on Appeal Against Order Refusing Request For
Annulment, 26 August 2008, Para 14; Khieu Samphan, PTC, Decision on
Supplemental Application for Release, 24 Dec 2008, Para 16
10 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 60, Rule 55
11 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 60
12 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 60
13 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 35
14 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 35
15 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 35
16 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 153
17 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 153
18 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 153, Article 239
19 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 477
20 UNTAC Law of 1992, Article 24
21 Prosecutor v. Norman, Decision on Interlocutory Appeals Against the Trial
Chamber Decision Refusing to Subpoena the President of Sierra Leone, 11
September 2006, Para 9, 20 ; Prosecutor v. Halilovic, Decision on the
Issuance of Subpoenas, 21 June 2004, Para 6, 7
22 ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule 54; ICTR Rules of Procedure
and Evidence, Rule 54; SCSL Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule 54
23 Prosecutor v. Halilovic, Decision on the Issuance of Subpoenas, 21 June
2004, Para 7
24 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 13; Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, Article 33 new;
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 14(e)
25 Prosecutor v. Milosevic, Decision on Assigned Counsel Application for
Interview of Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroder, 09 December 2005
26 Prosecutor v. Milosevic, Decision on Assigned Counsel Application for
Interview of Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroder, 09 December 2005, Para 28;
Prosecutor v. Krstic, Decision on Application for Subpoenas, 1 July 2003;
Prosecutor v. Bagasora, Decision on Request for a Subpoena for Major Jacques
Biot, 14 July 2006, Para 4
27 ECCC Internal Rules, Rule 28
28 ECCC Internal Rules, Rule 28
29 Prosecutor v. Bagosora, Decision on Prosecutor’s Motion to Allow Witness
DBO to Testify by Means of Deposition, 25 August 2004, Para 9; Prosecutor v.
Haradinaj, Decision on Prosecution’s Motion to Have Witness 25 Subpoenaed to
Testify, 30 October 2007, Para 2
30 Judgment Summary for Dragan Jokic, 27 March 2009
31 ICTR, Decision on Prosecution Request for Testimony of Witness BT via
Video Link, 8 October 2004, Para 1, 13
32 Prosecutor v. Brdjanin, Decision on Interlocutory Appeal, 11 December
2002
33 Judgment Summary for Dragan Jokic, 27 March 2009; Third witness in Kosovo
trial faces charges at UN tribunal over refusal to testify, UN News Center,
14 November 2007
By
Professor David Scheffer, Director of the Center for International Human
Rights,Northwestern University School of Law
and
Michael Saliba, J.D. (Northwestern Law ’09), Consultant to the Center for
International Human Rights,Northwestern University School of Law
On October 7, 2009, the ECCC publicly released several letters issued by the
Co-Investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde that were sent to six high ranking
government officials summonsing them to the court to provide their testimony
as witnesses in Case 002. Early indications suggest that the government is
opposed to the requests from the Co-Investigating Judge. According to
government spokesperson Khieu Kanharith, the government’s position is that
only officials who volunteer are obliged to appear before the court,
regardless of whether or not they are called as witnesses.1 He continued to
say that foreign officials involved in the court could “pack their clothes
and return home” if they were not satisfied with the decision.2 Furthermore,
the Prime Minister recently argued that the government officials should not
testify because they were involved in establishing the tribunal and
therefore their testimony as “plaintiffs” could prejudice the court.3
It is imperative at this stage that there be a clear understanding by all
concerned as to the law being applied by the ECCC and why government
witnesses could be of interest to the Co-Investigating Judges as neither
plaintiffs nor defendants but as witnesses who might assist with
ascertaining the truth while evidence is being collected against the four
suspects being investigated in Case 002.
ECCC Statutory Authority to Hear Witness Testimony
The Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of
Cambodia on the Establishment of the ECCC specifies that procedure shall be
in accordance with Cambodian law.4 Guidance from international procedural
law can be sought when Cambodian law is inconsistent with international
standards or when there is uncertainty regarding the interpretation of a
relevant procedural rule under Cambodian law.5 The 2004 Law on the
Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers grants the Co-Investigating
Judges the power to hear witnesses in accordance with existing procedures in
force.6 Furthermore, the ECCC’s constitutional documents provide that the
Co-Investigating Judges, in discharging their duties (such as hearing
witness testimony), may seek assistance from the Royal Government of
Cambodia, in which case such assistance must be given.7
The Pre-Trial Chamber determined that it is the Internal Rules (IR), rather
than the Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), that form the
authoritative source of procedural law at the ECCC.8 The Pre-Trial Chamber
held that the Internal Rules form a self-contained regime of procedural law
which is required in the case of the ECCC because the tribunal’s focus
differs substantially from the normal operation of Cambodian criminal
courts.9 However, it is noteworthy that both the Internal Rules as well as
the CPC are largely consistent on this issue and both grant broad authority
to Co-Investigating Judges to call witnesses to testify before them in the
course of their investigation.
The Internal Rules provide that the Co-Investigating Judges can take
statements from any person whose testimony they consider will be “conducive
to ascertaining the truth.”10 Any person summoned as a witness must appear
before the Co-Investigating Judges.11 In case of refusal to appear, the
Co-Investigating Judges may issue an order requesting the Judicial Police to
compel the witness to appear.12 Furthermore, a refusal to testify, without
just excuse, will be considered to be an interference with the
administration of justice.13 In such cases, the Co-Investigating Judges may
conduct further investigations to ascertain whether there are sufficient
grounds for instigating proceedings or they may refer the matter to the
appropriate authorities of the Kingdom of Cambodia or the United Nations.14
Sanctions imposed for interfering with the administration of justice are
determined by Cambodian law.15
Even though the Internal Rules take primacy over the Cambodian Criminal
Procedure Code, it is important to note that the two are largely consistent
on this issue. Specifically, an investigating judge may question any person
whose response is deemed useful in the revelation of the truth.16 Any person
summonsed as a witness must appear before the investigating judge.17 If that
person refuses to appear, then the investigating judge may ask the public
force to force the witness to appear, and such public force must act
according to the instructions of the investigating judge.18 Any failure to
appear before the court or to provide information as a witness shall be
punished according to the law.19 Penalties for refusal to testify will
likely be prescribed in the new Cambodian Penal Code whose draft articles
were approved by the National Assembly on October 12. The Penal Code that
was adopted in 1992 by the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
subjected those who failed to appear before the court to a fine.20
ECCC Standard for Hearing Witness Testimony
The Internal Rules statutorily grant the Co-Investigating Judges the power
to receive witness testimony under a very broad standard of “conducive to
ascertaining the truth.” Other international criminal tribunals have held
that even if a witness is able to give relevant and admissible evidence, a
subpoena should only be issued if it is likely to elicit evidence material
to an issue in the case which cannot be obtained without judicial
intervention or through other means.21 However, this “last resort”
requirement and standard for identifying, with heightened specificity, the
content of a witness testimony is borne out of the Rules of Procedure and
Evidence of those international tribunals which are notably different from
the Internal Rules of the ECCC with respect to compelling witness testimony.
The Rules of Procedure and Evidence for the International Criminal Tribunals
for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and for the Special Court for Sierra
Leone provide, in relevant part, that a Judge or a Trial Chamber may issue
such orders, summonses, subpoenas, warrants and transfer orders as may be
necessary for the purposes of an investigation or for the preparation or
conduct of the trial.22 The “last resort” requirement, or the requirement
that the information sought cannot be obtained through other means, has been
introduced into the international jurisprudence because of the statutory
requirement that summonses be necessary for the purposes of an investigation
or the preparation or conduct of the trial.23 The ECCC statute is much more
liberal and gives the Co-Investigating Judges the authority to hear witness
testimony when it is conducive rather than necessary in ascertaining the
truth. Furthermore, the ECCC statute gives the Co-Investigating Judges more
flexibility in compelling witness testimony even when information sought has
not been specifically linked to a clearly identified issue in the
investigation or forthcoming trial.
Moreover, at the investigative stage, given that it is so early in the
process, there is even a greater imperative to grant the Co-Investigating
Judges great latitude in collecting all evidence that may elucidate the
facts surrounding their investigation. A broad reading of the power of the
Co-Investigating Judges to hear witness testimony would be consistent with
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which is enshrined
in the ECCC’s constitution documents and states, in part, that the accused
has a right to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his
behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him.24
Exemptions from testifying
The court shall only issue a summons if the testimony of the witness is
conducive to ascertaining the truth. A testimony sought for other reasons,
such as for a political purpose to embarrass a public official, would amount
to an abuse of process and would be an improper exercise of the summons
power.25 However, once a witness has been properly summonsed, that witness
must testify unless he or she has a “just excuse.” Furthermore, the
obligation to appear as a witness when summonsed extends to government
officials.26
The only excuse that is provided for directly in the Internal Rules is the
universally recognized right against self-incrimination.27 Specifically, no
witness can be forced to make statements that might tend to incriminate him
or her.28 To be sure, the six government officials would be under an
obligation to testify only as witnesses and not as suspects. They may
refuse to answer any questions that would tend to incriminate them. Apart
from this right, international jurisprudence recognizes several other “just
causes” that the ECCC may draw upon in its determination that a witness who
has been summonsed may still be exempt from testifying.
For example, several decisions coming from international criminal tribunals
have recognized that witnesses who have been subpoenaed may be exempt from
testifying where their testimony may have a serious detrimental effect on
their mental or physical health. According to these decisions, the harmful
effect on the health of the witness is an overriding concern that weighs
against allowing the court to execute the subpoena.29 There is no public
information suggesting that the testimony of the six government officials in
this case would have a serious detrimental effect on their health.
Furthermore, many witnesses at the other international criminal tribunals
have refused to testify because they feared for their safety or reprisals
against their family. However, concerns for the safety of witnesses or
their relatives do not automatically override the duty to testify.30 In such
cases, the tribunals must address the security concerns of the witness and
implement protective measures such as providing for, among other measures,
in camera proceedings or testimony by video-conference.31 There is no public
information suggesting at this point that the testimony of the six
government officials in this case would put them or their families at risk.
In limited circumstances international criminal tribunals have found that
certain public policy concerns serve as significant factors against
compelling witness testimony. For example, war correspondents enjoy a
heightened level of protection from testifying because compelling them to
testify would adversely affect their ability to carry out their work which
is deemed an important public interest.32 While that particular public
policy concern is not germane to this case, the ECCC has the authority to
assess its own public policy concerns. However, the public policy concern
must be serious, and it is for the court, and not the witness, to decide
whether the public policy concern should serve to exempt the witness from
testifying.
Conclusion
Despite the objections raised from key government officials, the ECCC may
properly exercise its authority to summon witnesses so long as the testimony
sought is deemed to be conducive in ascertaining the truth. When properly
summonsed, witnesses, including government officials, have an obligation to
appear before the court unless they can show just cause. The six government
officials have yet to specify whether they will comply with the letters from
the Co-Investigating Judge and the basis of their decisions should they
decide not to comply. Therefore, until such time as they can specify and
demonstrate just cause, they have an obligation to appear before the
Co-Investigating Judges to provide their testimony as witnesses. Moreover,
if they fail to appear without just cause, there is the possibility that
they may be subject to penalty under Cambodian law. It remains instructive
that international criminal tribunals outside Cambodia have held several
witnesses in contempt for refusing to testify and have issued sentences
including prison terms.33
***
1 Govt testimony could bias KRT: PM, Phnom Penh Post, 09 October 2009
2 Govt testimony could bias KRT: PM, Phnom Penh Post, 09 October 2009
3 Just because a party may be an interested party does not mean that they
cannot or should not testify. For example, it is common practice for
victims as civil parties to testify against an accused. The six government
officials would still be under an obligation to tell the truth pursuant to
an oath they must take, and the Judges can assess their credibility or
perceived bias to determine the probative value of their testimony.
4 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 12
5 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 12
6 Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, Article 23 new
7 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 12; Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, Article 23 new
8 Nuon Chea, PTC, Decision on Appeal Against Order Refusing Request For
Annulment, 26 August 2008, Para 14; Khieu Samphan, PTC, Decision on
Supplemental Application for Release, 24 Dec 2008, Para 16
9 Nuon Chea, PTC, Decision on Appeal Against Order Refusing Request For
Annulment, 26 August 2008, Para 14; Khieu Samphan, PTC, Decision on
Supplemental Application for Release, 24 Dec 2008, Para 16
10 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 60, Rule 55
11 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 60
12 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 60
13 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 35
14 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 35
15 ECCC Internal Rules; Rule 35
16 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 153
17 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 153
18 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 153, Article 239
19 Cambodian Criminal Procedure Code, Article 477
20 UNTAC Law of 1992, Article 24
21 Prosecutor v. Norman, Decision on Interlocutory Appeals Against the Trial
Chamber Decision Refusing to Subpoena the President of Sierra Leone, 11
September 2006, Para 9, 20 ; Prosecutor v. Halilovic, Decision on the
Issuance of Subpoenas, 21 June 2004, Para 6, 7
22 ICTY Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule 54; ICTR Rules of Procedure
and Evidence, Rule 54; SCSL Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule 54
23 Prosecutor v. Halilovic, Decision on the Issuance of Subpoenas, 21 June
2004, Para 7
24 Agreement between the UN and the RGC on the Establishment of the ECCC,
Article 13; Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, Article 33 new;
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 14(e)
25 Prosecutor v. Milosevic, Decision on Assigned Counsel Application for
Interview of Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroder, 09 December 2005
26 Prosecutor v. Milosevic, Decision on Assigned Counsel Application for
Interview of Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroder, 09 December 2005, Para 28;
Prosecutor v. Krstic, Decision on Application for Subpoenas, 1 July 2003;
Prosecutor v. Bagasora, Decision on Request for a Subpoena for Major Jacques
Biot, 14 July 2006, Para 4
27 ECCC Internal Rules, Rule 28
28 ECCC Internal Rules, Rule 28
29 Prosecutor v. Bagosora, Decision on Prosecutor’s Motion to Allow Witness
DBO to Testify by Means of Deposition, 25 August 2004, Para 9; Prosecutor v.
Haradinaj, Decision on Prosecution’s Motion to Have Witness 25 Subpoenaed to
Testify, 30 October 2007, Para 2
30 Judgment Summary for Dragan Jokic, 27 March 2009
31 ICTR, Decision on Prosecution Request for Testimony of Witness BT via
Video Link, 8 October 2004, Para 1, 13
32 Prosecutor v. Brdjanin, Decision on Interlocutory Appeal, 11 December
2002
33 Judgment Summary for Dragan Jokic, 27 March 2009; Third witness in Kosovo
trial faces charges at UN tribunal over refusal to testify, UN News Center,
14 November 2007
The Elusive Quest For Justice in Cambodia
Tiffany Handley
University of Southern California (USC)
“After 25 years people are still asking the same questions… we deserve justice as human beings. Victims are just like a glass that [has] dropped on the floor and broken, and you try to glue it back together. That’s what we are, broken [people] living in a broken society.”-- Youk Chhang, Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia
What does justice looks like for a population that has survived genocide? When nothing can bring back the millions of souls lost, or restore people’s previous lives, it is difficult to even begin to atone for the loss the Cambodian people have suffered. However despite the criticisms that have enveloped the court and its arduous road to inception, there is finally an opportunity for transitional justice to take place for both national retribution and for individual healing to commence, as survivors finally see some of their abusers brought to justice. Community Restorative justice programs run through NGOs have contributed massively towards the individual healing process of the victims, however because of the deep pain inflicted upon the people with at least one generation—if not two—having been affected, this has not been enough. Retribution is what the people have been yearning for, and until now ‘[No one has] ever been judged, [and so there has] never been closure…’ (Chhang) and that is why it has been difficult to move on. This is why the ECCC tribunal represents an important breakthrough in Cambodia ’s legacy. The majority of the Khmer Rouge elite have perished before they could be tried, however some still remain and it is only once the Cambodian people have had a chance to share their stories and confront their tormentors; for the truth to be publicly exposed and for some responsibility to be taken, can the country can truly begin to move on again.
Three decades of having remained broken and ignored means that a new, creative melding and meeting of restorative and retributive justice is necessary to help resuscitate Cambodia out of their horrific past and into the twenty first century.
There have been many who have doubted the ECCCs value, relative to its expense; however overwhelming statistics suggest that the court has the support of the Cambodian people. One former Khmer Rouge cadre, Sok Phat, believes strongly that the top officials need to be on trial to pay for the death of his brother and those wasted years of his life, stating, ‘only by having a trial, will the Khmer Rouge machinery be entirely cut off for good.’ A significant step in victims feeling as though justice has been served lies in the greater hope that the question of “why” will finally be answered by the top officials who have never before been questioned in a court setting. They hope that by having the trials, by completing the trials, this chapter of Cambodia ’s history can finally be over, and put into the past as a lesson learned (Chhang).
In response to this demand, the Extraordinary Criminal Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) were established as a joint tribunal of Cambodian courts and the United Nations. The Cambodian presence speaks for the sovereignty and ownership of their history, while the United Nations uphold international standards relating to the Geneva Convention and the international communities’ refusal to accept such heinous crimes against humanity.
The United Nations’ (UN) role in the ECCC goes a long way towards creating legitimacy for the trials; however, victims who look to the courts to bring justice and peace also view their role as unimportant. Throughout wildly varied interviews with victims and perpetrators, the one consistent answer given by all was a genuine lack of understanding for the role of the international community in the ECCC. However, the United Nations presence not only brings overseas attention to a court that would otherwise go unnoticed, it also serves to educate the masses on the gravity of genocide. As Youk said, “[Cambodia] can’t do this alone…Genocide is a global issue and that every country has the obligation to take action to prevent, to educate, to learn, to heal, to try this issue.”
Since the over-arching goal of the ECCC is to provide justice to the masses, increasing access to the trials for victims is something that the court is continually striving to improve. On this matter, Youk states that the trials cannot bring back what has been lost, ‘ So for me the most important [thing] is that we have a process where the survivor[s] can participate to be witness of the history, can be the owner of the trial…”
However, going to the trials for days or weeks at a time is not plausible for most people, especially for those living outside of Phnom Penh . Chea Mao, a former Khmer Rouge S-21 guard, said though he would like to attend the trials, he cannot even find time to follow them on the radio because he has to tend to his farm. Similarly Sok Phat will not be able to visit the ECCC because he has no one to look after his cows during the day. This is a reality for most people: their livelihood is a daily task to take precedence over going to the courts.
Because it is physically impossible for the majority of the population to get to the trials, the focus of any funding should be on bringing the trials to the people. Not only should magazines and newspapers publish more articles on the progress of the ECCC, but they should also work on circulating the information to remote villages. To account for illiteracy, group readings of the proceedings should occur on certain nights of the week at schools and the local pagodas. Also, NGO’s and missions groups could collect, donate, and distribute radios and televisions to every few families as a way of encouraging people to follow the trials.
The ECCC has reached out to bridge national and individual healing by including victims’ testimonies as evidence in the trials. While the intention behind the action is legally essential, the actual court process is quite slow and is thus often behind schedule. Despite the shortcomings of the ECCC tribunal, its existence is helping to reverse many pervasive trends that have dictated Cambodia ’s past for decades. By having the trials take place in Cambodia , a precedence of legitimate justice is being set in Cambodia . Although it is difficult for some to accept that this process requires individuals such as Duch who have admitted to ordering numerous killings to be entitled to a defense at all; it is hoped that in the future, people will acknowledge that everyone should be guaranteed an attorney and a fair trial because they are basic human rights applicable to all.
Due to the unusual set up of the ECCC tribunal that sees the involvement of civil parties alongside, criminal proceedings and a hybrid of civil and common law; these trials also are being observed to see what lessons, can be learned for future international criminal tribunals. In particular, the difficulty perceived in obtaining convictions against the leaders of the Khmer Rouge reflects the value in prosecuting on the heels of conflict so that more of the truth comes out, and society can begin to learn, heal, and move forward sooner.
Had there been an ECCC tribunal in the early eighties, then low-level cadres of the Khmer Rouge may have stood trial. However, trying these perpetrators today would serve more as an alienation and division in society instead of accomplishing any semblance of justice for victims. One of the older men we interviewed, Nhim Savath, a former Lon Nol soldier and victim of Pol Pot’s murderous regime, believes that the top leadership should be put to death, but he understands the lower level officials were just following orders to stay alive. This could be partly due to the nature of Pol Pot’s regime which incorporated forced conscription into the Khmer Rouge ranks and stories of ‘kill or be killed,’ and raise some questions of where the victim line truly lies.
His attitude is similar to some other victims who have come to realize—in spite of the frustration it raises—that perpetrators too had to do whatever it took to stay alive. In his book Why Did they Kill?, Hinton addresses the sentiments of both sides:
“…When I asked what he would say if he met one of his former prisoners on the street, Lor responded, “I would tell them, ‘Don’t be angry with me. When I worked at that place, I had to obey orders of others. I am not mean and savage. I didn’t do anything to anyone. If they had me arrest someone, I would go arrest the person. If they ordered me to do something, I would do it.’”
In light of this, reconciliation efforts on a communal level need to concentrate on having perpetrators and victims meet face to face. Most obviously, the goal of this would be for victims to tell their stories to perpetrators, who could in turn understand more personally the harm their role in the regime inflicted. This not only allows victims to tell their stories and express their pain to people who carried out the Khmer Rouge orders, but it also allows the perpetrators to show their own humanity. As Youk Chhang said in his interview about his own past, “For most of the victims, [they] feel release. They see [the perpetrators] look just like me. Most picture Khmer Rouge as monsters, but seeing them they think it’s like seeing [the] other side of us, same thing with the former Khmer Rouge having seen the victim they see other side of themselves.”
Not only is this dialogue a safe space for victims to speak, but because perpetrators also can share their own personal histories, the process promotes forgiveness and recognition for the lower level cadres who never got a chance to be heard. Youk recognizes this need for the perpetrators to feel human too: “Because the Khmer [Rouge] also need to be healed. They are people too. They also need the healing process… Allowing them the freedom to speak to the victims… it’s also important for the former [cadres] to also be free to tell you their story.” By having the opportunity to share their lives and to potentially be forgiven, former Khmer Rouge soldiers probably feel a relief from their pasts, release from any lingering guilt and haunting memories. This chance is also instrumental in ensuring that the country does not become post-genocidal again: “restorative justice is a forward-looking, preventive response that strives to understand crime in its social context. It challenges us to examine the root causes of violence and crime in order that these cycles might be broken. This approach is based on the assumption that crime has its origins in social conditions, and recognizes that offenders themselves have suffered harm.”(Maiese).
The face-to-face conversations are instrumental in evoking empathy from both sides towards the other’s histories, in hopes that the empathy will turn to compassion, and the compassion in turn becomes a channel through which to promote communal healing.
Another social program worth developing would be a support system for victims who are having difficulty coping still with haunting memories and nightmares. While therapy is a very Western remedy, it does have transnational merit. To make this more conducive to Cambodian society, healing groups need to be established through pagodas and facilitated by religious or village leaders. These programs should also be developed through NGO’s who could provide professional psychology specialists or pay Cambodian psychologists to come work in different villages. Regardless of how these programs were sponsored, the focus should be to “provide victims with material, psychological, and social support and aid in the healing process,” (Maiese). After time, these healing groups could have enough pervasive strength that each individual movement would be a part of a greater communal and national healing process.
While there is a large need for this type of community wide healing, other survivors feel that this process would not be beneficial as an individual way of finding peace. For example, Chea Mao felt that the people who died during the Khmer Rouge died with dignity, but those who survived constantly think about the past, where there is no justice or peace to be found. Even attending a social-coping group would not benefit him though because regardless of his inner peace, he says he can never have justice as long as he lives under the poverty line (Mao). On the other hand for Nhim Savath, he has found peace in knowing that he is not alone through all of this, although recalling the memories and speaking about it was physically exhausting and mentally draining (Savath). For some, like Youk, having the opportunity to share his testimony has helped him heal. He says, “The most important thing the victim is looking for is for someone to really listen to their story. Just listen to it. They want to tell you their story. And when you listen to it is very helpful. You don’t need to do anything… It’s all about human, human touch, human instinct. Money cannot bring about a process of reconciliation, you can try but it’s not working.” Still for others, like Him Huy, being asked to recount his past only serves to make the painful memories come back. When asked what would bring him peace, he quickly and adamantly responded “For all of you to just leave me alone, to stop asking me questions.” For the many that have not found peace through sharing their testimony, personal healing may come through other facets, like meditation and religion.
Many Cambodians have turned to Buddhism as another means through which to feel their dignity restored. Because the majority of the population is Buddhist, on both a local and national level the Buddhist beliefs and institutions should continue to play a significant role in healing and reconciling survivors. One of the main Buddhist teachings persuades against vindictiveness. Rather, their faith holds that their crimes in this life will be judged and satisfied through karmic cycles in their next lives. For almost three decades this tenant has helped minimize vengeance seeking of victims towards perpetrators who live side by side. For example, Chea Mao said that vindictiveness is not the answer to justice; instead, karma is justice through Buddhism. Similarly, most of the people we spoke to while in Cambodia placed strong emphasis on the role of religion in their personal healing processes.
Buddhist teachings also hold that forgiveness is key to moving forward in life. For this reason, many Cambodian believers are open to speaking to former perpetrators as a way to let go of their own anger by forgiving those who inflicted harm on them and their families. As one Cambodian woman said, citing Buddha, “Hatred does not cease by hatred… Even if we punish the wrongdoers, we cannot bring the victims back to life,” ( Taylor 250). Her sentiment is echoed in the many Cambodian victims who have granted forgiveness to perpetrators and thus found peace. In the movie New Year Baby, the translator realizes that the former Khmer Rouge nurse they were interviewing worked at the hospital where his mother died. Through a quick, though painful, conversation, both people were able to find humanity through recognition of each other and each other’s story, leading to an emotional forgiveness. Buddhism has given people a reason and an avenue to forgive and heal together.
Although not all Cambodians are Buddhist, the surviving Cham Muslim population has also looked to Allah as a way to reconcile with their pasts. When we spoke to El Sam, a 78 year old Cham, she told us that her religion helped because she used Islamic teachings for a higher healing process. Alongside the three other generations who live in the household, she recites Islamic teachings as part of her personal rebuilding process. After enduring over thirty-five years of hardship since her husband was killed by the Lon Nol regime in 1972, she could only find peace in knowing that “healing depended on Allah’s will.” Her testimony is evidence that regardless of the specific belief systems, Cambodians—like believers all over the world—find hope and relief in the belief of something greater where justice and mercy will be served.
While the hackneyed “never again” phrase often comes up in post-genocide societies, only through the physical manifestations of this phrase are people able to fully grasp the gravity and severity of the promise. Even though Cambodia is still in the early stages of retributive justice reconciliation, memorialization efforts throughout the country are quite prevalent. For example, Choeung Ek is one of over one hundred sixty memorial killing sites. The skull towers juxtaposing pagodas sprinkled in village centers serve to remind people on a daily basis of Pol Pot’s massive genocide against the Cambodian people. Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh has also been forever immortalized as a reminder to the public of those four dark years. While these physical landmarks are painful memories for all survivors, their simple existence will serve both informatively to future generations and as a remembrance of those who endured the Khmer Rouge genocide.
In addition to sites that remain from those years, the Cambodian government should take several steps to recognize the genocide as part of a national reconciliation process. One common way that other countries have promoted this type of healing is by renaming important buildings, parks, and streets in memory of these unspoken periods of their history. By placing names that directly speak homage to important leaders who fought against the regime, dialogues are immediately instigated as the citizens constantly see these physical manifestations that remind them: Cambodia endured, Cambodians overcame.
The government should also sponsor national reconciliation through the creation of national holidays, similar to the annual Day of Anger on May 20th. On this day “students re-enact the torture and executions inflicted by the ultra-communists under whose mid-1970s rule about 1.7 million people perished... The performance [this year] was staged just yards away from a memorial filled with victims’ skulls and mass graves where thousands of the executed were buried,” (Day). Ceremonies like the one described take place all over the country on May 20th. If the government created and furthered the integration of more “national healing days” like Day of Anger that connect personal, communal, and national healing, then justice would be less elusive and more inclusive, more lasting, more meaningful.
Because the Khmer Rouge was so thorough in wiping out the middle and upper class, they also succeeded in eliminating the vast majority of the population with higher education; because of this, a large brain drain has developed. This in turn has created other social problems, including a massive void of leadership in the country; due to the psychological damage caused by Pol Pot, no one has been willing to band together, few are willing to actively put their voice out there. In her book The Road of Lost Innocence, Somaly Mam often speaks of the mindset of Cambodians as a result of the regime:
“People learned from those years that they couldn’t trust anyone—friends, neighbors, not even their own family. The more you let people know about yourself—the more you speak—the more you expose yourself to danger. It was important not to see, not to hear, not to know anything about what was happening. This is a very Cambodian attitude toward life.” (Mam 14)
Youk emphasizes that Cambodians need to claim leadership and ownership of their past and their present progress, ‘Any lasting change that is to come needs to be from within the Cambodian people.’
The best way to keep history from repeating itself is through education. The survivors understand that by educating their youth, they can hope to make sure that the past’s mistakes are not remade. Him Huy voiced the opinion of many by saying “education is the only way out,” (Huy). Through the Documentation Center , the Cambodian schools have just now begun teaching younger generations about the Khmer Rouge period. Before this past year, the Pol Pot era was mentioned in maybe two sentences of textbooks, and the word genocide was never brought up. For this reason, the young generation has very little idea the extent of the destruction during those four years. While new textbooks will help, teachers should talk to students about their own experiences. There should also be several outreaches to invite other community members to come speak to classes about their pasts. Schools could also reach out to the ECCC to bring class trips to the trials for a day, so children can see not only the consequences and gravity of their shared past, but also to see the value of high education. Watching the lawyers and judges work may encourage students to dream, to see that limits can be overcome for a chance at college degrees.
However, for the many young whose parents told them about life under the Khmer Rouge, there is hesitation and even outright defiance about hearing anymore. It is difficult for children to relate with their parents unfathomable past. This trend is universal: youth rebel against their parents as a way of exerting independence, and thankfully, the world has already learned many ways to work through this. Sok Phat said that while he thinks educating the youth would be a great step towards reconciliation, the children “don’t care and don’t want to hear about the past, about the Khmer Rouge.” (Phat). In response to this, perhaps these children should be encouraged to hear other people’s story, have them speak to non-family members as a way of not feeling like their parents are weighing them down with “family history”. This would not only give other survivors a chance to speak, but would also teach children about this shared, collective history that all Cambodians will carry for centuries to come.
Cambodia ’s horrific genocide has lingered for nearly three decades without any sense of closure. With the start of the ECCC trials, the Khmer people are finally beginning to see hope: hope that there is an end to the Pol Pot machine, hope that their children will not repeat their generation’s mistakes, hope that the future holds better opportunities for children than the present does. As Youk hopes that, “in this new century, with all this modern technology, we can do better … It’s important for society to have the foundation for the rule of law, but [from there] the people have to make their own decision on how they lead with their lives. And the thing with the Tribunal it is going to be the most important process of all because people can always refer to it and we can bring Khmer Rouge to history books and finish the Khmer Rouge. Because [genocides] kept happening in this last century, we keep saying never again, after World War 1 and World War 2. It’s still happening, so I hope that this new century we can make it become a reality. And I hope that upcoming Khmer Rouge Tribunal can be one of the most important lessons for all humanity, for all of us.”
As Youk Chhang, my two great professors, the many genuine, open-hearted Khmer people we spoke to, and this whole experience have inspired me, I hope that humanity will let themselves feel the wounds and the scars of the Cambodian people in order to truly understand that we are all in this together, and we will have to unite to fight oppression to guarantee that “never again” is not a hollow statement, but a promise to our future.
Works Cited
Chhang, Youk. Interview. Documentation Center of Cambodia . Date not listed.
“’Day of Anger’ in Cambodia .” The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co.: 20 May, 2009..
Hinton, Alexander L. Why Did They Kill? Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press, 2005.
Huy, Him. Personal Interview. 10 June 2009.
Maiese, Michelle. “The Aims of Restorative Justice.” Beyond Intractability.Org. University of Colorado : October 2003.
Mam, Somaly. The Road of Lost Innocence. Spiegel & Gran: New York , 2008.
Mao, Chea. Personal Interview. 3 June 2009.
Mayane. Personal Interview. 4 June 2009.
New Year Baby. Produced and Directed by Socheata Poeuv, 74 min. Broken English Productions: 2006, DVD.
Nhim Savath. Personal Interview. 5 June 2009.
Taylor, Rachel S. “Better Later Than Never: Cambodia ’s Joint Tribunal.” Accountabilities for Atrocities: National Responses. Ardsley , NY : Transnational Publishers: 2003.
University of Southern California (USC)
“After 25 years people are still asking the same questions… we deserve justice as human beings. Victims are just like a glass that [has] dropped on the floor and broken, and you try to glue it back together. That’s what we are, broken [people] living in a broken society.”-- Youk Chhang, Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia
What does justice looks like for a population that has survived genocide? When nothing can bring back the millions of souls lost, or restore people’s previous lives, it is difficult to even begin to atone for the loss the Cambodian people have suffered. However despite the criticisms that have enveloped the court and its arduous road to inception, there is finally an opportunity for transitional justice to take place for both national retribution and for individual healing to commence, as survivors finally see some of their abusers brought to justice. Community Restorative justice programs run through NGOs have contributed massively towards the individual healing process of the victims, however because of the deep pain inflicted upon the people with at least one generation—if not two—having been affected, this has not been enough. Retribution is what the people have been yearning for, and until now ‘[No one has] ever been judged, [and so there has] never been closure…’ (Chhang) and that is why it has been difficult to move on. This is why the ECCC tribunal represents an important breakthrough in Cambodia ’s legacy. The majority of the Khmer Rouge elite have perished before they could be tried, however some still remain and it is only once the Cambodian people have had a chance to share their stories and confront their tormentors; for the truth to be publicly exposed and for some responsibility to be taken, can the country can truly begin to move on again.
Three decades of having remained broken and ignored means that a new, creative melding and meeting of restorative and retributive justice is necessary to help resuscitate Cambodia out of their horrific past and into the twenty first century.
There have been many who have doubted the ECCCs value, relative to its expense; however overwhelming statistics suggest that the court has the support of the Cambodian people. One former Khmer Rouge cadre, Sok Phat, believes strongly that the top officials need to be on trial to pay for the death of his brother and those wasted years of his life, stating, ‘only by having a trial, will the Khmer Rouge machinery be entirely cut off for good.’ A significant step in victims feeling as though justice has been served lies in the greater hope that the question of “why” will finally be answered by the top officials who have never before been questioned in a court setting. They hope that by having the trials, by completing the trials, this chapter of Cambodia ’s history can finally be over, and put into the past as a lesson learned (Chhang).
In response to this demand, the Extraordinary Criminal Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) were established as a joint tribunal of Cambodian courts and the United Nations. The Cambodian presence speaks for the sovereignty and ownership of their history, while the United Nations uphold international standards relating to the Geneva Convention and the international communities’ refusal to accept such heinous crimes against humanity.
The United Nations’ (UN) role in the ECCC goes a long way towards creating legitimacy for the trials; however, victims who look to the courts to bring justice and peace also view their role as unimportant. Throughout wildly varied interviews with victims and perpetrators, the one consistent answer given by all was a genuine lack of understanding for the role of the international community in the ECCC. However, the United Nations presence not only brings overseas attention to a court that would otherwise go unnoticed, it also serves to educate the masses on the gravity of genocide. As Youk said, “[Cambodia] can’t do this alone…Genocide is a global issue and that every country has the obligation to take action to prevent, to educate, to learn, to heal, to try this issue.”
Since the over-arching goal of the ECCC is to provide justice to the masses, increasing access to the trials for victims is something that the court is continually striving to improve. On this matter, Youk states that the trials cannot bring back what has been lost, ‘ So for me the most important [thing] is that we have a process where the survivor[s] can participate to be witness of the history, can be the owner of the trial…”
However, going to the trials for days or weeks at a time is not plausible for most people, especially for those living outside of Phnom Penh . Chea Mao, a former Khmer Rouge S-21 guard, said though he would like to attend the trials, he cannot even find time to follow them on the radio because he has to tend to his farm. Similarly Sok Phat will not be able to visit the ECCC because he has no one to look after his cows during the day. This is a reality for most people: their livelihood is a daily task to take precedence over going to the courts.
Because it is physically impossible for the majority of the population to get to the trials, the focus of any funding should be on bringing the trials to the people. Not only should magazines and newspapers publish more articles on the progress of the ECCC, but they should also work on circulating the information to remote villages. To account for illiteracy, group readings of the proceedings should occur on certain nights of the week at schools and the local pagodas. Also, NGO’s and missions groups could collect, donate, and distribute radios and televisions to every few families as a way of encouraging people to follow the trials.
The ECCC has reached out to bridge national and individual healing by including victims’ testimonies as evidence in the trials. While the intention behind the action is legally essential, the actual court process is quite slow and is thus often behind schedule. Despite the shortcomings of the ECCC tribunal, its existence is helping to reverse many pervasive trends that have dictated Cambodia ’s past for decades. By having the trials take place in Cambodia , a precedence of legitimate justice is being set in Cambodia . Although it is difficult for some to accept that this process requires individuals such as Duch who have admitted to ordering numerous killings to be entitled to a defense at all; it is hoped that in the future, people will acknowledge that everyone should be guaranteed an attorney and a fair trial because they are basic human rights applicable to all.
Due to the unusual set up of the ECCC tribunal that sees the involvement of civil parties alongside, criminal proceedings and a hybrid of civil and common law; these trials also are being observed to see what lessons, can be learned for future international criminal tribunals. In particular, the difficulty perceived in obtaining convictions against the leaders of the Khmer Rouge reflects the value in prosecuting on the heels of conflict so that more of the truth comes out, and society can begin to learn, heal, and move forward sooner.
Had there been an ECCC tribunal in the early eighties, then low-level cadres of the Khmer Rouge may have stood trial. However, trying these perpetrators today would serve more as an alienation and division in society instead of accomplishing any semblance of justice for victims. One of the older men we interviewed, Nhim Savath, a former Lon Nol soldier and victim of Pol Pot’s murderous regime, believes that the top leadership should be put to death, but he understands the lower level officials were just following orders to stay alive. This could be partly due to the nature of Pol Pot’s regime which incorporated forced conscription into the Khmer Rouge ranks and stories of ‘kill or be killed,’ and raise some questions of where the victim line truly lies.
His attitude is similar to some other victims who have come to realize—in spite of the frustration it raises—that perpetrators too had to do whatever it took to stay alive. In his book Why Did they Kill?, Hinton addresses the sentiments of both sides:
“…When I asked what he would say if he met one of his former prisoners on the street, Lor responded, “I would tell them, ‘Don’t be angry with me. When I worked at that place, I had to obey orders of others. I am not mean and savage. I didn’t do anything to anyone. If they had me arrest someone, I would go arrest the person. If they ordered me to do something, I would do it.’”
In light of this, reconciliation efforts on a communal level need to concentrate on having perpetrators and victims meet face to face. Most obviously, the goal of this would be for victims to tell their stories to perpetrators, who could in turn understand more personally the harm their role in the regime inflicted. This not only allows victims to tell their stories and express their pain to people who carried out the Khmer Rouge orders, but it also allows the perpetrators to show their own humanity. As Youk Chhang said in his interview about his own past, “For most of the victims, [they] feel release. They see [the perpetrators] look just like me. Most picture Khmer Rouge as monsters, but seeing them they think it’s like seeing [the] other side of us, same thing with the former Khmer Rouge having seen the victim they see other side of themselves.”
Not only is this dialogue a safe space for victims to speak, but because perpetrators also can share their own personal histories, the process promotes forgiveness and recognition for the lower level cadres who never got a chance to be heard. Youk recognizes this need for the perpetrators to feel human too: “Because the Khmer [Rouge] also need to be healed. They are people too. They also need the healing process… Allowing them the freedom to speak to the victims… it’s also important for the former [cadres] to also be free to tell you their story.” By having the opportunity to share their lives and to potentially be forgiven, former Khmer Rouge soldiers probably feel a relief from their pasts, release from any lingering guilt and haunting memories. This chance is also instrumental in ensuring that the country does not become post-genocidal again: “restorative justice is a forward-looking, preventive response that strives to understand crime in its social context. It challenges us to examine the root causes of violence and crime in order that these cycles might be broken. This approach is based on the assumption that crime has its origins in social conditions, and recognizes that offenders themselves have suffered harm.”(Maiese).
The face-to-face conversations are instrumental in evoking empathy from both sides towards the other’s histories, in hopes that the empathy will turn to compassion, and the compassion in turn becomes a channel through which to promote communal healing.
Another social program worth developing would be a support system for victims who are having difficulty coping still with haunting memories and nightmares. While therapy is a very Western remedy, it does have transnational merit. To make this more conducive to Cambodian society, healing groups need to be established through pagodas and facilitated by religious or village leaders. These programs should also be developed through NGO’s who could provide professional psychology specialists or pay Cambodian psychologists to come work in different villages. Regardless of how these programs were sponsored, the focus should be to “provide victims with material, psychological, and social support and aid in the healing process,” (Maiese). After time, these healing groups could have enough pervasive strength that each individual movement would be a part of a greater communal and national healing process.
While there is a large need for this type of community wide healing, other survivors feel that this process would not be beneficial as an individual way of finding peace. For example, Chea Mao felt that the people who died during the Khmer Rouge died with dignity, but those who survived constantly think about the past, where there is no justice or peace to be found. Even attending a social-coping group would not benefit him though because regardless of his inner peace, he says he can never have justice as long as he lives under the poverty line (Mao). On the other hand for Nhim Savath, he has found peace in knowing that he is not alone through all of this, although recalling the memories and speaking about it was physically exhausting and mentally draining (Savath). For some, like Youk, having the opportunity to share his testimony has helped him heal. He says, “The most important thing the victim is looking for is for someone to really listen to their story. Just listen to it. They want to tell you their story. And when you listen to it is very helpful. You don’t need to do anything… It’s all about human, human touch, human instinct. Money cannot bring about a process of reconciliation, you can try but it’s not working.” Still for others, like Him Huy, being asked to recount his past only serves to make the painful memories come back. When asked what would bring him peace, he quickly and adamantly responded “For all of you to just leave me alone, to stop asking me questions.” For the many that have not found peace through sharing their testimony, personal healing may come through other facets, like meditation and religion.
Many Cambodians have turned to Buddhism as another means through which to feel their dignity restored. Because the majority of the population is Buddhist, on both a local and national level the Buddhist beliefs and institutions should continue to play a significant role in healing and reconciling survivors. One of the main Buddhist teachings persuades against vindictiveness. Rather, their faith holds that their crimes in this life will be judged and satisfied through karmic cycles in their next lives. For almost three decades this tenant has helped minimize vengeance seeking of victims towards perpetrators who live side by side. For example, Chea Mao said that vindictiveness is not the answer to justice; instead, karma is justice through Buddhism. Similarly, most of the people we spoke to while in Cambodia placed strong emphasis on the role of religion in their personal healing processes.
Buddhist teachings also hold that forgiveness is key to moving forward in life. For this reason, many Cambodian believers are open to speaking to former perpetrators as a way to let go of their own anger by forgiving those who inflicted harm on them and their families. As one Cambodian woman said, citing Buddha, “Hatred does not cease by hatred… Even if we punish the wrongdoers, we cannot bring the victims back to life,” ( Taylor 250). Her sentiment is echoed in the many Cambodian victims who have granted forgiveness to perpetrators and thus found peace. In the movie New Year Baby, the translator realizes that the former Khmer Rouge nurse they were interviewing worked at the hospital where his mother died. Through a quick, though painful, conversation, both people were able to find humanity through recognition of each other and each other’s story, leading to an emotional forgiveness. Buddhism has given people a reason and an avenue to forgive and heal together.
Although not all Cambodians are Buddhist, the surviving Cham Muslim population has also looked to Allah as a way to reconcile with their pasts. When we spoke to El Sam, a 78 year old Cham, she told us that her religion helped because she used Islamic teachings for a higher healing process. Alongside the three other generations who live in the household, she recites Islamic teachings as part of her personal rebuilding process. After enduring over thirty-five years of hardship since her husband was killed by the Lon Nol regime in 1972, she could only find peace in knowing that “healing depended on Allah’s will.” Her testimony is evidence that regardless of the specific belief systems, Cambodians—like believers all over the world—find hope and relief in the belief of something greater where justice and mercy will be served.
While the hackneyed “never again” phrase often comes up in post-genocide societies, only through the physical manifestations of this phrase are people able to fully grasp the gravity and severity of the promise. Even though Cambodia is still in the early stages of retributive justice reconciliation, memorialization efforts throughout the country are quite prevalent. For example, Choeung Ek is one of over one hundred sixty memorial killing sites. The skull towers juxtaposing pagodas sprinkled in village centers serve to remind people on a daily basis of Pol Pot’s massive genocide against the Cambodian people. Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh has also been forever immortalized as a reminder to the public of those four dark years. While these physical landmarks are painful memories for all survivors, their simple existence will serve both informatively to future generations and as a remembrance of those who endured the Khmer Rouge genocide.
In addition to sites that remain from those years, the Cambodian government should take several steps to recognize the genocide as part of a national reconciliation process. One common way that other countries have promoted this type of healing is by renaming important buildings, parks, and streets in memory of these unspoken periods of their history. By placing names that directly speak homage to important leaders who fought against the regime, dialogues are immediately instigated as the citizens constantly see these physical manifestations that remind them: Cambodia endured, Cambodians overcame.
The government should also sponsor national reconciliation through the creation of national holidays, similar to the annual Day of Anger on May 20th. On this day “students re-enact the torture and executions inflicted by the ultra-communists under whose mid-1970s rule about 1.7 million people perished... The performance [this year] was staged just yards away from a memorial filled with victims’ skulls and mass graves where thousands of the executed were buried,” (Day). Ceremonies like the one described take place all over the country on May 20th. If the government created and furthered the integration of more “national healing days” like Day of Anger that connect personal, communal, and national healing, then justice would be less elusive and more inclusive, more lasting, more meaningful.
Because the Khmer Rouge was so thorough in wiping out the middle and upper class, they also succeeded in eliminating the vast majority of the population with higher education; because of this, a large brain drain has developed. This in turn has created other social problems, including a massive void of leadership in the country; due to the psychological damage caused by Pol Pot, no one has been willing to band together, few are willing to actively put their voice out there. In her book The Road of Lost Innocence, Somaly Mam often speaks of the mindset of Cambodians as a result of the regime:
“People learned from those years that they couldn’t trust anyone—friends, neighbors, not even their own family. The more you let people know about yourself—the more you speak—the more you expose yourself to danger. It was important not to see, not to hear, not to know anything about what was happening. This is a very Cambodian attitude toward life.” (Mam 14)
Youk emphasizes that Cambodians need to claim leadership and ownership of their past and their present progress, ‘Any lasting change that is to come needs to be from within the Cambodian people.’
The best way to keep history from repeating itself is through education. The survivors understand that by educating their youth, they can hope to make sure that the past’s mistakes are not remade. Him Huy voiced the opinion of many by saying “education is the only way out,” (Huy). Through the Documentation Center , the Cambodian schools have just now begun teaching younger generations about the Khmer Rouge period. Before this past year, the Pol Pot era was mentioned in maybe two sentences of textbooks, and the word genocide was never brought up. For this reason, the young generation has very little idea the extent of the destruction during those four years. While new textbooks will help, teachers should talk to students about their own experiences. There should also be several outreaches to invite other community members to come speak to classes about their pasts. Schools could also reach out to the ECCC to bring class trips to the trials for a day, so children can see not only the consequences and gravity of their shared past, but also to see the value of high education. Watching the lawyers and judges work may encourage students to dream, to see that limits can be overcome for a chance at college degrees.
However, for the many young whose parents told them about life under the Khmer Rouge, there is hesitation and even outright defiance about hearing anymore. It is difficult for children to relate with their parents unfathomable past. This trend is universal: youth rebel against their parents as a way of exerting independence, and thankfully, the world has already learned many ways to work through this. Sok Phat said that while he thinks educating the youth would be a great step towards reconciliation, the children “don’t care and don’t want to hear about the past, about the Khmer Rouge.” (Phat). In response to this, perhaps these children should be encouraged to hear other people’s story, have them speak to non-family members as a way of not feeling like their parents are weighing them down with “family history”. This would not only give other survivors a chance to speak, but would also teach children about this shared, collective history that all Cambodians will carry for centuries to come.
Cambodia ’s horrific genocide has lingered for nearly three decades without any sense of closure. With the start of the ECCC trials, the Khmer people are finally beginning to see hope: hope that there is an end to the Pol Pot machine, hope that their children will not repeat their generation’s mistakes, hope that the future holds better opportunities for children than the present does. As Youk hopes that, “in this new century, with all this modern technology, we can do better … It’s important for society to have the foundation for the rule of law, but [from there] the people have to make their own decision on how they lead with their lives. And the thing with the Tribunal it is going to be the most important process of all because people can always refer to it and we can bring Khmer Rouge to history books and finish the Khmer Rouge. Because [genocides] kept happening in this last century, we keep saying never again, after World War 1 and World War 2. It’s still happening, so I hope that this new century we can make it become a reality. And I hope that upcoming Khmer Rouge Tribunal can be one of the most important lessons for all humanity, for all of us.”
As Youk Chhang, my two great professors, the many genuine, open-hearted Khmer people we spoke to, and this whole experience have inspired me, I hope that humanity will let themselves feel the wounds and the scars of the Cambodian people in order to truly understand that we are all in this together, and we will have to unite to fight oppression to guarantee that “never again” is not a hollow statement, but a promise to our future.
Works Cited
Chhang, Youk. Interview. Documentation Center of Cambodia . Date not listed.
“’Day of Anger’ in Cambodia .” The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co.: 20 May, 2009.
Hinton, Alexander L. Why Did They Kill? Berkeley, CA.: University of California Press, 2005.
Huy, Him. Personal Interview. 10 June 2009.
Maiese, Michelle. “The Aims of Restorative Justice.” Beyond Intractability.Org. University of Colorado : October 2003.
Mam, Somaly. The Road of Lost Innocence. Spiegel & Gran: New York , 2008.
Mao, Chea. Personal Interview. 3 June 2009.
Mayane. Personal Interview. 4 June 2009.
New Year Baby. Produced and Directed by Socheata Poeuv, 74 min. Broken English Productions: 2006, DVD.
Nhim Savath. Personal Interview. 5 June 2009.
Taylor, Rachel S. “Better Later Than Never: Cambodia ’s Joint Tribunal.” Accountabilities for Atrocities: National Responses. Ardsley , NY : Transnational Publishers: 2003.
DC-CAM DISTRIBUTES KHMER ROUGE HISTORY TEXTBOOKS TO STUDENTS
October 9, 2009
By Michael Saliba, J.D. (Northwestern Law ’09), Consultant to the Center for
International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law
On October 9, 2009 the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) distributed
textbooks about the Khmer Rouge to high school students in the Samrong
District of the Takeo Province. The book, A History of Democratic
Kampuchea, was written by Khamboly Dy of DC-Cam in partnership with the
Cambodian Ministry of Education. It is meant to serve as a supplementary
text and teaching aid for high school teaches all across the country. The
DC-Cam staff was met at the local high school by the director of the school
as well as the chief of the Samrong District educational office.
After introductory remarks, Khamboly Dy addressed the large audience of high
school students. He gave them a brief overview of the history of Democratic
Kampuchea and explained the importance of studying and understanding what
happened during that period. He described how the Khmer Rouge evacuated all
the people from the cities and relocated them to the country side where they
were put to work in the fields. The Cambodian people were forced to live in
co-operatives as the Khmer Rouge eliminated all forms of personal property
and all forms of monetary currency. He described how the Khmer Rouge
specifically targeted the educated class. According to one estimate by the
Cambodian Ministry of Education, about 85 percent of educated people were
killed during that time. Khamboly Dy analogized Cambodian society after the
fall of the Khmer Rouge to a broken glass; a shattered society which was
very difficult to reconstruct.
Khamboly Dy further remarked that none of those students in the audience
were alive during the period of Democratic Kampuchea, but many of their
parents and grandparents suffered during that time. He argued that there
was even a greater imperative for students to learn about the history of the
Khmer Rouge. The younger generation, he explained, could draw on this
knowledge to build a more peaceful society.
Dara Vanthan from DC-Cam then spoke to the audience about the work that
DC-Cam does and the objectives it strives to accomplish. He explained that
DC-Cam aims to record and preserve the history of the Khmer Rouge regime for
future generations. Furthermore, it strives to compile and organize
information that can serve as potential evidence in a legal accounting for
the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. The information that DC-Cam collects and
analyzes includes an enormous collection of documents, films, and
photographs from the Khmer Rouge period.
Dara Vanthan also gave the students a brief overview of the Extraordinary
Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The ECCC, he explained, was
established by both the Cambodian government as well as the international
community in order to prosecute those Khmer Rouge leaders who were most
responsible for the crimes committed during the period of Democratic
Kampuchea. He urged the students to follow the developments of the tribunal
by watching the trial proceedings on television or reading about the
tribunal in newspapers and the internet.
After the panel presentation several students energetically approached the
podium and asked some very good questions. One student asked the panel how
the tribunal would help victims given that the crimes had already been
committed. Dara Vanthan explained that participating in the trial
proceedings and having a chance to confront Duch helps many victims in the
healing process. Furthermore, he stressed that those victims participating
as civil parties were entitled to collective and symbolic reparations.
Another student asked why Duch is not punished in the same way that Saddam
Hussein was punished. Dara Vanthan stressed that the tribunal had not yet
convicted Duch or determined his sentence. He elaborated by explaining
that, unlike in Iraq, international and Cambodian criminal law prohibits the
death penalty.
After speaking with students individually at the conclusion of the
presentations, it was evident that the event was a major success. Many of
the students remarked that they had heard about the Khmer Rouge from their
parents but they were excited to receive their new books and expressed a
genuine interest in learning more about their history.
The event was attended by representatives from all of the thirteen high
schools in the Samrong District. The representatives each received copies
of the book to distribute to their students. Through many outreach efforts
such as this one, DC-Cam has distributed nearly half of the 300,000 books
published this year. Based on the positive feedback DC-Cam has received, it
plans to increase that number to 700,000 next year.
PHOTOS: http://www.dccam.org/Projects/Genocide/Photo_Gallery.htm
By Michael Saliba, J.D. (Northwestern Law ’09), Consultant to the Center for
International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law
On October 9, 2009 the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) distributed
textbooks about the Khmer Rouge to high school students in the Samrong
District of the Takeo Province. The book, A History of Democratic
Kampuchea, was written by Khamboly Dy of DC-Cam in partnership with the
Cambodian Ministry of Education. It is meant to serve as a supplementary
text and teaching aid for high school teaches all across the country. The
DC-Cam staff was met at the local high school by the director of the school
as well as the chief of the Samrong District educational office.
After introductory remarks, Khamboly Dy addressed the large audience of high
school students. He gave them a brief overview of the history of Democratic
Kampuchea and explained the importance of studying and understanding what
happened during that period. He described how the Khmer Rouge evacuated all
the people from the cities and relocated them to the country side where they
were put to work in the fields. The Cambodian people were forced to live in
co-operatives as the Khmer Rouge eliminated all forms of personal property
and all forms of monetary currency. He described how the Khmer Rouge
specifically targeted the educated class. According to one estimate by the
Cambodian Ministry of Education, about 85 percent of educated people were
killed during that time. Khamboly Dy analogized Cambodian society after the
fall of the Khmer Rouge to a broken glass; a shattered society which was
very difficult to reconstruct.
Khamboly Dy further remarked that none of those students in the audience
were alive during the period of Democratic Kampuchea, but many of their
parents and grandparents suffered during that time. He argued that there
was even a greater imperative for students to learn about the history of the
Khmer Rouge. The younger generation, he explained, could draw on this
knowledge to build a more peaceful society.
Dara Vanthan from DC-Cam then spoke to the audience about the work that
DC-Cam does and the objectives it strives to accomplish. He explained that
DC-Cam aims to record and preserve the history of the Khmer Rouge regime for
future generations. Furthermore, it strives to compile and organize
information that can serve as potential evidence in a legal accounting for
the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. The information that DC-Cam collects and
analyzes includes an enormous collection of documents, films, and
photographs from the Khmer Rouge period.
Dara Vanthan also gave the students a brief overview of the Extraordinary
Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The ECCC, he explained, was
established by both the Cambodian government as well as the international
community in order to prosecute those Khmer Rouge leaders who were most
responsible for the crimes committed during the period of Democratic
Kampuchea. He urged the students to follow the developments of the tribunal
by watching the trial proceedings on television or reading about the
tribunal in newspapers and the internet.
After the panel presentation several students energetically approached the
podium and asked some very good questions. One student asked the panel how
the tribunal would help victims given that the crimes had already been
committed. Dara Vanthan explained that participating in the trial
proceedings and having a chance to confront Duch helps many victims in the
healing process. Furthermore, he stressed that those victims participating
as civil parties were entitled to collective and symbolic reparations.
Another student asked why Duch is not punished in the same way that Saddam
Hussein was punished. Dara Vanthan stressed that the tribunal had not yet
convicted Duch or determined his sentence. He elaborated by explaining
that, unlike in Iraq, international and Cambodian criminal law prohibits the
death penalty.
After speaking with students individually at the conclusion of the
presentations, it was evident that the event was a major success. Many of
the students remarked that they had heard about the Khmer Rouge from their
parents but they were excited to receive their new books and expressed a
genuine interest in learning more about their history.
The event was attended by representatives from all of the thirteen high
schools in the Samrong District. The representatives each received copies
of the book to distribute to their students. Through many outreach efforts
such as this one, DC-Cam has distributed nearly half of the 300,000 books
published this year. Based on the positive feedback DC-Cam has received, it
plans to increase that number to 700,000 next year.
PHOTOS: http://www.dccam.org/Projects/Genocide/Photo_Gallery.htm
French judge blasted over alleged KRouge bias
PHNOM PENH — A second lawyer for a former Khmer Rouge leader said Monday he
will seek the removal of the French investigating judge at Cambodia's
UN-backed war crimes court, adding to allegations of bias.
Sa Sovan, who is defending former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan,
said he would file a motion later on Monday or Tuesday to seek the removal
of judge Marcel Lemonde for bias in the investigation of his client.
The move follows a similar motion filed last week by the defence team for
former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary, demanding Lemonde be
disqualified from the war crimes court for bias.
"I will file a motion to have such a judge removed because he did not
respect the neutrality in the investigation," said Sa Sovan at the tribunal
set up to try leaders of the brutal late-1970s regime.
The motions are based on a sworn statement by Lemonde's former chief of
intelligence and analysis, alleging the investigating judge told
subordinates to favour evidence showing suspects' guilt over evidence of
their innocence.
"It is unjust, and I am afraid that this will affect my client," Sa Sovan
told AFP, adding that both "black and white" evidence about his client's
role in the regime had to be investigated.
Under the Khmer Rouge court's regulations, investigating judges are required
to be impartial while researching allegations made by prosecutors. Defence
teams are not permitted to make their own investigations.
Speaking on Lemonde's behalf, court spokesman Lars Olsen told AFP Monday
that the judge was "not interested in commenting on the allegations" but
would provide "necessary information" about the issue to the court.
Lemonde is currently investigating the court's second case, against Khieu
Samphan, Ieng Sary and his wife, former minister of social affairs Ieng
Thirith, as well as Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea.
Final arguments in the court's first trial of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav,
known by the alias Duch, are scheduled for late next month.
Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities
in a bid to forge a communist utopia between 1975-79, resulting in the
deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and torture.
will seek the removal of the French investigating judge at Cambodia's
UN-backed war crimes court, adding to allegations of bias.
Sa Sovan, who is defending former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan,
said he would file a motion later on Monday or Tuesday to seek the removal
of judge Marcel Lemonde for bias in the investigation of his client.
The move follows a similar motion filed last week by the defence team for
former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary, demanding Lemonde be
disqualified from the war crimes court for bias.
"I will file a motion to have such a judge removed because he did not
respect the neutrality in the investigation," said Sa Sovan at the tribunal
set up to try leaders of the brutal late-1970s regime.
The motions are based on a sworn statement by Lemonde's former chief of
intelligence and analysis, alleging the investigating judge told
subordinates to favour evidence showing suspects' guilt over evidence of
their innocence.
"It is unjust, and I am afraid that this will affect my client," Sa Sovan
told AFP, adding that both "black and white" evidence about his client's
role in the regime had to be investigated.
Under the Khmer Rouge court's regulations, investigating judges are required
to be impartial while researching allegations made by prosecutors. Defence
teams are not permitted to make their own investigations.
Speaking on Lemonde's behalf, court spokesman Lars Olsen told AFP Monday
that the judge was "not interested in commenting on the allegations" but
would provide "necessary information" about the issue to the court.
Lemonde is currently investigating the court's second case, against Khieu
Samphan, Ieng Sary and his wife, former minister of social affairs Ieng
Thirith, as well as Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea.
Final arguments in the court's first trial of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav,
known by the alias Duch, are scheduled for late next month.
Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities
in a bid to forge a communist utopia between 1975-79, resulting in the
deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and torture.
KRouge lawyer demands judge's disqualification in Cambodia
by Patrick Falby Patrick Falby Fri Oct 9, 11:57 am ET
PHNOM PENH (AFP) – The lawyer for a former Khmer Rouge leader on Friday
filed a demand that the French investigating judge be disqualified from
Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court for alleged bias.
Michael Karnavas, attorney for ex-Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary,
said the motion was based on allegations that Marcel Lemonde told
subordinates to favour evidence showing suspects' guilt over evidence of
their innocence.
The tribunal was set up to bring to justice the leaders of the genocidal
late 1970s Khmer Rouge regime.
Karnavas said Lemonde was "giving instructions to his investigators to game
the process. In other words, to look primarily for evidence that supports
the prosecution".
The lawyer said he submitted his complaint based on a statement made by the
former head of Lemonde's intelligence and analysis team, Wayne Bastin, at an
Australian police station on Thursday.
A copy of the statement obtained by AFP said Lemonde shocked subordinates in
a meeting at his Phnom Penh home in August when he told them, "I would
prefer that we find more inculpatory evidence than exculpatory evidence".
Under the Khmer Rouge court's regulations, investigating judges are required
to be impartial while researching allegations made by prosecutors. Defence
teams are not permitted to make their own investigations.
"How is it that (Lemonde) can remain in the position in light of what we
know now?" Karnavas said, adding that such behaviour was "outrageous".
Speaking on Lemonde's behalf, tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said he had no
comment on the issue.
Lemonde is currently investigating the court's second case, against Ieng
Sary and his wife, former minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith, as well
as Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan.
Heather Ryan, who monitors the court for the Open Society Justice
Initiative, told AFP that the defence would probably need to demonstrate
systemic bias for Lemonde to lose his job.
"An off the cuff remark made in private -- like what was quoted -- may not
be significant," Ryan said.
Under the court's internal rules, Lemonde's previous work on investigations
remains valid even if he is disqualified from the tribunal.
Lemonde also met controversy earlier this week when it was revealed he
summoned six top government and legislative officials to testify against
Khmer Rouge leaders, a move opposed by Prime Minister Hun Sen's
administration.
Final arguments in the court's first trial of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav,
known by the alias Duch, are scheduled for late next month.
But the tribunal, created in 2006 after several years of haggling between
Cambodia and the UN, has faced accusations of political interference and
allegations that local staff were forced to pay kickbacks for their jobs.
Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities
in a bid to forge a communist utopia between 1975-79, resulting in the
deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and torture.
PHNOM PENH (AFP) – The lawyer for a former Khmer Rouge leader on Friday
filed a demand that the French investigating judge be disqualified from
Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court for alleged bias.
Michael Karnavas, attorney for ex-Khmer Rouge foreign minister Ieng Sary,
said the motion was based on allegations that Marcel Lemonde told
subordinates to favour evidence showing suspects' guilt over evidence of
their innocence.
The tribunal was set up to bring to justice the leaders of the genocidal
late 1970s Khmer Rouge regime.
Karnavas said Lemonde was "giving instructions to his investigators to game
the process. In other words, to look primarily for evidence that supports
the prosecution".
The lawyer said he submitted his complaint based on a statement made by the
former head of Lemonde's intelligence and analysis team, Wayne Bastin, at an
Australian police station on Thursday.
A copy of the statement obtained by AFP said Lemonde shocked subordinates in
a meeting at his Phnom Penh home in August when he told them, "I would
prefer that we find more inculpatory evidence than exculpatory evidence".
Under the Khmer Rouge court's regulations, investigating judges are required
to be impartial while researching allegations made by prosecutors. Defence
teams are not permitted to make their own investigations.
"How is it that (Lemonde) can remain in the position in light of what we
know now?" Karnavas said, adding that such behaviour was "outrageous".
Speaking on Lemonde's behalf, tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said he had no
comment on the issue.
Lemonde is currently investigating the court's second case, against Ieng
Sary and his wife, former minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith, as well
as Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan.
Heather Ryan, who monitors the court for the Open Society Justice
Initiative, told AFP that the defence would probably need to demonstrate
systemic bias for Lemonde to lose his job.
"An off the cuff remark made in private -- like what was quoted -- may not
be significant," Ryan said.
Under the court's internal rules, Lemonde's previous work on investigations
remains valid even if he is disqualified from the tribunal.
Lemonde also met controversy earlier this week when it was revealed he
summoned six top government and legislative officials to testify against
Khmer Rouge leaders, a move opposed by Prime Minister Hun Sen's
administration.
Final arguments in the court's first trial of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav,
known by the alias Duch, are scheduled for late next month.
But the tribunal, created in 2006 after several years of haggling between
Cambodia and the UN, has faced accusations of political interference and
allegations that local staff were forced to pay kickbacks for their jobs.
Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities
in a bid to forge a communist utopia between 1975-79, resulting in the
deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and torture.
Friday, October 9, 2009
THE KING FATHER AND DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA
By Julio A. Jeldres*
I was recently asked to comment on a paper entitled ““The Scope of the Authority of the Extraordinary Chambers to obtain the testimony of High-Level Cambodian Government Officials and King Father Sihanouk” by Ms. Anne Heindel.[1]
The paper is a legal commentary on a legal document. As I am not a jurist I cannot comment on its argument, but as a history researcher, I would like to offer, with due diffidence, the following comments:
1) It should be pointed out, at the outset, that the whole premise about the desirability and feasibility of the ECCC obtaining the testimony of His Majesty the King Father in Ms Heindel’s paper is based on articles published in the local Cambodian press and, more in particular, on the request of the Nuon Chea defence team who are seeking an opportunity to question the King Father, and have said that:
“It’s hard to imagine a more uniquely situated individual to shed light on the events of Democratic Kampuchea .” They have highlighted the retired King’s brief role as head of state of the DK regime, his presence in Cambodia during much of the Khmer Rouge period, and the information he may have been privy to due to his “unparalleled access to its senior leaders and hierarchy.” Moreover, “Sihanouk is singularly capable of providing information relevant to the [prosecutors] allegations relating to the DK authority structure’.”
2) Having had the opportunity recently to study the Nuon Chea Defence Team (NCDT) submission to the ECCC, I fear that the NCDT have not done their primary research before asking the ECCC to call for the testimony of the King Father and other government officials.[2]
This is most regrettable particularly as so much money is being spent on the workings of the ECCC, with some of that money surely a proper, accurate research could have been undertaken, before launching their application with the tribunal. But, in fact, their research is based on the work by Western scholars and journalists and on His Majesty’s book “War and Hope; The Case for Cambodia”, which they claim was published in 1978, when in fact was published in 1979 (for the French edition) and in 1980 (for the English translation) after His Majesty was freed from the Khmer Rouge.[3]
3) I notice, with particular regret that the NCDT made no attempt to consult His Majesty’s book dealing with the period 1976-79 when he was a prisoner of the Angkar (“Prisonnier des Khmers Rouges”), published by Hachette in France in 1986, in which His Majesty described his daily life at the Khemarin Palace and his infrequent contacts with Khieu Samphan, who was the only “leader” authorized by the Khmer Rouge leadership to have contact with the King Father.
While I can well understand that the principal preoccupation of the NCDT is to find exculpatory evidence for their client, a little more diligence would have brought to their attention the following facts:
A) Norodom Sihanouk was Head of State of the Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia (GRUNC) which was established in exile in Peking on 5 May 1970. Assessments of Sihanouk’s position since he assumed his role as President of the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK) and of GRUNC have tended to confuse his titular role with a policy-making role in these organizations. This was not the case. The Politburo of the FUNK, whose members were Sihanouk-loyalists, left-leaning intellectuals and a few communists living in exile in Peking , was responsible for policy making while the King Father was responsible for the diplomatic activities of FUNK and GRUNC as a man of international standing.
B) After the fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, His Majesty remained in Peking , where the late Queen Mother Kossamak Sisowath was seriously ill. The Queen passed away on 27 April 1975[4] and her funeral was held in Peking the following days. Here it should be pointed out that after 17 April 1975, all policy making decisions were taken away from the Politburo of the FUNK and made by the in-country Khmer Rouge Politburo.
The King Father remained in mourning in Peking until 19 May 1975[5], when he accepted an invitation from President Kim Il Sung of North Korea to visit that country. During the time he was in North Korea the King Father received messages from the Khmer Rouge leadership, through the late nominal Prime Minister of GRUNC, Samdech Penn Nouth, which suggested that the King Father could not return yet to Cambodia because there were problems with the telecommunications and the landing strep at Pochentong airport.[6]
During this time, a message from Khieu Samphan to the King Father also informed him that following a meeting on 25 July 1975 of the Council of Ministers in Cambodia, it had been decided to reshuffle the GRUNC with the addition of two Deputy Prime Ministers: Ieng Sary became Second Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs and Son Sen became Third Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of National Defence. Interestingly, the said message also confirmed that the GRUNC’s Foreign Minister, Sarin Chhak, remained in his post, thus Cambodia became one of the few countries in the world to have two Foreign Ministers.[7]
On 15 August 1975, a delegation of FUNK-GRUNC from Cambodia , led by Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary arrived in Peking for an official visit to China[8].
While in Peking , Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary visited Zhou Enlai at his hospital. The Chinese leader told them:
“Norodom Sihanouk must be protected. He is the Head of State. He must remain your common rallying point. You must unite, bring together all those you can, to build up a neutral, independent Cambodia .” [9]
The Chinese leader then proceeded to warn his Cambodian visitors about their future Socialist policies for Cambodia in the following terms:
“Socialism is not an easy road to walk. China is now walking along that road, and it is a very long road, with many obstacles” [10]
On 19 August 1975[11], the FUNK-GRUNC delegation led by Samdech Penn Nouth and composed of Khieu Samphan and Madame Ieng Sary (Ieng Sary, Sarin Chhak and other GRUNC officials having left from Peking to attend a meeting of Non-aligned countries in South America), travelled to North Korea for a state visit, during this visit to North Korea, Khieu Samphan extended an invitation to the King Father to pay a visit to Cambodia. The King Father returned to Peking from North Korea on 23 August 1975.[12]
The conditions posed by the Khmer Rouge for the return of Sihanouk to Cambodia were that Sihanouk and Samdech Penn Nouth could only be accompanied by their respective spouses.[13] He was not allowed to take any member of his personal secretariat and secretarial staff would be provided to him in Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge leadership. Members of the Royal Family and of the Cabinet of the Head of State could return to Cambodia later on and upon their return they would be lodged not in the capital but in the provinces, just as the members of the Royal Family who had remained in Cambodia have been asked to do, in order to familiarize themselves with the new living conditions of the country. Prince Sisowath Monireth, maternal uncle of the King Father, was said to be living in the region of Kompong Cham. One person who was granted permission to accompany Sihanouk on his September 1975 trip to Cambodia was the former Director of Royal Protocol and then GRUNC Ambassador to China , Ker Meas. But when the former King returned to Cambodia on 31 December 1975, he had been taken away never to be seen alive again.[14]
Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, at the time seriously ill with cancer, received the FUNK-GRUNC delegation on 26 August 1975 at his hospital and he pointed out that any division between Sihanoukists and Khmer Rouges would be extremely dangerous for Cambodia , as such division would open the door to interference in the internal affairs of the country by foreigners.[15] The ailing Chinese Premier insisted “that unity and peace would preserve the country together”. Zhou Enlai further added:
“It is pure and very dangerous utopia to try to reach fundamental Communism in just one step. It is necessary to advance, with a lot of prudence, towards such supreme goal. Firstly, it is necessary to try to achieve Socialism and that is already a very difficult enterprise. In any case, when one wishes to be a good Communist, the priority must be the well-being of the People. If one makes the People unhappy, one must conclude that one has failed in the process of an honourable Communisation of his country”.[16]
On 27 August 1975[17], Chairman Mao Zedong received the King Father and the FUNK-GRUNC delegation. On that opportunity Chairman Mao addressed the King Father in the following terms:
“Prince Sihanouk, the Kampuchean people loves you very much and owes you a lot. Please remain as their Head of State. I know well. My dear Prince, that there is a misunderstanding between you and your Cambodian Communist comrades, but do not forget that the grounds of understanding between you and them are more numerous than those that cause your misunderstanding”. Please, remain always together”.[18]
The King Father then proceeded to visit re-unified Vietnam , accompanied by Khieu Samphan and Madame Ieng Sary, for the celebration of their first National Day, on 2nd September 1975.
While in Hanoi , Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong suggested to Norodom Sihanouk that the “brothers and comrades in arms” from North Vietnam , South Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia should have a joint dinner together[19]. In a clear indication of what the Khmer Rouge had in mind for their so-called “Head of State”, Khieu Samphan intervened and said to Pham Van Dong:
“We, Kampucheans accept a bipartite dinner between you, North Vietnamese, the host country, and our delegation”.[20]
Upon their return to the State Guest House, where the FUNC-GRUNC delegation was lodged, Khieu Samphan told Sihanouk that “We must never fall in the trap prepared by these Viets who wish to dominate and swallow up our Kampuchea by incorporating it in their Indochinese Federation. We must remain very vigilant. This projected quadripartite dinner was a dangerous trap! We must not fall into it”.[21]
The (first) exile in Peking of the King Father was ceremoniously farewelled by a banquet presided by Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping, who had assumed governmental duties replacing the very ill Zhou Enlai, on 6 September 1975. At the banquet Deng reiterated Chinese support for Sihanouk describing him as an “outstanding patriot of Cambodia ” and as an “old and close friend of the Chinese people”.[22]
The King Father returned to Cambodia from 9 to 28 September 1975.
C) During that period he resided at the Khemarin Palace but had no contact at all with the Cambodian people. The day after his arrival from Peking , Sihanouk presided over a Council of Ministers meeting but was reportedly not allowed to speak. He and his small retinue were confined to the Royal Palace during their stay and were only allowed outside on accompanied visits. His principal “liaison officer” for the Khmer Rouge was Khieu Samphan, who took him on a boat trip on the Mekong River .
The King Father then proceeded to China for the National Day and then to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. He spoke at the UNGA on 6 October 1975, and then proceeded to Paris , where he met President Giscard D’Estaing on 9 October 1975, according to French officials the meeting was “strictly for old times’ sake and nothing substantive was expected to result from it”.[23] He then travelled via Peking to Pyong Yang ( North Korea ) where he attended the 30th Anniversary of the Korean Workers Party, as the personal guest of President Kim Il Sung.
Upon his return from North Korea to Peking , around mid-October 1975 Sihanouk undertook a long trip of Arab, African and European countries which had recognized GRUNC from 1970 to 1975. Just prior to the trip of the GRUNC Head of State to these countries, Ieng Sary, as newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs ordered all the Cambodian (GRUNC) Ambassadors back to Phnom Penh. Ambassador Chea San, who was accredited to Rumania , protested arguing that it would be incorrect not only towards Sihanouk, but also towards President Nicolae Ceaucescu of Rumania to withdraw the Ambassador of GRUNC from Bucharest , the Rumanian capital, on the eve of the arrival of the Cambodian Head of State. Ieng Sary rejected the protest of Ambassador Chea San, asserting that that the “internal affairs of the new Kampuchea were more important than the visit of Sihanouk to friendly countries”.
Finally, thanks to the intervention of GRUNC Prime Minister, Samdech Penn Nouth with Ieng Sary, the Cambodian (GRUNC) Ambassadors posted to the countries which Sihanouk was to visit were authorised remain in those countries until the completion of the state visits.[24] I should add here that most of the GRUNC Ambassadors, with the exception of Ambassadors Chem Snguon and Hor Namhong, were executed by the Khmer Rouge once they returned to Cambodia in late December 1975.
Just before leaving Peking , on 30 December 1975, Chinese Acting Primer Minister, Deng Xiaoping hosted a farewell banquet for the King Father. During a conversation prior to the banquet, the Chinese leader informed Sihanouk that “his government would soon establish diplomatic relations with Thailand ”. Sihanouk felt completely disconcerted as the Khmer Rouge had “not thought it worthwhile to inform me of their forthcoming ‘wedding’ with Bangkok , leaving to China the job”.[25]
C) During January 1976, Sihanouk was allowed to perform some of his diplomatic duties as “Head of State”. He received the Ambassadors of Sweden and Zambia in Peking who presented to him their credentials as non-resident Ambassadors to Cambodia . He was also allowed to receive visits from the Ambassadors of Albania , China , North Korea , Vietnam and Yugoslavia ; end the Charge d’affaires of Cuba in Phnom Penh . He also was allowed to see diplomats from Afghanistan , Palestine , Romania , Egypt , Mauritania , Senegal and Tunisia , who had been invited by the Khmer Rouge leadership to visit Cambodia . One of his last visitors was the Chinese Minister for Foreign Trade, Li Kiang.[26]
Days after his return to Cambodia, on 5 January 1976, Cambodia announced to the world that a new Constitution had been promulgated and that the country was now to be known as “Democratic Kampuchea”; that a new flag (Red with an Angkor symbol in yellow) and a new National Anthem (“April 17, the Great Victory”) were also announced. Sihanouk whom, as “Head of State”, should have been consulted was not and a so-called “National Congress” had been held while he was on his diplomatic mission abroad.[27]
In February 1976, the “Angkar” decided that Sihanouk should do a “tour of the Great Lake ”. This meant a journey by train from Phnom Penh to Battambang, then by car to Sisophon and Siemreap-Angkor, returning from Siemreap to Phnom Penh with a stop at Kompong Thom.[28]
Soon afterwards, the King Father heard a broadcast by Radio Democratic Kampuchea announcing that the new Democratic Kampuchean Ambassador to Laos had presented his credentials to Prince Souphanouvong, President of the Lao Democratic People’s Republic. Sihanouk did not recall ever having signed credentials accrediting an Ambassador to Laos . He, therefore, asked Samdech Penn Nouth, whom was allowed to visit the King Father, whether he had attended the Council of Ministers formalizing the appointment of the new Ambassador to Laos only to be told by Samdech Penn Nouth had himself learn the news while listening to Radio Democratic Kampuchea!
Here, I feel I should present the testimony of Dr. Dhimiter Thimi Stamo, the former Albanian Ambassador to Democratic Kampuchea. Albania had been a strong supporter of the Sihanouk led GRUNC and in December 1975 had sent Dr Stamo to establish the Albanian Embassy in Phnom Penh :
“As soon as I arrived in Phnom Penh (on 2 December 1975), I informed the protocol that I had a letter of credence addressed to Samdech Norodom Sihanouk by the Albanian Head of State. I was told to wait until an appropriate moment. It was not until the March 1976 elections that I was given some idea that I would be presenting my credentials but by then there had been a change of Head of State and it was necessary to prepare new letters of credence which arrived from Tirana on 30 April 1976. I a gain informed the protocol and was told it was not necessary. When I insisted, I was told to wait. It was not until the 11 June 1976 that I was able to present my credentials to Khieu Samphan, accompanied by Ieng Sary, that is six months after my arrival in Phnom Penh !” [29]
The King Father requested permission to travel to China for a medical check up but was told that Dr. Thiounn Thoeunn was perfectly capable of taking care of his medical worries.[30]
The Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Romania in Peking, Mr. Lefter, who visited Cambodia in late January 1976, upon his return to Peking, told US diplomats that he had had a three hour private conversation with Sihanouk, he described the prince as being very sad and feeling that he had been dealt a double blow, first by the Lon Nol coup and second by the Khmer Rouge. According to the Romanian diplomat “Sihanouk had lost weight, was despondent and feared for his life”.[31]
An Egyptian diplomat in China, Ambassador Medhat Tawfik Ibrahim Tawfik, who knew Sihanouk since 1958 and was at the time the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Egyptian Embassy in China, visited Cambodia in early March 1976, commented to the US Liaison Office in Peking that Sihanouk “was a Head of State who had nothing to do with the day to day business of government.”[32]
Both diplomats felt that Samdech Sihanouk did not enjoy much power or influence and that he owed his life to the influence of China with the Khmer Rouge, and to the interest other foreign Heads of State showed in his well-being.[33] However, with the passing away of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, who had strongly supported the King Father, the King Father the Khmer Rouge stopped treating the King Father with consideration. Chinese author, Han Suyin, has observed “
“As long as Zhou Enlai was alive, Sihanouk was fairly treated by the Khmer Rouge”[34]
Norodom Sihanouk submitted his resignation in early March 1976[35]. Almost immediately he was placed under house arrest, was only allowed to leave the Royal Palace when the Khmer Rouge allowed him to make visits to the countryside but all contact with the Cambodian people was forbidden, even with his own children, grand-children and other members of the Royal Family. He was not allowed to receive letters and his only means of communications with the outside world was his small transistor radio.
President Mao Zedong of China died in September 1976, the King Father was not allowed to visit the Chinese Embassy to sign the condolences book and therefore the King Father wrote a message and asked his Khmer Rouge jailers to forward it to Peking . But upon his return to Peking in January 1979, some of the King Father’s Chinese friends expressed being disappointed by the fact he had not shown any sympathy on the President’s death, it was then that Sihanouk realised that his message never reached the Chinese capital.[36]
In 1977, another of the King Father’s closest friends, President Tito of the then Yugoslavia, let it be known that he was only willing to receive a visiting Khmer Rouge delegation led by Ieng Sary, after he was given assurances that his Ambassador in Phnom Penh would have access to Sihanouk.[37]
The last documented attempt by a foreign dignitary to check on the well-being of the King Father was made by the widow of the late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, Madame Deng Yingchao, who was dispatched on a mission to Cambodia in early January 1978. She requested on several opportunities a meeting with Sihanouk but was denied the same and was only allowed to see the King Father accompanied by the Queen Mother drive pass Madame Deng Yingchao’s residence in Phnom Penh , thus confirming to the senior Chinese visitor that the King Father was still alive.[38]
During the whole period the King Father spent in Cambodia , he only met Pol Pot once, just prior to the King Father’s departure for China in January 1979. I have found no record or reference to the King Father ever meeting Nuon Chea, thus it is hard to understand the claim by the Nuon Chea Defence Team that the King Father had “unparalleled access to the senior Khmer Rouge leadership” and even more hard to imagine how could His Majesty provide any further information or light on the events of Democratic Kampuchea when he was a prisoner of the regime.
***********
* Ambassador Julio A. Jeldres is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Asia Institute of Monash University, a former Senior Private Secretary to His Majesty the King Father and currently his Official Biographer.
I was recently asked to comment on a paper entitled ““The Scope of the Authority of the Extraordinary Chambers to obtain the testimony of High-Level Cambodian Government Officials and King Father Sihanouk” by Ms. Anne Heindel.[1]
The paper is a legal commentary on a legal document. As I am not a jurist I cannot comment on its argument, but as a history researcher, I would like to offer, with due diffidence, the following comments:
1) It should be pointed out, at the outset, that the whole premise about the desirability and feasibility of the ECCC obtaining the testimony of His Majesty the King Father in Ms Heindel’s paper is based on articles published in the local Cambodian press and, more in particular, on the request of the Nuon Chea defence team who are seeking an opportunity to question the King Father, and have said that:
“It’s hard to imagine a more uniquely situated individual to shed light on the events of Democratic Kampuchea .” They have highlighted the retired King’s brief role as head of state of the DK regime, his presence in Cambodia during much of the Khmer Rouge period, and the information he may have been privy to due to his “unparalleled access to its senior leaders and hierarchy.” Moreover, “Sihanouk is singularly capable of providing information relevant to the [prosecutors] allegations relating to the DK authority structure’.”
2) Having had the opportunity recently to study the Nuon Chea Defence Team (NCDT) submission to the ECCC, I fear that the NCDT have not done their primary research before asking the ECCC to call for the testimony of the King Father and other government officials.[2]
This is most regrettable particularly as so much money is being spent on the workings of the ECCC, with some of that money surely a proper, accurate research could have been undertaken, before launching their application with the tribunal. But, in fact, their research is based on the work by Western scholars and journalists and on His Majesty’s book “War and Hope; The Case for Cambodia”, which they claim was published in 1978, when in fact was published in 1979 (for the French edition) and in 1980 (for the English translation) after His Majesty was freed from the Khmer Rouge.[3]
3) I notice, with particular regret that the NCDT made no attempt to consult His Majesty’s book dealing with the period 1976-79 when he was a prisoner of the Angkar (“Prisonnier des Khmers Rouges”), published by Hachette in France in 1986, in which His Majesty described his daily life at the Khemarin Palace and his infrequent contacts with Khieu Samphan, who was the only “leader” authorized by the Khmer Rouge leadership to have contact with the King Father.
While I can well understand that the principal preoccupation of the NCDT is to find exculpatory evidence for their client, a little more diligence would have brought to their attention the following facts:
A) Norodom Sihanouk was Head of State of the Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia (GRUNC) which was established in exile in Peking on 5 May 1970. Assessments of Sihanouk’s position since he assumed his role as President of the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK) and of GRUNC have tended to confuse his titular role with a policy-making role in these organizations. This was not the case. The Politburo of the FUNK, whose members were Sihanouk-loyalists, left-leaning intellectuals and a few communists living in exile in Peking , was responsible for policy making while the King Father was responsible for the diplomatic activities of FUNK and GRUNC as a man of international standing.
B) After the fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, His Majesty remained in Peking , where the late Queen Mother Kossamak Sisowath was seriously ill. The Queen passed away on 27 April 1975[4] and her funeral was held in Peking the following days. Here it should be pointed out that after 17 April 1975, all policy making decisions were taken away from the Politburo of the FUNK and made by the in-country Khmer Rouge Politburo.
The King Father remained in mourning in Peking until 19 May 1975[5], when he accepted an invitation from President Kim Il Sung of North Korea to visit that country. During the time he was in North Korea the King Father received messages from the Khmer Rouge leadership, through the late nominal Prime Minister of GRUNC, Samdech Penn Nouth, which suggested that the King Father could not return yet to Cambodia because there were problems with the telecommunications and the landing strep at Pochentong airport.[6]
During this time, a message from Khieu Samphan to the King Father also informed him that following a meeting on 25 July 1975 of the Council of Ministers in Cambodia, it had been decided to reshuffle the GRUNC with the addition of two Deputy Prime Ministers: Ieng Sary became Second Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs and Son Sen became Third Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of National Defence. Interestingly, the said message also confirmed that the GRUNC’s Foreign Minister, Sarin Chhak, remained in his post, thus Cambodia became one of the few countries in the world to have two Foreign Ministers.[7]
On 15 August 1975, a delegation of FUNK-GRUNC from Cambodia , led by Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary arrived in Peking for an official visit to China[8].
While in Peking , Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary visited Zhou Enlai at his hospital. The Chinese leader told them:
“Norodom Sihanouk must be protected. He is the Head of State. He must remain your common rallying point. You must unite, bring together all those you can, to build up a neutral, independent Cambodia .” [9]
The Chinese leader then proceeded to warn his Cambodian visitors about their future Socialist policies for Cambodia in the following terms:
“Socialism is not an easy road to walk. China is now walking along that road, and it is a very long road, with many obstacles” [10]
On 19 August 1975[11], the FUNK-GRUNC delegation led by Samdech Penn Nouth and composed of Khieu Samphan and Madame Ieng Sary (Ieng Sary, Sarin Chhak and other GRUNC officials having left from Peking to attend a meeting of Non-aligned countries in South America), travelled to North Korea for a state visit, during this visit to North Korea, Khieu Samphan extended an invitation to the King Father to pay a visit to Cambodia. The King Father returned to Peking from North Korea on 23 August 1975.[12]
The conditions posed by the Khmer Rouge for the return of Sihanouk to Cambodia were that Sihanouk and Samdech Penn Nouth could only be accompanied by their respective spouses.[13] He was not allowed to take any member of his personal secretariat and secretarial staff would be provided to him in Phnom Penh by the Khmer Rouge leadership. Members of the Royal Family and of the Cabinet of the Head of State could return to Cambodia later on and upon their return they would be lodged not in the capital but in the provinces, just as the members of the Royal Family who had remained in Cambodia have been asked to do, in order to familiarize themselves with the new living conditions of the country. Prince Sisowath Monireth, maternal uncle of the King Father, was said to be living in the region of Kompong Cham. One person who was granted permission to accompany Sihanouk on his September 1975 trip to Cambodia was the former Director of Royal Protocol and then GRUNC Ambassador to China , Ker Meas. But when the former King returned to Cambodia on 31 December 1975, he had been taken away never to be seen alive again.[14]
Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, at the time seriously ill with cancer, received the FUNK-GRUNC delegation on 26 August 1975 at his hospital and he pointed out that any division between Sihanoukists and Khmer Rouges would be extremely dangerous for Cambodia , as such division would open the door to interference in the internal affairs of the country by foreigners.[15] The ailing Chinese Premier insisted “that unity and peace would preserve the country together”. Zhou Enlai further added:
“It is pure and very dangerous utopia to try to reach fundamental Communism in just one step. It is necessary to advance, with a lot of prudence, towards such supreme goal. Firstly, it is necessary to try to achieve Socialism and that is already a very difficult enterprise. In any case, when one wishes to be a good Communist, the priority must be the well-being of the People. If one makes the People unhappy, one must conclude that one has failed in the process of an honourable Communisation of his country”.[16]
On 27 August 1975[17], Chairman Mao Zedong received the King Father and the FUNK-GRUNC delegation. On that opportunity Chairman Mao addressed the King Father in the following terms:
“Prince Sihanouk, the Kampuchean people loves you very much and owes you a lot. Please remain as their Head of State. I know well. My dear Prince, that there is a misunderstanding between you and your Cambodian Communist comrades, but do not forget that the grounds of understanding between you and them are more numerous than those that cause your misunderstanding”. Please, remain always together”.[18]
The King Father then proceeded to visit re-unified Vietnam , accompanied by Khieu Samphan and Madame Ieng Sary, for the celebration of their first National Day, on 2nd September 1975.
While in Hanoi , Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong suggested to Norodom Sihanouk that the “brothers and comrades in arms” from North Vietnam , South Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia should have a joint dinner together[19]. In a clear indication of what the Khmer Rouge had in mind for their so-called “Head of State”, Khieu Samphan intervened and said to Pham Van Dong:
“We, Kampucheans accept a bipartite dinner between you, North Vietnamese, the host country, and our delegation”.[20]
Upon their return to the State Guest House, where the FUNC-GRUNC delegation was lodged, Khieu Samphan told Sihanouk that “We must never fall in the trap prepared by these Viets who wish to dominate and swallow up our Kampuchea by incorporating it in their Indochinese Federation. We must remain very vigilant. This projected quadripartite dinner was a dangerous trap! We must not fall into it”.[21]
The (first) exile in Peking of the King Father was ceremoniously farewelled by a banquet presided by Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping, who had assumed governmental duties replacing the very ill Zhou Enlai, on 6 September 1975. At the banquet Deng reiterated Chinese support for Sihanouk describing him as an “outstanding patriot of Cambodia ” and as an “old and close friend of the Chinese people”.[22]
The King Father returned to Cambodia from 9 to 28 September 1975.
C) During that period he resided at the Khemarin Palace but had no contact at all with the Cambodian people. The day after his arrival from Peking , Sihanouk presided over a Council of Ministers meeting but was reportedly not allowed to speak. He and his small retinue were confined to the Royal Palace during their stay and were only allowed outside on accompanied visits. His principal “liaison officer” for the Khmer Rouge was Khieu Samphan, who took him on a boat trip on the Mekong River .
The King Father then proceeded to China for the National Day and then to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. He spoke at the UNGA on 6 October 1975, and then proceeded to Paris , where he met President Giscard D’Estaing on 9 October 1975, according to French officials the meeting was “strictly for old times’ sake and nothing substantive was expected to result from it”.[23] He then travelled via Peking to Pyong Yang ( North Korea ) where he attended the 30th Anniversary of the Korean Workers Party, as the personal guest of President Kim Il Sung.
Upon his return from North Korea to Peking , around mid-October 1975 Sihanouk undertook a long trip of Arab, African and European countries which had recognized GRUNC from 1970 to 1975. Just prior to the trip of the GRUNC Head of State to these countries, Ieng Sary, as newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs ordered all the Cambodian (GRUNC) Ambassadors back to Phnom Penh. Ambassador Chea San, who was accredited to Rumania , protested arguing that it would be incorrect not only towards Sihanouk, but also towards President Nicolae Ceaucescu of Rumania to withdraw the Ambassador of GRUNC from Bucharest , the Rumanian capital, on the eve of the arrival of the Cambodian Head of State. Ieng Sary rejected the protest of Ambassador Chea San, asserting that that the “internal affairs of the new Kampuchea were more important than the visit of Sihanouk to friendly countries”.
Finally, thanks to the intervention of GRUNC Prime Minister, Samdech Penn Nouth with Ieng Sary, the Cambodian (GRUNC) Ambassadors posted to the countries which Sihanouk was to visit were authorised remain in those countries until the completion of the state visits.[24] I should add here that most of the GRUNC Ambassadors, with the exception of Ambassadors Chem Snguon and Hor Namhong, were executed by the Khmer Rouge once they returned to Cambodia in late December 1975.
Just before leaving Peking , on 30 December 1975, Chinese Acting Primer Minister, Deng Xiaoping hosted a farewell banquet for the King Father. During a conversation prior to the banquet, the Chinese leader informed Sihanouk that “his government would soon establish diplomatic relations with Thailand ”. Sihanouk felt completely disconcerted as the Khmer Rouge had “not thought it worthwhile to inform me of their forthcoming ‘wedding’ with Bangkok , leaving to China the job”.[25]
C) During January 1976, Sihanouk was allowed to perform some of his diplomatic duties as “Head of State”. He received the Ambassadors of Sweden and Zambia in Peking who presented to him their credentials as non-resident Ambassadors to Cambodia . He was also allowed to receive visits from the Ambassadors of Albania , China , North Korea , Vietnam and Yugoslavia ; end the Charge d’affaires of Cuba in Phnom Penh . He also was allowed to see diplomats from Afghanistan , Palestine , Romania , Egypt , Mauritania , Senegal and Tunisia , who had been invited by the Khmer Rouge leadership to visit Cambodia . One of his last visitors was the Chinese Minister for Foreign Trade, Li Kiang.[26]
Days after his return to Cambodia, on 5 January 1976, Cambodia announced to the world that a new Constitution had been promulgated and that the country was now to be known as “Democratic Kampuchea”; that a new flag (Red with an Angkor symbol in yellow) and a new National Anthem (“April 17, the Great Victory”) were also announced. Sihanouk whom, as “Head of State”, should have been consulted was not and a so-called “National Congress” had been held while he was on his diplomatic mission abroad.[27]
In February 1976, the “Angkar” decided that Sihanouk should do a “tour of the Great Lake ”. This meant a journey by train from Phnom Penh to Battambang, then by car to Sisophon and Siemreap-Angkor, returning from Siemreap to Phnom Penh with a stop at Kompong Thom.[28]
Soon afterwards, the King Father heard a broadcast by Radio Democratic Kampuchea announcing that the new Democratic Kampuchean Ambassador to Laos had presented his credentials to Prince Souphanouvong, President of the Lao Democratic People’s Republic. Sihanouk did not recall ever having signed credentials accrediting an Ambassador to Laos . He, therefore, asked Samdech Penn Nouth, whom was allowed to visit the King Father, whether he had attended the Council of Ministers formalizing the appointment of the new Ambassador to Laos only to be told by Samdech Penn Nouth had himself learn the news while listening to Radio Democratic Kampuchea!
Here, I feel I should present the testimony of Dr. Dhimiter Thimi Stamo, the former Albanian Ambassador to Democratic Kampuchea. Albania had been a strong supporter of the Sihanouk led GRUNC and in December 1975 had sent Dr Stamo to establish the Albanian Embassy in Phnom Penh :
“As soon as I arrived in Phnom Penh (on 2 December 1975), I informed the protocol that I had a letter of credence addressed to Samdech Norodom Sihanouk by the Albanian Head of State. I was told to wait until an appropriate moment. It was not until the March 1976 elections that I was given some idea that I would be presenting my credentials but by then there had been a change of Head of State and it was necessary to prepare new letters of credence which arrived from Tirana on 30 April 1976. I a gain informed the protocol and was told it was not necessary. When I insisted, I was told to wait. It was not until the 11 June 1976 that I was able to present my credentials to Khieu Samphan, accompanied by Ieng Sary, that is six months after my arrival in Phnom Penh !” [29]
The King Father requested permission to travel to China for a medical check up but was told that Dr. Thiounn Thoeunn was perfectly capable of taking care of his medical worries.[30]
The Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Romania in Peking, Mr. Lefter, who visited Cambodia in late January 1976, upon his return to Peking, told US diplomats that he had had a three hour private conversation with Sihanouk, he described the prince as being very sad and feeling that he had been dealt a double blow, first by the Lon Nol coup and second by the Khmer Rouge. According to the Romanian diplomat “Sihanouk had lost weight, was despondent and feared for his life”.[31]
An Egyptian diplomat in China, Ambassador Medhat Tawfik Ibrahim Tawfik, who knew Sihanouk since 1958 and was at the time the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Egyptian Embassy in China, visited Cambodia in early March 1976, commented to the US Liaison Office in Peking that Sihanouk “was a Head of State who had nothing to do with the day to day business of government.”[32]
Both diplomats felt that Samdech Sihanouk did not enjoy much power or influence and that he owed his life to the influence of China with the Khmer Rouge, and to the interest other foreign Heads of State showed in his well-being.[33] However, with the passing away of Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, who had strongly supported the King Father, the King Father the Khmer Rouge stopped treating the King Father with consideration. Chinese author, Han Suyin, has observed “
“As long as Zhou Enlai was alive, Sihanouk was fairly treated by the Khmer Rouge”[34]
Norodom Sihanouk submitted his resignation in early March 1976[35]. Almost immediately he was placed under house arrest, was only allowed to leave the Royal Palace when the Khmer Rouge allowed him to make visits to the countryside but all contact with the Cambodian people was forbidden, even with his own children, grand-children and other members of the Royal Family. He was not allowed to receive letters and his only means of communications with the outside world was his small transistor radio.
President Mao Zedong of China died in September 1976, the King Father was not allowed to visit the Chinese Embassy to sign the condolences book and therefore the King Father wrote a message and asked his Khmer Rouge jailers to forward it to Peking . But upon his return to Peking in January 1979, some of the King Father’s Chinese friends expressed being disappointed by the fact he had not shown any sympathy on the President’s death, it was then that Sihanouk realised that his message never reached the Chinese capital.[36]
In 1977, another of the King Father’s closest friends, President Tito of the then Yugoslavia, let it be known that he was only willing to receive a visiting Khmer Rouge delegation led by Ieng Sary, after he was given assurances that his Ambassador in Phnom Penh would have access to Sihanouk.[37]
The last documented attempt by a foreign dignitary to check on the well-being of the King Father was made by the widow of the late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, Madame Deng Yingchao, who was dispatched on a mission to Cambodia in early January 1978. She requested on several opportunities a meeting with Sihanouk but was denied the same and was only allowed to see the King Father accompanied by the Queen Mother drive pass Madame Deng Yingchao’s residence in Phnom Penh , thus confirming to the senior Chinese visitor that the King Father was still alive.[38]
During the whole period the King Father spent in Cambodia , he only met Pol Pot once, just prior to the King Father’s departure for China in January 1979. I have found no record or reference to the King Father ever meeting Nuon Chea, thus it is hard to understand the claim by the Nuon Chea Defence Team that the King Father had “unparalleled access to the senior Khmer Rouge leadership” and even more hard to imagine how could His Majesty provide any further information or light on the events of Democratic Kampuchea when he was a prisoner of the regime.
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* Ambassador Julio A. Jeldres is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Asia Institute of Monash University, a former Senior Private Secretary to His Majesty the King Father and currently his Official Biographer.
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About Me
- Duong Dara
- Dara Duong was born in 1971 in Battambang province, Cambodia. His life changed forever at age four, when the Khmer Rouge took over the country in 1975. During the regime that controlled Cambodia from 1975-1979, Dara’s father, grandparents, uncle and aunt were executed, along with almost 3 million other Cambodians. Dara’s mother managed to keep him and his brothers and sisters together and survive the years of the Khmer Rouge regime. However, when the Vietnamese liberated Cambodia, she did not want to live under Communist rule. She fled with her family to a refugee camp on the Cambodian-Thai border, where they lived for more than ten years. Since arriving in the United States, Dara’s goal has been to educate people about the rich Cambodian culture that the Khmer Rouge tried to destroy and about the genocide, so that the world will not stand by and allow such atrocities to occur again. Toward that end, he has created the Cambodian Cultural Museum and Killing Fields Memorial, which began in his garage and is now in White Center, Washington. Dara’s story is one of survival against enormous odds, one of perseverance, one of courage and hope.