By: Documentation Center of Cambodia's Outreach Team
Keo Dacil, Kim Sovanndany, Sirik Savina, Ser Sayana, Sa Fatily
The Extraordinary Chambers’ (Khmer Rouge Tribunal) goal is to deliver justice to victims of the Khmer Rouge regime; as such this tribunal should be sensitive to the perspectives and the emotions of those it is suppose to serve. The tribunal should keep in mind that amidst all the legal, bureaucratic, procedural, and investigative details that it attends to, its ultimate purpose is to deliver justice to victims of one of the most horrific periods of the twentieth century.
During the trial hearings of Case 001 involving former S-21 leader Duch at the Extraordinary Chambers, an underlying but critical injustice persists noticeable to the observant eye. It is not an injustice of a legal or procedural nature as might be expected in a courtroom; rather, it an injustice of status and dignity. The tribunal, in its mission to deliver justice to victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, has sometimes forgotten to treat victims with dignity and respect.
A front profile inside the courtroom provides a simple illustration: a tall glass wall separates well-paid and well-dressed lawyers and judges, who sit above a raised platform, from victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, who predominantly are poor and dressed in simple clothing. In Cambodian culture, relative status and honor between individuals can be inferred simply by who sits higher than whom. This imposing glass wall extends the width and height of the wooden platform where tribunal officials sit, creating an absolute barrier between these stately officials and the thousands of ordinary Cambodian villagers that have attended Duch’s trial hearings from March 2009 to November 2009. The wall’s purpose, one guesses, is safety and organization. However, it can have the implied meaning that victims have the potential for violence and are likely to physically disrupt the trial proceedings. Villagers, whose horrific experiences defy human morality and conscience, are the real victims that need protection and respect, not court officials.
Further examples of insensitivity to victims include the busing in of villagers by the tribunal’s Public Affairs Office from far away provinces as early as 3 a.m. for a half a day program, the strict interpretation of the tribunal’s dress code, and chastising villagers for the way they sit in the courtroom. The middle of the night busing in of villagers fails to consider the mental and physical health and well-being of victims. Moreover, inadequate sleep and vehicle motion sickness makes it even harder for ordinary Cambodians to follow the already complex legal proceedings. In Cambodia, where almost a third of the population live below the national poverty line and nearly 70% earn less than $2 a day, villagers’ best attire might be a new t-shirt. While a dress code prohibiting clothing which shows partiality towards the prosecution or defense is understandable, prohibiting all t-shirts which say only “Case 002” seems unreasonably strict. In addition, after villagers pass through security checks in order to enter the courtroom, they are sometimes reprimanded during the trial hearings for sitting inappropriately.
Such barriers and reactions intimidate victims and further distinguish the backgrounds, knowledge, and privileges of the officials who sit comfortably inside the glass wall from the villagers who watch from the outside. Highly educated, scripted in legal terminology, and articulate in persuasive speech, the officials carry out their work in the language of criminal law that only an elite population of the world can fully comprehend. The villagers, many of whom lack a high school degree, find it difficult sometimes to follow the formal conversations between prosecutors, defense lawyers, and investigative judges.
The verdict of Duch (Kaing Guek Eav) will be delivered on July 26, 1010. This will be the first verdict of the Extraordinary Chambers and will be the first recognized verdict for crimes committed during Democratic Kampuchea. Survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime have waited for more than three decades for this moment. It is a moment that, given the poor health and old age of the defendants along with unyielding budgetary and temporal problems of the tribunal, could be survivors’ only chance at seeing a Khmer Rouge leader convicted. Case 002 involving the four highest-level living Khmer Rouge leaders is not expected to start until early 2012 and presumably the verdict for this case will be delivered no earlier than 2013.
Never has there been a more important time for the court to reach out and connect with the very people that it was created for. Therefore, the tribunal should give special attention and preparation to victims who attend the verdict reading. Such attention will demonstrate the tribunal’s respect and honor towards victims which has been lacking in the past. Such action will not only leave a good impression among survivors and all Cambodians alike, but it will also show the international community, which no doubt will also be watching the verdict delivery, that the tribunal cares about survivors and their dignity.
To give honor and respect to victims for their past sufferings, the Extraordinary Chambers can do a number of small but meaningful preparations. The tribunal can lay out a red carpet along the isles of the 500-seat courtroom. A red carpet in Cambodian culture represents respect and honor. The tribunal can also decorate the sections of the public seating area and entryways with flower bouquets and cloth ribbons. Special banners that focus on victim’s courage and strength can also be created to commemorate the historic moment. These and other preparations would only cost a tiny fraction of the court’s overall budget, but would have a tremendous and lasting impact on survivors. In the end, the tribunal will be remembered not only for how it handled the legal, procedural, and criminal aspects of the cases, but also for how it treated victims of the Khmer Rouge regime throughout its existence. After all, the court was created for the victims.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA: CHAIN OF COMMAND AND SOCIOPOLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE SOUTHWEST ZONE
http://www.dccam.org/Tribunal/Analysis/pdf/Chain_of_Command.pdf
BY
SOCHEAT NHEAN
ABSTRACT
Patron-client relations created strong socio-political bonds in Democratic Kampuchea
(DK). These relations were even stronger and more stable when members of the networks were
related, as occurs in the Southwest Zone, where cadres were mostly related to Zone Secretary
Chhit Choeun aka Mok either directly or indirectly. Every citizen, both cadres and ordinary
people, were aware that life during DK was fragile, and was even more in the later stage of the
regime, and this caused people to have stronger ties to powerful persons. In the DK
administrative systems, the cadres from each hierarchically administrative unit were closely
interrelated and orders were strictly implemented by chain of administrative command in a topdown
hierarchical system. Orders were issued from the closest higher echelon and from higher to
lower-ranking cadres within each unit. For instance, districts issued orders to sub-districts and
within districts orders were issued from secretary to deputy. Orders were followed without fail.
Cadres of higher and lower echelons respected each other’s decisions.
In the beginning of the regime, when there were many former Lon Nol officials, soldiers and
other obvious “enemies,” and it was clear that there were orders from the top to eliminate them,
cadres at all levels of the structure made the decisions to kill these enemies. As the regime
proceeded, fears among the cadre increased and the number of obvious targets decreased;
therefore, cadres were more submissive to their patrons and orders were implemented more
strictly. Before late 1976 or early 1977, power was based in the village level where village
committees controlled everything in the villages. During this period, village committees played a
very important role in reporting suspected enemies up the chain of command. But then from
1977 until the regime collapsed in 1979, village committees were less powerful as power was
shifted to sub-district committees, who played important roles to oversee people and report
enemies’ activities up to district committees. Orders to kill people were then implemented by
sub-district militia units. Starting from 1977, accused persons were checked in order to look for
other strings of networks before they were executed. Therefore, low-ranking cadres were
reluctant to get rid of those accused and preferred reporting alleged enemies up the chain of
command. This thesis documents this change over time in the Southwest Zone, exploring the
process whereby people lived or died based upon their ties or “strings” to particular patrons. The
thesis elaborates on who were considered “insiders” and “outsiders” by the regime, and how trust
between patrons and loyal clients are keys to understanding the culture of terror inside the DK
regime.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
BY
SOCHEAT NHEAN
ABSTRACT
Patron-client relations created strong socio-political bonds in Democratic Kampuchea
(DK). These relations were even stronger and more stable when members of the networks were
related, as occurs in the Southwest Zone, where cadres were mostly related to Zone Secretary
Chhit Choeun aka Mok either directly or indirectly. Every citizen, both cadres and ordinary
people, were aware that life during DK was fragile, and was even more in the later stage of the
regime, and this caused people to have stronger ties to powerful persons. In the DK
administrative systems, the cadres from each hierarchically administrative unit were closely
interrelated and orders were strictly implemented by chain of administrative command in a topdown
hierarchical system. Orders were issued from the closest higher echelon and from higher to
lower-ranking cadres within each unit. For instance, districts issued orders to sub-districts and
within districts orders were issued from secretary to deputy. Orders were followed without fail.
Cadres of higher and lower echelons respected each other’s decisions.
In the beginning of the regime, when there were many former Lon Nol officials, soldiers and
other obvious “enemies,” and it was clear that there were orders from the top to eliminate them,
cadres at all levels of the structure made the decisions to kill these enemies. As the regime
proceeded, fears among the cadre increased and the number of obvious targets decreased;
therefore, cadres were more submissive to their patrons and orders were implemented more
strictly. Before late 1976 or early 1977, power was based in the village level where village
committees controlled everything in the villages. During this period, village committees played a
very important role in reporting suspected enemies up the chain of command. But then from
1977 until the regime collapsed in 1979, village committees were less powerful as power was
shifted to sub-district committees, who played important roles to oversee people and report
enemies’ activities up to district committees. Orders to kill people were then implemented by
sub-district militia units. Starting from 1977, accused persons were checked in order to look for
other strings of networks before they were executed. Therefore, low-ranking cadres were
reluctant to get rid of those accused and preferred reporting alleged enemies up the chain of
command. This thesis documents this change over time in the Southwest Zone, exploring the
process whereby people lived or died based upon their ties or “strings” to particular patrons. The
thesis elaborates on who were considered “insiders” and “outsiders” by the regime, and how trust
between patrons and loyal clients are keys to understanding the culture of terror inside the DK
regime.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The Voices of the ECCC Complainants:
The Voices of the ECCC Complainants:
Ten Days with the Victim Participation Team
in the Provinces of Kampong Thom & Siem Reap
Yannek Smith
Rutgers University
On May 21-31 2010 I joined the eight members of the Victim Participation
Team[1] (VPA) of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) on their trip
north to the provinces of Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. The objective of the
field trip was to deliver notification letters from the Office of the
Co-Prosecutors of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
(ECCC) to the complainants in these areas. The complainants are survivors of
Democratic Kampuchea (DK) who filed applications against the Khmer Rouge
approximately two years ago. The ECCC letters confirm to the complainants
that the court has received their applications, thanks them for their
contribution, and tells them about the progress that court has made as a
result of their contribution. Throughout our ten day trip, the Victim
Participation Team conducted video and recorder interviews of the villagers
who wished to have their experiences and opinions documented.
My personal goal during our daily trips to the villages was to conduct
ethnographically inspired interviews of the complainants to learn more about
how they feel about the ECCC trials, their personal experiences during the
DK regime, and hear their views on justice, punishment and forgiveness. The
purpose was mainly to gain a better understanding of how (and to what
extent) the court is meaningful to the survivors , how much they know about
what is going on with the legal process, and to look at individual notions
of justice and social reconciliation.
VPA Preparation and Introduction
Kampong Thom province, around a three and a half hour drive north of Phnom
Penh, has the distinction of being the birthplace of both Kaing Guek Eav,
otherwise known as "Duch", and Saloth Sar, more commonly known as Pol Pot.
The province is known for its dams, which were constructed during the
Democratic Kampuchea period; they are products of forced labor, starvation,
and extreme human suffering under the Khmer Rouge regime. During our trip we
travelled around Kampong Thom and Siem Reap, going to different villages
every day. We would generally meet the groups of complainants at the houses
of the local village chiefs.
To the meetings we would bring the notifications from the ECCC, booklets
with information on case 002, letters from DC-Cam's director Youk Chhang,
video and camera equipment, and plenty of durian cookies and water bottles.
This would be our routine preparation for the next nine days; the VPA's way
of setting up the villagers up for serious discussion about the ECCC and the
Khmer Rouge.
Team leader Chy Terith is the main speaker at the meetings. After taking
attendance, he begins by asking the villagers if they remember DC-Cam and
filling out the complaints against the Khmer Rouge. Most of the complainants
that we visited remembered DC-Cam, but many people had forgotten about the
complaints that they had filed in 2008. On day three of our trip a woman
told us that her faded memory was largely due to the busy work schedule of
the villagers. "How can we keep up with what is going on, when we have to
spend our days looking after the water buffalo?" she asked the VPA team.
Indeed, many villagers we talked to emphasized their difficult and demanding
lifestyles to explain why they could not follow up with the trials. Although
most villagers do have at least some access to television and radio, the
more immediate need of providing for their families takes up the bulk of
their time. In this context DC-Cam plays a very important role, as the
connection between the legal system and the victims that it is intended to
be working for.
Telling the People about the ECCC and Case 002
After reminding the villagers of what DC-Cam is and explaining the purpose
of the meeting, Terith goes over the backgrounds of the four Khmer Rouge
leaders on trial in case 002. For many complainants, seeing the large images
of Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan marked the first
time that they put a face to the name of the infamous Khmer Rouge leaders.
For some, it was the first time that they had ever heard the names. Stung
district, where we spent our first few days, is the birthplace of Duch. The
VPA asked all of the complainant groups of this area if they knew Duch
personally or had seen him before. Although of them knew his name, few could
recall ever seeing the man. We did however come across a village chief who
said that he had known Duch and had seen him before.
Following the explanation of what the ECCC is doing and a brief overview of
case 002, the team hands out the letters from the Office of the
Co-Prosecutors to the complainants. After getting the letters, each
complainant is required to fill out a form, confirming that he or she has
received it. Most of the complainants cannot read or write, so the VPA reads
them the notification, and helps them fill out the confirmation form. This
generation, as a result of having lived through decades of war and
instability, received little or no formal education in their lives.
Findings from the Interviews:
The complainants from the provinces of Kampong Thom and Siem Reap were
generally receptive to doing interviews. The diverse opinions and
perspectives of the interviews were good indicators that the interviewees
were open about their feelings. It was very touching that the villagers
shared so much, many telling us about some of the most tragic and difficult
moments of their lives. Consistent with Chy Terith's findings[2], the
complainants were generally pleased to receive the ECCC confirmation
notifications and felt like they had a voice in trials.
From just fifteen interviews[3], it was clear that the complainants have
very different views when it comes to punishment. In many cases the
villagers said that they forgive the Khmer Rouge, seeing the emotion of
anger and the act of revenge as undesired and going against Buddhist
principles. This was the belief of Pot Som, a 56 year old woman from Phoeu
village in Siem Reap, whose father and brother were killed:
"There is no reason for revenge. Shortly after the collapse of the Khmer
Rouge I was still angry, but later on I practiced Buddhism to get rid of the
anger. I just want the Khmer Rouge to never come back."
Piousness did not always go hand in hand with forgiveness. Measkin Yon, a 60
year old woman from Kampong Kdy village in Kampong Thom, is a devout
follower of Buddhism who believes that "justice still needs to be served."
In her opinion the ECCC is too soft on the accused, making "their
participation optional." She told VPA that the accused former Khmer Rouge
members "do not answer all of the questions asked." Measkin, like Pot Som
and several other interviewees, does not consider anger to be an appropriate
response. But Measkin Yon, a woman who lost many relatives to the Khmer
Rouge, still suffers from trauma. Since Democratic Kampuchea, she tells us,
she has never stopped living in fear. "There is no particular reason why I
am still afraid, just that the fear is inside of me," she explained.
Yen Yat, the 65 year old village chief of Daun Laor village, says he is glad
that the ECCC will "help people find out who the real killers are", adding
afterwards that he "[hopes] that they find more top Khmer Rouge killers, so
that they can get what they deserve." For him, the long awaited prosecution
of top Khmer Rouge leaders will bring justice to the victims, not only
because it will punish the former leaders for the atrocities they committed,
but because it will spread awareness and official recognition of who these
people are and what they did.
There were a few people who did not give their opinion when asked questions
pertaining to the ECCC and the prosecution of the top Khmer Rouge leaders,
simply saying that "it is up to the court" to decide what to do. It was
unclear whether if this kind of response demonstrated trust in the court,
distrust, a sense of alienation from the legal process, or a way of avoiding
a strong emotional response[4].
An interesting finding of the interviews was that most of the survivors did
not like the idea of trying more Khmer Rouge members. While all of the
complaints felt good that the top Khmer Rouge leaders would finally be put
on trial, only three out of fifteen interviewees expressed a desire to see
more Khmer Rouge be put on trial. One man named Krouch Noeum (from Rokar
Thoun village, Srangae district, Siem Reap province) explained his
opposition to trying more Khmer Rouge in the following way:
"There are so many former Khmer Rouge living in this district. They all got
their orders from the top, so the court should not condemn them."
Another focus of the interviews was on the education of the genocide and the
Khmer Rouge. All of my interviewees were asked whether or not they play a
role in educating people about the Democratic Kampuchea period. Most of the
complainants said that their contribution is through the personal stories
that they tell to their families and relatives. Village chiefs Yen Yat and
But Ban both emphasized how important the education of what happened under
the Khmer Rouge is for their villages. Yen Yat of Daun La-or village told
the team how discussion about the Khmer Rouge is an important part of the
village meetings:
"I usually raise the issue of killing during every village meeting. During
the meetings I ask them about all the positive developments that have
happened since that time [Democratic Kampuchea]. We discuss how killing is
bad. Improvements are noticeable and there have been many developments in
the village."
The developments that Yen Yat is referring to are the roads, houses, and
schools of the area. But Ban, the village chief of Samprouch village, tells
us that "education in the schools is most important." Asked about the
education of the Khmer Rouge in his village's school, he told VPA, "There is
a teacher in school who talks about the DK regime, and this has been
effective." This is good news to hear, at a time when DC-Cam is launching
its national Genocide Education initiative.[5]
Despite this positive attitude and eagerness to teach young people about the
Khmer Rouge, there is continued doubt and disbelief among younger children
in both Kampong Thom and Siem Reap provinces. Not only are many young people
unaware of what happened under the Khmer Rouge, many do not even believe
that the stories that the older generation tell are true. Several of the
complainants said that children, sometimes even their own, did not believe
what had happened to them under the DK regime.
When asked why this is so, various explanations were offered. During one
meeting a woman said, that "it is hard for the young people to believe the
stories because the elderly people could be telling them anything." Saing
Sam Hor of Ampov Prey village, Stung district, Kampong Thom province says
that "it is because the young generation did not see these things for
themselves. Now they live comfortably, and cannot believe what it was like
under the Khmer Rouge." Perhaps it is because she is unable to convince
young people that her stories are true that she later says that "the role
[of educating the young] is best done by organizations outside of the
country and by the national government." There was a belief among many of
the survivors that the young generation cannot believe how the country was
during DK because they did not experience it themselves.
However there are numerous ways to convince the younger generation that the
Khmer Rouge did exist and did commit atrocities. Interviewee Pot Som touched
on the role of media in educating the younger generation, saying "[the
children] used to not believe me, but when they saw the things that I
started to talk about on television they started to believe." Village chief
But Ban has found other means to teach the children:
"The children do not fully believe what we say, so we give them examples
such as the dams that were built under the Khmer Rouge and the information
that is given out by DC-Cam. Once they see these things, they start to
believe as a result."
There are many channels that have the potential to teach young children
about the DK period: schools, family histories, commemorative ceremonies
(like the May 20th Day of Anger[6]), village meetings, television and radio,
and NGO initiatives. Hopefully, these sources will continue to progress and
spread knowledge of DK throughout the consciousness of the young Cambodian
population.
Conclusion
The DC-Cam Victim Participation Team has proved to be very adept at keeping
the process professional and organized, yet also connecting with the
villagers and creating a comfortable and productive atmosphere. With Duch's
verdict taking place on the 26th of July, the court confirmation notices are
reminders to the complainants that their stories are the reason that the
long awaited prosecution is possible. Over thirty years after the reign of
the Khmer Rouge, the villagers that I interviewed almost unanimously believe
that the trials have not lost their significance or importance. It has been
a very long road to get to this point in the legal process, but in their old
age many of the surviving complainants will finally see the results of their
testimony.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The members of the Victim Participation team are Chy Terith, Seng
Kunthy, Sa Sengkea, Phat Piseth, Kimsroy Sokvisal, Sok Vannak, Ry Lakana and
Leng Ratanak.
[2] See Chy Terith's DC-Cam report on the VPA field trip to Kampong Thom and
Siem Reap: Khmer Rouge Survivors Still Resent Children of the Khmer Rouge.
2010.
[3] I conducted eleven interviews with VPA translators Seng Kunthy, Kimsroy
Sokvisal and Leng Ratanak, and obtained four live translations (by the
aforementioned members) of live video recordings conducted by Sok Vannak.
[4] For more on Cambodian cultural expressions of remorse and anger, see
Randel Defalco's Community Outreach Trip to Phnom Penh. Searching for the
Truth, February 2010
[5] See http://dccam.org/Projects/Genocide/Genocide_Education.htm
[6] Our field trip took place right after the national May 20th Day of
Anger, a ceremony which commemorates those who perished under the DK regime.
The ceremony includes a reenactment of the genocide and prayers for the
dead. As part of my interviews I asked the survivors if they celebrate this
day. The results were mixed: some know about it and participate in it, some
know about it but don't participate, and some have never heard about it. For
information on this day see Remembering May 20 - Day of Anger by Racheal
Huges.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Ten Days with the Victim Participation Team
in the Provinces of Kampong Thom & Siem Reap
Yannek Smith
Rutgers University
On May 21-31 2010 I joined the eight members of the Victim Participation
Team[1] (VPA) of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) on their trip
north to the provinces of Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. The objective of the
field trip was to deliver notification letters from the Office of the
Co-Prosecutors of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
(ECCC) to the complainants in these areas. The complainants are survivors of
Democratic Kampuchea (DK) who filed applications against the Khmer Rouge
approximately two years ago. The ECCC letters confirm to the complainants
that the court has received their applications, thanks them for their
contribution, and tells them about the progress that court has made as a
result of their contribution. Throughout our ten day trip, the Victim
Participation Team conducted video and recorder interviews of the villagers
who wished to have their experiences and opinions documented.
My personal goal during our daily trips to the villages was to conduct
ethnographically inspired interviews of the complainants to learn more about
how they feel about the ECCC trials, their personal experiences during the
DK regime, and hear their views on justice, punishment and forgiveness. The
purpose was mainly to gain a better understanding of how (and to what
extent) the court is meaningful to the survivors , how much they know about
what is going on with the legal process, and to look at individual notions
of justice and social reconciliation.
VPA Preparation and Introduction
Kampong Thom province, around a three and a half hour drive north of Phnom
Penh, has the distinction of being the birthplace of both Kaing Guek Eav,
otherwise known as "Duch", and Saloth Sar, more commonly known as Pol Pot.
The province is known for its dams, which were constructed during the
Democratic Kampuchea period; they are products of forced labor, starvation,
and extreme human suffering under the Khmer Rouge regime. During our trip we
travelled around Kampong Thom and Siem Reap, going to different villages
every day. We would generally meet the groups of complainants at the houses
of the local village chiefs.
To the meetings we would bring the notifications from the ECCC, booklets
with information on case 002, letters from DC-Cam's director Youk Chhang,
video and camera equipment, and plenty of durian cookies and water bottles.
This would be our routine preparation for the next nine days; the VPA's way
of setting up the villagers up for serious discussion about the ECCC and the
Khmer Rouge.
Team leader Chy Terith is the main speaker at the meetings. After taking
attendance, he begins by asking the villagers if they remember DC-Cam and
filling out the complaints against the Khmer Rouge. Most of the complainants
that we visited remembered DC-Cam, but many people had forgotten about the
complaints that they had filed in 2008. On day three of our trip a woman
told us that her faded memory was largely due to the busy work schedule of
the villagers. "How can we keep up with what is going on, when we have to
spend our days looking after the water buffalo?" she asked the VPA team.
Indeed, many villagers we talked to emphasized their difficult and demanding
lifestyles to explain why they could not follow up with the trials. Although
most villagers do have at least some access to television and radio, the
more immediate need of providing for their families takes up the bulk of
their time. In this context DC-Cam plays a very important role, as the
connection between the legal system and the victims that it is intended to
be working for.
Telling the People about the ECCC and Case 002
After reminding the villagers of what DC-Cam is and explaining the purpose
of the meeting, Terith goes over the backgrounds of the four Khmer Rouge
leaders on trial in case 002. For many complainants, seeing the large images
of Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan marked the first
time that they put a face to the name of the infamous Khmer Rouge leaders.
For some, it was the first time that they had ever heard the names. Stung
district, where we spent our first few days, is the birthplace of Duch. The
VPA asked all of the complainant groups of this area if they knew Duch
personally or had seen him before. Although of them knew his name, few could
recall ever seeing the man. We did however come across a village chief who
said that he had known Duch and had seen him before.
Following the explanation of what the ECCC is doing and a brief overview of
case 002, the team hands out the letters from the Office of the
Co-Prosecutors to the complainants. After getting the letters, each
complainant is required to fill out a form, confirming that he or she has
received it. Most of the complainants cannot read or write, so the VPA reads
them the notification, and helps them fill out the confirmation form. This
generation, as a result of having lived through decades of war and
instability, received little or no formal education in their lives.
Findings from the Interviews:
The complainants from the provinces of Kampong Thom and Siem Reap were
generally receptive to doing interviews. The diverse opinions and
perspectives of the interviews were good indicators that the interviewees
were open about their feelings. It was very touching that the villagers
shared so much, many telling us about some of the most tragic and difficult
moments of their lives. Consistent with Chy Terith's findings[2], the
complainants were generally pleased to receive the ECCC confirmation
notifications and felt like they had a voice in trials.
From just fifteen interviews[3], it was clear that the complainants have
very different views when it comes to punishment. In many cases the
villagers said that they forgive the Khmer Rouge, seeing the emotion of
anger and the act of revenge as undesired and going against Buddhist
principles. This was the belief of Pot Som, a 56 year old woman from Phoeu
village in Siem Reap, whose father and brother were killed:
"There is no reason for revenge. Shortly after the collapse of the Khmer
Rouge I was still angry, but later on I practiced Buddhism to get rid of the
anger. I just want the Khmer Rouge to never come back."
Piousness did not always go hand in hand with forgiveness. Measkin Yon, a 60
year old woman from Kampong Kdy village in Kampong Thom, is a devout
follower of Buddhism who believes that "justice still needs to be served."
In her opinion the ECCC is too soft on the accused, making "their
participation optional." She told VPA that the accused former Khmer Rouge
members "do not answer all of the questions asked." Measkin, like Pot Som
and several other interviewees, does not consider anger to be an appropriate
response. But Measkin Yon, a woman who lost many relatives to the Khmer
Rouge, still suffers from trauma. Since Democratic Kampuchea, she tells us,
she has never stopped living in fear. "There is no particular reason why I
am still afraid, just that the fear is inside of me," she explained.
Yen Yat, the 65 year old village chief of Daun Laor village, says he is glad
that the ECCC will "help people find out who the real killers are", adding
afterwards that he "[hopes] that they find more top Khmer Rouge killers, so
that they can get what they deserve." For him, the long awaited prosecution
of top Khmer Rouge leaders will bring justice to the victims, not only
because it will punish the former leaders for the atrocities they committed,
but because it will spread awareness and official recognition of who these
people are and what they did.
There were a few people who did not give their opinion when asked questions
pertaining to the ECCC and the prosecution of the top Khmer Rouge leaders,
simply saying that "it is up to the court" to decide what to do. It was
unclear whether if this kind of response demonstrated trust in the court,
distrust, a sense of alienation from the legal process, or a way of avoiding
a strong emotional response[4].
An interesting finding of the interviews was that most of the survivors did
not like the idea of trying more Khmer Rouge members. While all of the
complaints felt good that the top Khmer Rouge leaders would finally be put
on trial, only three out of fifteen interviewees expressed a desire to see
more Khmer Rouge be put on trial. One man named Krouch Noeum (from Rokar
Thoun village, Srangae district, Siem Reap province) explained his
opposition to trying more Khmer Rouge in the following way:
"There are so many former Khmer Rouge living in this district. They all got
their orders from the top, so the court should not condemn them."
Another focus of the interviews was on the education of the genocide and the
Khmer Rouge. All of my interviewees were asked whether or not they play a
role in educating people about the Democratic Kampuchea period. Most of the
complainants said that their contribution is through the personal stories
that they tell to their families and relatives. Village chiefs Yen Yat and
But Ban both emphasized how important the education of what happened under
the Khmer Rouge is for their villages. Yen Yat of Daun La-or village told
the team how discussion about the Khmer Rouge is an important part of the
village meetings:
"I usually raise the issue of killing during every village meeting. During
the meetings I ask them about all the positive developments that have
happened since that time [Democratic Kampuchea]. We discuss how killing is
bad. Improvements are noticeable and there have been many developments in
the village."
The developments that Yen Yat is referring to are the roads, houses, and
schools of the area. But Ban, the village chief of Samprouch village, tells
us that "education in the schools is most important." Asked about the
education of the Khmer Rouge in his village's school, he told VPA, "There is
a teacher in school who talks about the DK regime, and this has been
effective." This is good news to hear, at a time when DC-Cam is launching
its national Genocide Education initiative.[5]
Despite this positive attitude and eagerness to teach young people about the
Khmer Rouge, there is continued doubt and disbelief among younger children
in both Kampong Thom and Siem Reap provinces. Not only are many young people
unaware of what happened under the Khmer Rouge, many do not even believe
that the stories that the older generation tell are true. Several of the
complainants said that children, sometimes even their own, did not believe
what had happened to them under the DK regime.
When asked why this is so, various explanations were offered. During one
meeting a woman said, that "it is hard for the young people to believe the
stories because the elderly people could be telling them anything." Saing
Sam Hor of Ampov Prey village, Stung district, Kampong Thom province says
that "it is because the young generation did not see these things for
themselves. Now they live comfortably, and cannot believe what it was like
under the Khmer Rouge." Perhaps it is because she is unable to convince
young people that her stories are true that she later says that "the role
[of educating the young] is best done by organizations outside of the
country and by the national government." There was a belief among many of
the survivors that the young generation cannot believe how the country was
during DK because they did not experience it themselves.
However there are numerous ways to convince the younger generation that the
Khmer Rouge did exist and did commit atrocities. Interviewee Pot Som touched
on the role of media in educating the younger generation, saying "[the
children] used to not believe me, but when they saw the things that I
started to talk about on television they started to believe." Village chief
But Ban has found other means to teach the children:
"The children do not fully believe what we say, so we give them examples
such as the dams that were built under the Khmer Rouge and the information
that is given out by DC-Cam. Once they see these things, they start to
believe as a result."
There are many channels that have the potential to teach young children
about the DK period: schools, family histories, commemorative ceremonies
(like the May 20th Day of Anger[6]), village meetings, television and radio,
and NGO initiatives. Hopefully, these sources will continue to progress and
spread knowledge of DK throughout the consciousness of the young Cambodian
population.
Conclusion
The DC-Cam Victim Participation Team has proved to be very adept at keeping
the process professional and organized, yet also connecting with the
villagers and creating a comfortable and productive atmosphere. With Duch's
verdict taking place on the 26th of July, the court confirmation notices are
reminders to the complainants that their stories are the reason that the
long awaited prosecution is possible. Over thirty years after the reign of
the Khmer Rouge, the villagers that I interviewed almost unanimously believe
that the trials have not lost their significance or importance. It has been
a very long road to get to this point in the legal process, but in their old
age many of the surviving complainants will finally see the results of their
testimony.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The members of the Victim Participation team are Chy Terith, Seng
Kunthy, Sa Sengkea, Phat Piseth, Kimsroy Sokvisal, Sok Vannak, Ry Lakana and
Leng Ratanak.
[2] See Chy Terith's DC-Cam report on the VPA field trip to Kampong Thom and
Siem Reap: Khmer Rouge Survivors Still Resent Children of the Khmer Rouge.
2010.
[3] I conducted eleven interviews with VPA translators Seng Kunthy, Kimsroy
Sokvisal and Leng Ratanak, and obtained four live translations (by the
aforementioned members) of live video recordings conducted by Sok Vannak.
[4] For more on Cambodian cultural expressions of remorse and anger, see
Randel Defalco's Community Outreach Trip to Phnom Penh. Searching for the
Truth, February 2010
[5] See http://dccam.org/Projects/Genocide/Genocide_Education.htm
[6] Our field trip took place right after the national May 20th Day of
Anger, a ceremony which commemorates those who perished under the DK regime.
The ceremony includes a reenactment of the genocide and prayers for the
dead. As part of my interviews I asked the survivors if they celebrate this
day. The results were mixed: some know about it and participate in it, some
know about it but don't participate, and some have never heard about it. For
information on this day see Remembering May 20 - Day of Anger by Racheal
Huges.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Judgment Day Nears for Khmer Rouge Torturer-in-chief
By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR / IPS WRITER Sunday, July 11, 2010
BANGKOK - The torturer-in-chief of a notorious prison during the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror in Cambodia will finally learn what price he has to pay for the almost mathematical precision with which he carried out his duty to torment and kill nearly 14,000 people, including babies.
The judgment on Jul. 26, in the first international trial of a surviving Khmer Rouge leader, will be a groundbreaking moment for the Southeast Asian nation, coming 31 years after the genocidal regime led by Pol Pot was driven out of power.
The 77-day trial of Kaing Khek Eav, better known as Comrade Duch, at the UN-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, began on Mar. 30, 2009.
The prosecution in this hybrid war crimes tribunal, which includes international and local jurists and lawyers, has pushed for a 45-year sentence for the 67-year-old chief jailer of the Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh. Duch faces charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture.
Tuol Sleng, or S-21 as the extremist Maoist group called it, was a former high school where Duch and other jailers interrogated and tortured civilians, including children, who were considered enemies of the Khmer Rouge.
Only 11 people came out alive from the estimated 12,380 to 14,000 people imprisoned in Tuol Sleng. It was one of the nearly 200 detention centres that the Khmer Rouge maintained across the country during its rule from April 1975 to January 1979.
During this period, close to 1.7 million people, or nearly a quarter of that country's population at the time, were executed or died due to forced labour or from starvation, as the reclusive tyrant Pol Pot pushed to create an agrarian utopia.
Among those who survived Cambodia's 'Killing Fields' is Vann Nath, for whom the Duch trial has been a personal matter. He was among the 11 prisoners of Tuol Sleng who walked out alive. Duch was "the former butcher of Tuol Sleng," Vann Nath wrote in a book about the horrific period he spent in the Khmer Rouge's most notorious prison.
It was his talent as a painter that kept him alive. Vann Nath was ordered to produce regular portraits of a man he hardly knew but was shown black-and white photographs of - Pol Pot. This order from Duch left him little room for error in making the initial black-and-white, and the subsequent colour portraits, of the Khmer Rouge leader.
"I will go to the court to hear the verdict if my health is good," the now 63- year-old Vann Nath said in a telephone interview from Phnom Penh, where he is recovering from surgery on his left arm. "I hope the court will be fair and provide justice in its verdict."
Other Cambodians like Youk Chhang are more demanding of the judgement for Duch. A long sentence for Duch-spending the rest of his years in a prison where "he will be fed daily" and "do nothing more"-may not "satisfy all the people who followed his trial and learnt of all the horror that took place," Youk told IPS.
"He should be made to read the confessions of what he did to the victims in Tuol Sleng every day in prison as a reminder of his actions," said Youk, director of the Phnom Penh-based Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC- Cam), which has recorded the accounts of nearly one million victims and identified the presence of 20,000 mass graves. "Some people want him to get a life sentence so that he could never be a free man."
Whatever the judgment, the significance of the Duch trial has not been lost on a country still struggling to recover from nearly two decades of conflict, including the Khmer Rouge brutality, from the early 1970s through the mid- 1990s.
After Duch, other more powerful surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge are headed for the tribunal. They include Nuon Chea, who was Pol Pot's deputy, Khieu Samphan, the country's president during the Khmer Rouge years, and Ieng Sary, the foreign minister at the time.
Beyond the legal import of its work, the tribunal has also been helping fulfill the broader objective of helping Cambodians reach closure in a painful part of their history.
The national broadcasts of its proceedings serve as a court- sanctioned narrative of a dark period that had not been subject to official scrutiny.
"The court's outreach has had a measure of success in informing the public about what was going on at the Duch trial," says Rupert Abbot, a lawyer at the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. "The process has had a role in people understanding what happened and why things happened."
"The trial will help bring some closure," he said in an interview from Phnom Penh. "It will help draw a line about a period in Cambodian history, especially since you have a new generation."
More worrying, however, with the upcoming verdicts on the cases of ageing Khmer Rouge leaders, is how much support the tribunal will receive from the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who used to be a low-ranking Khmer Rouge member.
"The government has not been playing ball," says Abbot. "The Duch trial was easy, because he was willing to admit to what he did, and it was just at S-21. In the next cases, the crime scene is the entire country.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
BANGKOK - The torturer-in-chief of a notorious prison during the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror in Cambodia will finally learn what price he has to pay for the almost mathematical precision with which he carried out his duty to torment and kill nearly 14,000 people, including babies.
The judgment on Jul. 26, in the first international trial of a surviving Khmer Rouge leader, will be a groundbreaking moment for the Southeast Asian nation, coming 31 years after the genocidal regime led by Pol Pot was driven out of power.
The 77-day trial of Kaing Khek Eav, better known as Comrade Duch, at the UN-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, began on Mar. 30, 2009.
The prosecution in this hybrid war crimes tribunal, which includes international and local jurists and lawyers, has pushed for a 45-year sentence for the 67-year-old chief jailer of the Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh. Duch faces charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture.
Tuol Sleng, or S-21 as the extremist Maoist group called it, was a former high school where Duch and other jailers interrogated and tortured civilians, including children, who were considered enemies of the Khmer Rouge.
Only 11 people came out alive from the estimated 12,380 to 14,000 people imprisoned in Tuol Sleng. It was one of the nearly 200 detention centres that the Khmer Rouge maintained across the country during its rule from April 1975 to January 1979.
During this period, close to 1.7 million people, or nearly a quarter of that country's population at the time, were executed or died due to forced labour or from starvation, as the reclusive tyrant Pol Pot pushed to create an agrarian utopia.
Among those who survived Cambodia's 'Killing Fields' is Vann Nath, for whom the Duch trial has been a personal matter. He was among the 11 prisoners of Tuol Sleng who walked out alive. Duch was "the former butcher of Tuol Sleng," Vann Nath wrote in a book about the horrific period he spent in the Khmer Rouge's most notorious prison.
It was his talent as a painter that kept him alive. Vann Nath was ordered to produce regular portraits of a man he hardly knew but was shown black-and white photographs of - Pol Pot. This order from Duch left him little room for error in making the initial black-and-white, and the subsequent colour portraits, of the Khmer Rouge leader.
"I will go to the court to hear the verdict if my health is good," the now 63- year-old Vann Nath said in a telephone interview from Phnom Penh, where he is recovering from surgery on his left arm. "I hope the court will be fair and provide justice in its verdict."
Other Cambodians like Youk Chhang are more demanding of the judgement for Duch. A long sentence for Duch-spending the rest of his years in a prison where "he will be fed daily" and "do nothing more"-may not "satisfy all the people who followed his trial and learnt of all the horror that took place," Youk told IPS.
"He should be made to read the confessions of what he did to the victims in Tuol Sleng every day in prison as a reminder of his actions," said Youk, director of the Phnom Penh-based Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC- Cam), which has recorded the accounts of nearly one million victims and identified the presence of 20,000 mass graves. "Some people want him to get a life sentence so that he could never be a free man."
Whatever the judgment, the significance of the Duch trial has not been lost on a country still struggling to recover from nearly two decades of conflict, including the Khmer Rouge brutality, from the early 1970s through the mid- 1990s.
After Duch, other more powerful surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge are headed for the tribunal. They include Nuon Chea, who was Pol Pot's deputy, Khieu Samphan, the country's president during the Khmer Rouge years, and Ieng Sary, the foreign minister at the time.
Beyond the legal import of its work, the tribunal has also been helping fulfill the broader objective of helping Cambodians reach closure in a painful part of their history.
The national broadcasts of its proceedings serve as a court- sanctioned narrative of a dark period that had not been subject to official scrutiny.
"The court's outreach has had a measure of success in informing the public about what was going on at the Duch trial," says Rupert Abbot, a lawyer at the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. "The process has had a role in people understanding what happened and why things happened."
"The trial will help bring some closure," he said in an interview from Phnom Penh. "It will help draw a line about a period in Cambodian history, especially since you have a new generation."
More worrying, however, with the upcoming verdicts on the cases of ageing Khmer Rouge leaders, is how much support the tribunal will receive from the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who used to be a low-ranking Khmer Rouge member.
"The government has not been playing ball," says Abbot. "The Duch trial was easy, because he was willing to admit to what he did, and it was just at S-21. In the next cases, the crime scene is the entire country.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Family Tracing and Reconciliation STORY FROM THE CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVORS
Family Tracing and Reconciliation
The Book of Memory of Those Who Died under the Khmer Rouge
by Kok-Thay Eng
STORY FROM THE CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVORS
CHUM SAM ATH
Chum Sam Ath has seven siblings. Their home village is Chong Prek village, Kandal province. In 1973 they moved to Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge captured the district. They lived in an area called O' Bek Ka-Am. In Phnom Penh, Chum Sam Ath worked as an airport police. Chum Sam Ol worked at the ministry of rural development. Chum Saray was a Lon Nol's paramilitary soldier. When the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on April 1975, they walked back to their home village. On that day, Yum Sam Ol was visiting his office at the ministry of rural development. Chum Saray left the family, which was temporarily staying at the house of their aunt near Olympic market, to visit their home at O' Bek Ka-am. The Khmer Rouge set up curfew soon afterward. Chum Saray and Chum Sam Ol were lost. As for the family of Chum Lim, they were evacuated from Kien Svay district, Kandal province in 1977 with four of their children. All disappeared. On the day of evacuation, the two remaining children were in mobile units. They survived. Chum Sam Ath is glad to be telling this story of his family to a formal institution for the first time. He wants his relatives to be recorded.
PERSONAL IMFORMATION:
Chum Sam Ath
Surviving Relative: Chum Sam Ath
Male, 58
Kien Svay, Kandal province
Relatives Died under the Khmer Rouge
Vann Van
Brother-in-Law
Born in around 1940
Died in 1977
Chum Lim
Older Sister
Born in year of rabbit
Died in 1977
Wife of Vann Van
Vann Van and Chum Lim had six children. Four died under the Khmer Rouge:
Vann Sokhom, Female
Vann Sokhorn, Female
Vann Vuthy, Male
Vann Vutha, Male
Chum Pich
Nephew
Died in 1977 at around 7 years old
Khut Sean
Elder cousin
Died in 1977 at age of 31
Chum Saray
Older Brother
Born year of pig
Separated since 1975
Still missing
Should be around 64 years old today
Chum Sam-Ol
Older Brother
Born year of rabbit
Separated since 1975
Still missing
Should be in his 60s today
End.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Documentation Center of Cambodia is writing and compiling a book of records of names of those who died under the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 and those who disappeared during the period, who are still not known by their relatives. It also includes a section for family tracing purposes. DC-Cam already has in its database up to a million names of those who may have died under the Khmer Rouge.
This book of memory and records also lists names of prisoners found at S-21 and 200 other security centers under the Khmer Rouge regime. Under the Khmer Rouge regime nearly two million people died of four main causes: execution by the Khmer Rouge, starvation, forced labors and malnutrition. The four causes are interconnected. People were executed in the villages, in the rice fields, in a nearby forest or simply around the compound of a security center. Some died along the border in the war between Cambodia and Vietnam. The other causes of death include that of starvation, forced labors and malnutrition. Although the Khmer Rouge put virtually all ordinary people to work in the fields to grow food or do field-supporting activities, they were given little food to eat in return. As a result starvation was a major cause of death under the Khmer Rouge. Many of these people were forced to work long hours, up to 12 or 14 hours a day, without rest seven days a week. With very little food and virtually no modern medical care, many people died as a result.
There are many ways in which people were separated from their families. The civil war between 1970 and 1975 effectively divided Cambodia between the “liberated area” controlled by the Khmer Rouge and areas controlled by the Khmer Republic led by General Lon Nol. Families and relatives were often separated. In some instances, brothers fought on either side of the war. They were unable to reconcile even when the war was over in 1975. In addition, as the Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the Vietnamese, a large portion of the population moved along with the retreating Khmer Rouge to the west and the Thai border, instead of returning home. Some were able to move to third countries. Others repatriated in the early 1990s.
In addition, families were torn apart when the Khmer Rouge finally took over Cambodia in April 1975. This time deliberate policies were set up to make sure that the family institution was destroyed. During the Khmer Rouge regime of three years, eight months and twenty days, almost two million Cambodian people of all creeds, political orientations and ethnicities perished due to summary execution, malnutrition, starvation and forced labor. Families were deliberately separated and put into labor units. Various work brigades were created to replace previous social units. Marriages were organized en masse by Angkar (the name for the shadowy Khmer Rouge leadership). Children were put in child units and taught that their parents were Angkar. At the end of the Khmer Rouge regime in January 1979, people walked back to their homes of 1975 hoping that they would meet their family members. However, only some families were rejoined with their lost relatives during that time. With a minimal death rate of up to one in seven, most people arrived home alone, and almost everyone found some of their family members missing as they tried to rebuild their lives. People made efforts both during the Khmer Rouge regime and after to locate their lost relatives, but their efforts have too often been futile. We are consistently told that the most important piece of information that survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime would like to know with certainty is the fate of their lost loved ones.
The book of records would also include basic information relating to the Khmer Rouge history, its security apparatus, its rise and its demise. It would also discuss concepts relating to disappearance and its impacts on psychological well-being of survivors today. This book would also include names of those DC-Cam has in its Biographical Database, which DC-Cam is not certain whether they were dead or alive. These names would help in family tracing efforts. The book would be distributed free of charge to commune offices in Cambodia, so that people can see the names of their lost relatives and search for those names that DC-Cam has on records. The book would then receive comments from villagers on accuracy of the information and family tracing requests.
By publishing names of those people who died under the Khmer Rouge and their stories, the book has many roles. It is an acknowledgement of the suffering of those who died under the Khmer Rouge. For thirty years after the Khmer Rouge regime ended in 1979, people have talked about the regime in formal and informal settings, 80 memorials were constructed around the country and a few genocide museums were built including Tuol Sleng. However, these places tend to be nameless and faceless. Many of them exhibit skulls and bones. They signify the gross violence of genocide, but they have very few individualistic characters. This is the gap that this book attempts to fill in. The book not only for the first time in thirty years record names of those people who died under the Khmer Rouge, it also includes a short story about of each individual, relating to the moment they were evacuated from cities or their early experience with the Khmer Rouge in the “liberated areas”, the work teams they were assigned to and ultimately the story relating to their death. These stories would be told through the memories of their surviving relatives. The book would also include any memories of the victims, including photographs, handwriting and pictures of their artifacts. For those victims who were prisoners of a security center, a summary of their confessions would be included to reveal their suffering under the torture center. By helping to locate lost family members or to determine whether they are dead or alive, the book would play important parts in process of closure for survivors.
If you would like to have your relatives’ names, who died under the Khmer Rouge or disappeared then, appearing in this book, please contact Kok-Thay ENG at tel: 012-955-858 or email: truthkokthay@dccam.org.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The Book of Memory of Those Who Died under the Khmer Rouge
by Kok-Thay Eng
STORY FROM THE CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVORS
CHUM SAM ATH
Chum Sam Ath has seven siblings. Their home village is Chong Prek village, Kandal province. In 1973 they moved to Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge captured the district. They lived in an area called O' Bek Ka-Am. In Phnom Penh, Chum Sam Ath worked as an airport police. Chum Sam Ol worked at the ministry of rural development. Chum Saray was a Lon Nol's paramilitary soldier. When the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on April 1975, they walked back to their home village. On that day, Yum Sam Ol was visiting his office at the ministry of rural development. Chum Saray left the family, which was temporarily staying at the house of their aunt near Olympic market, to visit their home at O' Bek Ka-am. The Khmer Rouge set up curfew soon afterward. Chum Saray and Chum Sam Ol were lost. As for the family of Chum Lim, they were evacuated from Kien Svay district, Kandal province in 1977 with four of their children. All disappeared. On the day of evacuation, the two remaining children were in mobile units. They survived. Chum Sam Ath is glad to be telling this story of his family to a formal institution for the first time. He wants his relatives to be recorded.
PERSONAL IMFORMATION:
Chum Sam Ath
Surviving Relative: Chum Sam Ath
Male, 58
Kien Svay, Kandal province
Relatives Died under the Khmer Rouge
Vann Van
Brother-in-Law
Born in around 1940
Died in 1977
Chum Lim
Older Sister
Born in year of rabbit
Died in 1977
Wife of Vann Van
Vann Van and Chum Lim had six children. Four died under the Khmer Rouge:
Vann Sokhom, Female
Vann Sokhorn, Female
Vann Vuthy, Male
Vann Vutha, Male
Chum Pich
Nephew
Died in 1977 at around 7 years old
Khut Sean
Elder cousin
Died in 1977 at age of 31
Chum Saray
Older Brother
Born year of pig
Separated since 1975
Still missing
Should be around 64 years old today
Chum Sam-Ol
Older Brother
Born year of rabbit
Separated since 1975
Still missing
Should be in his 60s today
End.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The Documentation Center of Cambodia is writing and compiling a book of records of names of those who died under the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 and those who disappeared during the period, who are still not known by their relatives. It also includes a section for family tracing purposes. DC-Cam already has in its database up to a million names of those who may have died under the Khmer Rouge.
This book of memory and records also lists names of prisoners found at S-21 and 200 other security centers under the Khmer Rouge regime. Under the Khmer Rouge regime nearly two million people died of four main causes: execution by the Khmer Rouge, starvation, forced labors and malnutrition. The four causes are interconnected. People were executed in the villages, in the rice fields, in a nearby forest or simply around the compound of a security center. Some died along the border in the war between Cambodia and Vietnam. The other causes of death include that of starvation, forced labors and malnutrition. Although the Khmer Rouge put virtually all ordinary people to work in the fields to grow food or do field-supporting activities, they were given little food to eat in return. As a result starvation was a major cause of death under the Khmer Rouge. Many of these people were forced to work long hours, up to 12 or 14 hours a day, without rest seven days a week. With very little food and virtually no modern medical care, many people died as a result.
There are many ways in which people were separated from their families. The civil war between 1970 and 1975 effectively divided Cambodia between the “liberated area” controlled by the Khmer Rouge and areas controlled by the Khmer Republic led by General Lon Nol. Families and relatives were often separated. In some instances, brothers fought on either side of the war. They were unable to reconcile even when the war was over in 1975. In addition, as the Khmer Rouge was overthrown by the Vietnamese, a large portion of the population moved along with the retreating Khmer Rouge to the west and the Thai border, instead of returning home. Some were able to move to third countries. Others repatriated in the early 1990s.
In addition, families were torn apart when the Khmer Rouge finally took over Cambodia in April 1975. This time deliberate policies were set up to make sure that the family institution was destroyed. During the Khmer Rouge regime of three years, eight months and twenty days, almost two million Cambodian people of all creeds, political orientations and ethnicities perished due to summary execution, malnutrition, starvation and forced labor. Families were deliberately separated and put into labor units. Various work brigades were created to replace previous social units. Marriages were organized en masse by Angkar (the name for the shadowy Khmer Rouge leadership). Children were put in child units and taught that their parents were Angkar. At the end of the Khmer Rouge regime in January 1979, people walked back to their homes of 1975 hoping that they would meet their family members. However, only some families were rejoined with their lost relatives during that time. With a minimal death rate of up to one in seven, most people arrived home alone, and almost everyone found some of their family members missing as they tried to rebuild their lives. People made efforts both during the Khmer Rouge regime and after to locate their lost relatives, but their efforts have too often been futile. We are consistently told that the most important piece of information that survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime would like to know with certainty is the fate of their lost loved ones.
The book of records would also include basic information relating to the Khmer Rouge history, its security apparatus, its rise and its demise. It would also discuss concepts relating to disappearance and its impacts on psychological well-being of survivors today. This book would also include names of those DC-Cam has in its Biographical Database, which DC-Cam is not certain whether they were dead or alive. These names would help in family tracing efforts. The book would be distributed free of charge to commune offices in Cambodia, so that people can see the names of their lost relatives and search for those names that DC-Cam has on records. The book would then receive comments from villagers on accuracy of the information and family tracing requests.
By publishing names of those people who died under the Khmer Rouge and their stories, the book has many roles. It is an acknowledgement of the suffering of those who died under the Khmer Rouge. For thirty years after the Khmer Rouge regime ended in 1979, people have talked about the regime in formal and informal settings, 80 memorials were constructed around the country and a few genocide museums were built including Tuol Sleng. However, these places tend to be nameless and faceless. Many of them exhibit skulls and bones. They signify the gross violence of genocide, but they have very few individualistic characters. This is the gap that this book attempts to fill in. The book not only for the first time in thirty years record names of those people who died under the Khmer Rouge, it also includes a short story about of each individual, relating to the moment they were evacuated from cities or their early experience with the Khmer Rouge in the “liberated areas”, the work teams they were assigned to and ultimately the story relating to their death. These stories would be told through the memories of their surviving relatives. The book would also include any memories of the victims, including photographs, handwriting and pictures of their artifacts. For those victims who were prisoners of a security center, a summary of their confessions would be included to reveal their suffering under the torture center. By helping to locate lost family members or to determine whether they are dead or alive, the book would play important parts in process of closure for survivors.
If you would like to have your relatives’ names, who died under the Khmer Rouge or disappeared then, appearing in this book, please contact Kok-Thay ENG at tel: 012-955-858 or email: truthkokthay@dccam.org.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Absence of Tribunal Administrator Raises Concerns
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Khmer Rouge tribunal officials say the prolonged sick leave of its top Cambodian administrator, who faded from his position at the height of corruption allegations at the UN-backed court, has not affected operations.
Some independent observers, however, say the more than one-year absence of Sean Visoth will hurt the court, if it goes unresolved.
Sean Visoth requested leave for health reasons in November 2008, as international donors were considering corruption allegations by Cambodian staff at the court, who said they were paying kickbacks to senior officials in order to keep their jobs.
Approximately $700,000 were withheld from the tribunal, despite assurances from court and government officials that corruption was not taking place t the court.
Several months earlier, Sean Visoth had promised to leave his job if corruption were found in his department.
Sean Visoth has never been officially replaced, but officials at the Council of Ministers told VOA Khmer in recent interviews he has taken a position there.
Sean Visoth now works closely with Council Minister Sok An, who also overseas the tribunal for the government, the officials said on condition of anonymity.
Knut Rosanhaug, the UN deputy administrator for the tribunal and Sean Visoth’s international counterpart, told VOA Khmer in a recent interview he was unaware of the personal health situation his colleague.
Rosanhaug said he would work with whomever the government appointed.
“It is the privilege of the government to appoint its staff at the court,” he said, adding that his current working relationship with the acting director, Kranh Tony, is “excellent.”
Reached by phone, Sean Visoth said he has not yet determined whether he will return to work at the court. “I have another position as adviser to the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, an internal committee has been set up on the Cambodian side of the court to investigate kickback allegations, led by a Cambodian independent councilor.
Rosanhaug said he had not received any reports on kickback allegations from the independent councilor.
The question of corruption within the tribunal came directly to a head in January 2009, when lawyers for detained Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea filed a suit in Phnom Penh court alleging corruption by Sean Visoth and his chief of staff, Keo Thivuth.
Lawyers claimed corruption in the court compromised their client’s chance for justice. The Phnom Penh court declined to act on the suit.
Now, as the tribunal heads into a trial of Nuon Chea and other jailed leaders, some tribunal observers say the question of corruption and the position of Sean Visoth need further attention.
“The non-resolution of Sean Visoth’s position provides opacity and doubt that will affect the whole process,” said Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia. “The court must correct whatever the mistake was” before the upcoming trial, expected in early 2011, he said.
Chhang Youk said his team had experienced problems submitting documents to the court, especially in the administration office.
However, Rosanhaug said anyone with problems can contact himself or Kranh Tony for assistance.
And tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said the court had not met any obstacles without Sean Visoth. There is no scheduled date for his return, Reach Sambath said.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Khmer Rouge tribunal officials say the prolonged sick leave of its top Cambodian administrator, who faded from his position at the height of corruption allegations at the UN-backed court, has not affected operations.
Some independent observers, however, say the more than one-year absence of Sean Visoth will hurt the court, if it goes unresolved.
Sean Visoth requested leave for health reasons in November 2008, as international donors were considering corruption allegations by Cambodian staff at the court, who said they were paying kickbacks to senior officials in order to keep their jobs.
Approximately $700,000 were withheld from the tribunal, despite assurances from court and government officials that corruption was not taking place t the court.
Several months earlier, Sean Visoth had promised to leave his job if corruption were found in his department.
Sean Visoth has never been officially replaced, but officials at the Council of Ministers told VOA Khmer in recent interviews he has taken a position there.
Sean Visoth now works closely with Council Minister Sok An, who also overseas the tribunal for the government, the officials said on condition of anonymity.
Knut Rosanhaug, the UN deputy administrator for the tribunal and Sean Visoth’s international counterpart, told VOA Khmer in a recent interview he was unaware of the personal health situation his colleague.
Rosanhaug said he would work with whomever the government appointed.
“It is the privilege of the government to appoint its staff at the court,” he said, adding that his current working relationship with the acting director, Kranh Tony, is “excellent.”
Reached by phone, Sean Visoth said he has not yet determined whether he will return to work at the court. “I have another position as adviser to the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, an internal committee has been set up on the Cambodian side of the court to investigate kickback allegations, led by a Cambodian independent councilor.
Rosanhaug said he had not received any reports on kickback allegations from the independent councilor.
The question of corruption within the tribunal came directly to a head in January 2009, when lawyers for detained Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea filed a suit in Phnom Penh court alleging corruption by Sean Visoth and his chief of staff, Keo Thivuth.
Lawyers claimed corruption in the court compromised their client’s chance for justice. The Phnom Penh court declined to act on the suit.
Now, as the tribunal heads into a trial of Nuon Chea and other jailed leaders, some tribunal observers say the question of corruption and the position of Sean Visoth need further attention.
“The non-resolution of Sean Visoth’s position provides opacity and doubt that will affect the whole process,” said Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia. “The court must correct whatever the mistake was” before the upcoming trial, expected in early 2011, he said.
Chhang Youk said his team had experienced problems submitting documents to the court, especially in the administration office.
However, Rosanhaug said anyone with problems can contact himself or Kranh Tony for assistance.
And tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said the court had not met any obstacles without Sean Visoth. There is no scheduled date for his return, Reach Sambath said.
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Befriended With Murderer's Son
Socheat Nhean
Hang Sok Sopheara had never seen his father, except in a four by six centimeter student photo that survived the Khmer Rouge regime hidden in his mother's cloth pack. The bitter history of Cambodia in the 1970s separated him from his father forever.
One day in mid-1977, Sopheara's father, a school teacher, was taken away by one of his neighbors when his son was too young to learn how to talk and love him. Two years earlier, in February 1975, his son was born in a small house near Silip market in Phnom Penh, just three months before a group of Khmer Rouge soldiers entered the heart of Phnom Penh. In early April, as the situation in Phnom Penh worsened due to Khmer Rouge attacks on all sides, the family of four, including two-month-old Hang Sok Sopheara, migrated to Taing Krasaing commune, Kampong Thom province, for safety. Thirty-five years later, in a small hut on a high school campus, Hang Sok Sopheara said that Taing Krasaing was his mother's homeland. It was true; and it was controlled by the Khmer Rouge years before their arrival. What Sopheara has learned about the Khmer Rouge regime comes from his mother. His sister, who is now living in the United States and is three years older than him, knows little about the regime or about what happened to her father.
Nevertheless, the school teacher who died in 1977 influenced his son, who is now a history teacher at a high school near Kampong Thom provincial town. Sopheara confidently said, "It was my father who inspired me to study history and then become a history teacher; he taught history at a Prey Veng High School before the Khmer Rouge time." Now, as a teacher, Sopheara is teaching the history of Democratic Kampuchea, which his parents lived through, to students of the younger generation.
Sopheara learned from his mother that his family was well-off before the Khmer Rouge regime. His father was the breadwinner in the family, and had little knowledge of farming. By the time the Khmer Rouge took power in April 1975, his father did not know how to plough and farm and was very bad at transplanting rice stalk. His mother often helped his father in order to not to lose credit. Once in 1976, the Khmer Rouge cadres assigned his father to herd buffalos; unfortunately, one of them went missing. The whole family was in great sorrow until the missing buffalo appeared a few days later. At a later date, his father was assigned to weave a string for the cows and this task was hard for him to do.
Sopheara's mother said that his father made mistakes and could not complete his job well. His background as a teacher put him in danger. Then the day arrived. Sopheara was in a grandma unit while his parents were at work in the field. From what his mother told him, the night before his father was taken away, he cried a lot. An old lady who was responsible for looking after babies while their parents were working brought Sopheara to his mother that night. The evening of the next day his father was taken away. "It was during dinner time and he was eating," recalled Sopheara. His mother watched quietly as her husband was escorted by Khmer Rouge cadres and walked away, but her heart was in great pain. His father looked into her eyes for the last time and did not say a word; but he knew that he would never have a chance to return. Sopheara, his sister, and mother never saw him come back home since then. The one who took his father away was his neighbor. On the night his father was taken away, the Khmer Rouge cadres returned, but only to take the buffalos that belonged to his father. It was that night that Sopheara's family knew clearly that his father was killed.
Today, Sopheara doesn't want to take revenge against the family of his father's murderer. He understands the situation of the Khmer Rouge regime well, saying that "if the murderer did not kill my father, then he would have been killed too." This is the attitude that allows Sopheara to keep calm about those who killed his father. Now he is friends with a son of that murderer, a mathematics teacher at a high school in Kampong Thom. However, Sopheara takes soft revenge by telling other colleagues about the mathematics teacher whose father caused Sopheara's father's death. Sopheara and the mathematics teacher are friends, but the later would have been shameful of his father's act towards Sopheara's father. Sopheara believes that the murderer was paid back for his sin when he was killed by angry survivors in 1979 after the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed.
In Buddhism, those who have done bad deeds receive harm in either the current or next life. Sopheara believes in this concept and believes that the murderer of his father received what he deserved. Nevertheless, Sopheara wants a tribunal to bring those who initiated the brutal regime to justice. He watched Duch's hearing at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal and is looking forward to seeing other senior leaders on trial. With the announcement of Duch's verdict is coming near, Sopheara cannot wait to hear it. With hope, he expects Duch to be jailed. Upset with Duch's efforts to be freed, he wants him to be imprisoned as long as possible. "If the verdict says Duch is not guilty, I would say that the Khmer Rouge tribunal is not fair." Emphasized Sopheara, "children of next generation would say the same." Finally, Sopheara confirmed that Cambodian people need to be reconciled. He said, "It is time to reconcile in order for our country to move forward."
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Hang Sok Sopheara had never seen his father, except in a four by six centimeter student photo that survived the Khmer Rouge regime hidden in his mother's cloth pack. The bitter history of Cambodia in the 1970s separated him from his father forever.
One day in mid-1977, Sopheara's father, a school teacher, was taken away by one of his neighbors when his son was too young to learn how to talk and love him. Two years earlier, in February 1975, his son was born in a small house near Silip market in Phnom Penh, just three months before a group of Khmer Rouge soldiers entered the heart of Phnom Penh. In early April, as the situation in Phnom Penh worsened due to Khmer Rouge attacks on all sides, the family of four, including two-month-old Hang Sok Sopheara, migrated to Taing Krasaing commune, Kampong Thom province, for safety. Thirty-five years later, in a small hut on a high school campus, Hang Sok Sopheara said that Taing Krasaing was his mother's homeland. It was true; and it was controlled by the Khmer Rouge years before their arrival. What Sopheara has learned about the Khmer Rouge regime comes from his mother. His sister, who is now living in the United States and is three years older than him, knows little about the regime or about what happened to her father.
Nevertheless, the school teacher who died in 1977 influenced his son, who is now a history teacher at a high school near Kampong Thom provincial town. Sopheara confidently said, "It was my father who inspired me to study history and then become a history teacher; he taught history at a Prey Veng High School before the Khmer Rouge time." Now, as a teacher, Sopheara is teaching the history of Democratic Kampuchea, which his parents lived through, to students of the younger generation.
Sopheara learned from his mother that his family was well-off before the Khmer Rouge regime. His father was the breadwinner in the family, and had little knowledge of farming. By the time the Khmer Rouge took power in April 1975, his father did not know how to plough and farm and was very bad at transplanting rice stalk. His mother often helped his father in order to not to lose credit. Once in 1976, the Khmer Rouge cadres assigned his father to herd buffalos; unfortunately, one of them went missing. The whole family was in great sorrow until the missing buffalo appeared a few days later. At a later date, his father was assigned to weave a string for the cows and this task was hard for him to do.
Sopheara's mother said that his father made mistakes and could not complete his job well. His background as a teacher put him in danger. Then the day arrived. Sopheara was in a grandma unit while his parents were at work in the field. From what his mother told him, the night before his father was taken away, he cried a lot. An old lady who was responsible for looking after babies while their parents were working brought Sopheara to his mother that night. The evening of the next day his father was taken away. "It was during dinner time and he was eating," recalled Sopheara. His mother watched quietly as her husband was escorted by Khmer Rouge cadres and walked away, but her heart was in great pain. His father looked into her eyes for the last time and did not say a word; but he knew that he would never have a chance to return. Sopheara, his sister, and mother never saw him come back home since then. The one who took his father away was his neighbor. On the night his father was taken away, the Khmer Rouge cadres returned, but only to take the buffalos that belonged to his father. It was that night that Sopheara's family knew clearly that his father was killed.
Today, Sopheara doesn't want to take revenge against the family of his father's murderer. He understands the situation of the Khmer Rouge regime well, saying that "if the murderer did not kill my father, then he would have been killed too." This is the attitude that allows Sopheara to keep calm about those who killed his father. Now he is friends with a son of that murderer, a mathematics teacher at a high school in Kampong Thom. However, Sopheara takes soft revenge by telling other colleagues about the mathematics teacher whose father caused Sopheara's father's death. Sopheara and the mathematics teacher are friends, but the later would have been shameful of his father's act towards Sopheara's father. Sopheara believes that the murderer was paid back for his sin when he was killed by angry survivors in 1979 after the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed.
In Buddhism, those who have done bad deeds receive harm in either the current or next life. Sopheara believes in this concept and believes that the murderer of his father received what he deserved. Nevertheless, Sopheara wants a tribunal to bring those who initiated the brutal regime to justice. He watched Duch's hearing at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal and is looking forward to seeing other senior leaders on trial. With the announcement of Duch's verdict is coming near, Sopheara cannot wait to hear it. With hope, he expects Duch to be jailed. Upset with Duch's efforts to be freed, he wants him to be imprisoned as long as possible. "If the verdict says Duch is not guilty, I would say that the Khmer Rouge tribunal is not fair." Emphasized Sopheara, "children of next generation would say the same." Finally, Sopheara confirmed that Cambodian people need to be reconciled. He said, "It is time to reconcile in order for our country to move forward."
Independently Searching for the Truth since 1997.
MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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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.