The victory of Pol Pot’s forces saw Yath Run separated from his parents and sent to a child labor camp in Cambodia’s rural northwestern Battambang province. Decades later, Yath Run’s anger has not dissipated at the regime that separated him from his family and whose policies and purges led to the deaths of two million people in less than four years. One life in prison was not enough, he said, speaking ahead of Thursday’s final verdict by the Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, which upheld former head of state Kieu Samphan’s life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. . “They deserved a prison sentence of 200 or 300 years and even their remains should be handcuffed until their prison sentence is served,” said 56-year-old Yath Run. Punishment for Khmer Rouge leaders should continue with death. None of their relatives — even children — should be allowed to attend their funerals, he said, suggesting the government designate a specific burial site only for the remains of the regime’s leadership. (Left to right) Khmer Rouge Minister of National Defense Son Sen. head of state Khieu Samphan. ‘Brother No 2’ Nuon Chea? ‘Brother No. 1’ Pol Pot? the Minister of Culture, Education and Propaganda of the Yoon Yat regime, and Meas Sophie, Pol Pot’s first wife with a young Sar Faheta, Pol Pot’s daughter. The identities of the others in the photo are unknown [Courtesy of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia] “They should not be allowed to have a funeral ceremony because during their regime innocent people were massacred and their bodies had no coffins to lie in,” he said. The rejection of Khieu Samphan’s appeal by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) — the official name of the war crimes tribunal — marked the final decision in the UN-backed court’s 16 years of work. The court said it upheld his conviction and life sentence “in light of all the circumstances, including the tragic nature of the underlying events and the extent of the harm caused by Khieu Samphan”. Some criticized the court for taking more than a decade and a half and spending more than $330 million to indict five senior Khmer Rouge leaders and successfully convict only three. Others say the work of healing from the Khmer Rouge nightmare will continue in Cambodia long after the court’s legal work. Khieu Samphan, the 91-year-old former head of state of Pol Pot’s regime, is the regime’s only surviving senior leader behind bars. The regime’s self-proclaimed “Brother No. 1,” Pol Pot, died in 1998 before being brought to justice. A photo of Pol Pot taken by a visiting Vietnamese delegation in Cambodia on July 27, 1975. The Khmer Rouge had come to power just over three months earlier [Courtesy of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia] Nuon Chea, known as “Brother No. 2” and the main ideologue of the regime, was sentenced to two life sentences by the court for crimes against humanity and genocide. He died in 2019. Former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Yeng Shari was accused of crimes against humanity but died of ill health before his trial concluded in 2013. His wife, Ieng Thirith, the regime’s former social action minister and Pol Pot’s sister-in-law, was also charged, but was later found unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds. He died in 2015. Kaing Guek Eav, better known as “Duch”, was convicted of crimes against humanity in 2010 for atrocities committed at the S-21 prison and torture center in Phnom Penh. Duch died in 2020. “Brother No. 2” Nuon Chea (seated left) lectures senior Khmer Rouge officials, including head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and brutal military commander Ta Mok [Courtesy of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia]
Troubled memories
More than 40 years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, survivors are still troubled by their memories of that period, according to new research conducted by the Cambodia Documentation Center. [DC-CAM]the country’s leading research institution that archives the events of the Khmer Rouge era. Based on a survey of more than 31,000 survivors conducted between August 2021 and August 2022, 87 percent of respondents reported still having disturbing memories from the past. These memories “resonated” with survivors, and “25 percent of respondents reported still suffering from nightmares from this period, despite the fact that it happened more than forty years ago,” wrote DC-CAM director Youk Chhang . Reflecting on the completion of the war crimes tribunal, Youk Chhang said the process was personal for each survivor, but the legal process allowed Cambodians to be more open about what had happened. This transparency allowed them to look more deeply into their personal and collective pasts. Cumulatively, this resulted in people being willing to address issues more openly, which would help Cambodia in the future, he said. DC-CAM also found that 47 percent of respondents had attended court proceedings compared to 51 percent who had not. A staggering 81 percent said “good/satisfied” when asked what they thought of the court, compared to 8 percent who said “not good/not satisfied.” When asked what the court’s contribution was to the individual and to the wider society, the overwhelming answer was ‘justice’. Education was also seen as the most important way to “help the younger generation remember the history of the Khmer Rouge and prevent” the return of such a brutal regime.
Reconciliation
“For me, the most important thing that emerged was the effect the court had on national reconciliation,” said Craig Etcheson, author of Emergency Justice: Law, Politics and the Khmer Rouge Courts. Etcheson, who was also an investigator in the court’s prosecutor’s office from 2006 to 2012, said the trial had sparked new conversations in Cambodian society. Parents could finally talk to their children about the events of the late 1970s, Etcheson said. They could explain why, previously, they might not have been able to talk about what had happened, as well as why they might have behaved in certain ways, she said. The court had “entered every nook and cranny of the country” and “across social divides,” he told Al Jazeera. There was an approach to explain the court’s purpose through television coverage, road shows, art exhibitions and performances. Important modules on Cambodia’s history during the regime had been added to the school curriculum and about 100,000 Cambodians had visited the court proceedings, he said. As head of the court’s public affairs office from 2006-2009, Helen Jarvis recalled a feeling of slight trepidation when she first traveled to rural Cambodia to distribute information about the war crimes tribunal, nervous about how they might people react. Former members of the Khmer Rouge have lived quietly in cities, towns and villages since the movement collapsed in the late 1990s, as fighters were given the choice of resigning to the government or being captured and their military strongholds. accepted the rule of Phnom Penh. “I was so hesitant at first, wondering how we would be received,” Jarvis said, adding that to her surprise, her team never encountered hostility or negativity during these trips. “It was excitement I think, especially in the rural communities from the beginning. But we didn’t have enough funding, in my view, to do it very well,” he said. The court — the first hybrid war crimes tribunal where national staff worked with international United Nations staff in a country where mass crimes were committed — will be remembered for its public approach and the participation of victims in the legal process, he said , although he felt nothing the area had received adequate funding or staffing in the original planning. “It’s ironic really – those were two big gaps. But it turned out to be the most important legacy, in my view.”
Moving forward
Asked if he felt the tribunal was a success, DC-CAM’s Youk Chhang warned that “success” was never a word to use when dealing with genocide and discussing the deaths of two million people. The most important part of the court process was the inclusion of survivors in the process, he said, adding that the court “allowed people to participate and agree and disagree” and “close him/her personally.” “Even though some people didn’t like the court, it allowed people to express themselves [their criticism] – this makes the court healthier,” he said. While the court has been important in terms of justice, prosecutions and convictions, Youk Chhang says there is still much to be done after the genocide. “The court is not the history department or the advisory service,” he said. “This continues after the court is over.” Teenager Khlout Sopoar was born a year after the UN-backed war crimes tribunal began its work in Cambodia. Sopoar never experienced the suffering or trauma of previous generations who lived through the regime and its aftermath. However, the 15-year-old student was very clear in her judgment of the enormity of the crimes, their punishment and the need for reconciliation. Khieu Samphan, the last surviving senior regime leader, deserved a life sentence, he said. And, the survivors of the regime should accept the justice delivered by the court. “I think the atrocity committed by the Khmer Rouge regime was enormous,” Sopoar said. “But the victims will have to accept the punishment,” he said. For Sopoar and millions of Cambodians, the end of…
title: " Even Their Remains Should Be Handcuffed Khmer Rouge Reviled News " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-21” author: “Maricruz Brown”
The victory of Pol Pot’s forces saw Yath Run separated from his parents and sent to a child labor camp in Cambodia’s rural northwestern Battambang province. Decades later, Yath Run’s anger has not dissipated at the regime that separated him from his family and whose policies and purges led to the deaths of two million people in less than four years. One life in prison was not enough, he said, speaking ahead of Thursday’s final verdict by the Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, which upheld former head of state Kieu Samphan’s life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. . “They deserved a prison sentence of 200 or 300 years and even their remains should be handcuffed until their prison sentence is served,” said 56-year-old Yath Run. Punishment for Khmer Rouge leaders should continue with death. None of their relatives — even children — should be allowed to attend their funerals, he said, suggesting the government designate a specific burial site only for the remains of the regime’s leadership. (Left to right) Khmer Rouge Minister of National Defense Son Sen. head of state Khieu Samphan. ‘Brother No 2’ Nuon Chea? ‘Brother No. 1’ Pol Pot? the Minister of Culture, Education and Propaganda of the Yoon Yat regime, and Meas Sophie, Pol Pot’s first wife with a young Sar Faheta, Pol Pot’s daughter. The identities of the others in the photo are unknown [Courtesy of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia] “They should not be allowed to have a funeral ceremony because during their regime innocent people were massacred and their bodies had no coffins to lie in,” he said. The rejection of Khieu Samphan’s appeal by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) — the official name of the war crimes tribunal — marked the final decision in the UN-backed court’s 16 years of work. The court said it upheld his conviction and life sentence “in light of all the circumstances, including the tragic nature of the underlying events and the extent of the harm caused by Khieu Samphan”. Some criticized the court for taking more than a decade and a half and spending more than $330 million to indict five senior Khmer Rouge leaders and successfully convict only three. Others say the work of healing from the Khmer Rouge nightmare will continue in Cambodia long after the court’s legal work. Khieu Samphan, the 91-year-old former head of state of Pol Pot’s regime, is the regime’s only surviving senior leader behind bars. The regime’s self-proclaimed “Brother No. 1,” Pol Pot, died in 1998 before being brought to justice. A photo of Pol Pot taken by a visiting Vietnamese delegation in Cambodia on July 27, 1975. The Khmer Rouge had come to power just over three months earlier [Courtesy of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia] Nuon Chea, known as “Brother No. 2” and the main ideologue of the regime, was sentenced to two life sentences by the court for crimes against humanity and genocide. He died in 2019. Former Khmer Rouge foreign minister Yeng Shari was accused of crimes against humanity but died of ill health before his trial concluded in 2013. His wife, Ieng Thirith, the regime’s former social action minister and Pol Pot’s sister-in-law, was also charged, but was later found unfit to stand trial on mental health grounds. He died in 2015. Kaing Guek Eav, better known as “Duch”, was convicted of crimes against humanity in 2010 for atrocities committed at the S-21 prison and torture center in Phnom Penh. Duch died in 2020. “Brother No. 2” Nuon Chea (seated left) lectures senior Khmer Rouge officials, including head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and brutal military commander Ta Mok [Courtesy of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia]
Troubled memories
More than 40 years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, survivors are still troubled by their memories of that period, according to new research conducted by the Cambodia Documentation Center. [DC-CAM]the country’s leading research institution that archives the events of the Khmer Rouge era. Based on a survey of more than 31,000 survivors conducted between August 2021 and August 2022, 87 percent of respondents reported still having disturbing memories from the past. These memories “resonated” with survivors, and “25 percent of respondents reported still suffering from nightmares from this period, despite the fact that it happened more than forty years ago,” wrote DC-CAM director Youk Chhang . Reflecting on the completion of the war crimes tribunal, Youk Chhang said the process was personal for each survivor, but the legal process allowed Cambodians to be more open about what had happened. This transparency allowed them to look more deeply into their personal and collective pasts. Cumulatively, this resulted in people being willing to address issues more openly, which would help Cambodia in the future, he said. DC-CAM also found that 47 percent of respondents had attended court proceedings compared to 51 percent who had not. A staggering 81 percent said “good/satisfied” when asked what they thought of the court, compared to 8 percent who said “not good/not satisfied.” When asked what the court’s contribution was to the individual and to the wider society, the overwhelming answer was ‘justice’. Education was also seen as the most important way to “help the younger generation remember the history of the Khmer Rouge and prevent” the return of such a brutal regime.
Reconciliation
“For me, the most important thing that emerged was the effect the court had on national reconciliation,” said Craig Etcheson, author of Emergency Justice: Law, Politics and the Khmer Rouge Courts. Etcheson, who was also an investigator in the court’s prosecutor’s office from 2006 to 2012, said the trial had sparked new conversations in Cambodian society. Parents could finally talk to their children about the events of the late 1970s, Etcheson said. They could explain why, previously, they might not have been able to talk about what had happened, as well as why they might have behaved in certain ways, she said. The court had “entered every nook and cranny of the country” and “across social divides,” he told Al Jazeera. There was an approach to explain the court’s purpose through television coverage, road shows, art exhibitions and performances. Important modules on Cambodia’s history during the regime had been added to the school curriculum and about 100,000 Cambodians had visited the court proceedings, he said. As head of the court’s public affairs office from 2006-2009, Helen Jarvis recalled a feeling of slight trepidation when she first traveled to rural Cambodia to distribute information about the war crimes tribunal, nervous about how they might people react. Former members of the Khmer Rouge have lived quietly in cities, towns and villages since the movement collapsed in the late 1990s, as fighters were given the choice of resigning to the government or being captured and their military strongholds. accepted the rule of Phnom Penh. “I was so hesitant at first, wondering how we would be received,” Jarvis said, adding that to her surprise, her team never encountered hostility or negativity during these trips. “It was excitement I think, especially in the rural communities from the beginning. But we didn’t have enough funding, in my view, to do it very well,” he said. The court — the first hybrid war crimes tribunal where national staff worked with international United Nations staff in a country where mass crimes were committed — will be remembered for its public approach and the participation of victims in the legal process, he said , although he felt nothing the area had received adequate funding or staffing in the original planning. “It’s ironic really – those were two big gaps. But it turned out to be the most important legacy, in my view.”
Moving forward
Asked if he felt the tribunal was a success, DC-CAM’s Youk Chhang warned that “success” was never a word to use when dealing with genocide and discussing the deaths of two million people. The most important part of the court process was the inclusion of survivors in the process, he said, adding that the court “allowed people to participate and agree and disagree” and “close him/her personally.” “Even though some people didn’t like the court, it allowed people to express themselves [their criticism] – this makes the court healthier,” he said. While the court has been important in terms of justice, prosecutions and convictions, Youk Chhang says there is still much to be done after the genocide. “The court is not the history department or the advisory service,” he said. “This continues after the court is over.” Teenager Khlout Sopoar was born a year after the UN-backed war crimes tribunal began its work in Cambodia. Sopoar never experienced the suffering or trauma of previous generations who lived through the regime and its aftermath. However, the 15-year-old student was very clear in her judgment of the enormity of the crimes, their punishment and the need for reconciliation. Khieu Samphan, the last surviving senior regime leader, deserved a life sentence, he said. And, the survivors of the regime should accept the justice delivered by the court. “I think the atrocity committed by the Khmer Rouge regime was enormous,” Sopoar said. “But the victims will have to accept the punishment,” he said. For Sopoar and millions of Cambodians, the end of…
