'Killing Fields' Justice Can't Wait

[Preechr]

October 18, 2004

Twenty-five years after the Cambodian genocide, the country is inching closer to criminal trials of some leaders of the Khmer Rouge government that killed an estimated 1.7 million citizens through execution, overwork, starvation or denial of medical care. If Prime Minister Hun Sen's regime does not quicken the pace, most of the tyrants of the "killing fields" could die of old age, free and at peace. Also, without trials both evidence and memory of a great slaughter could fade.

Last week, Cambodia's National Assembly ratified an agreement with the United Nations for a tribunal by a mixture of Cambodian and international judges and prosecutors. The country's Senate and its king, Norodom Sihanouk, are expected to agree, even though Sihanouk has announced his intention to abdicate.

Hun Sen was a Khmer Rouge soldier but turned against his colleagues when they marked him for death. He was a minor character compared with Pol Pot, who died in 1998, or former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary or Khieu Samphan, the former head of state. Both are alive, their whereabouts known.

The Documentation Center of Cambodia has compiled hundreds of thousands of pages detailing Khmer Rouge rule, including records of atrocities, and has taken testimony across the country that can be used at trial. The center's director, Youk Chhang, says that it is not too late to hold killers accountable, and that trials are needed to build a foundation for the rule of law.

Two prominent Khmer Rouge leaders are in jail and probably would be among the first defendants. Ta Mok was Pol Pot's top lieutenant. Kang Kek Ieu, known as Duch, ran the notorious Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, where 16,000 prisoners were killed. Today the prison, once a school, displays photos of many of those killed, chilling portraits of a genocide that fits a timeline between the Holocaust and Rwanda. Duch's signature is at the end of one list of those brought into Tuol Sleng, with the notation "Kill them all."

Khieu Samphan has recently written a book claiming he didn't know what was going on when he ruled the country. Trials can prove him and his henchmen liars, and detail the four terrible years that Cambodians should know and remember.

[EisigerBiskuit]

I read this in the back of my History Book today, page 714, instead of the regular assignment.

Now I get twice the heartache

[Zhukov]

Thank god that didn't say "communist regime..." or something, because I've been feeling really lazy these past few weeks and I don't think I could have argued at all.


what are your thoughts precchr? Are you just bringing it to peoples attention?

Unfortunatley, I think the only people interested in this probably already know.

[Preechr]

I get frustrated sometimes with American style tunnel vision on foreign affairs. IRAQ, IRAQ, IRAQ, IRAQ!!!

It's as if there can only be one other country in the world at any given point. It doesn't affect me so bad if I'm working on a predominantly Republican board, but to see apathy to what should be a subject of extreme interest on a predominantly leftward board is somewhat upsetting.

The left here is soooooo fixated on winning the presidential election, and has been for almost an entire decade, that I feel it's lost it's focus on "fixing" the world's wrongs, which is what it's supposed to be doing. Instead, the attention is paid to guys like Jimmy Carter because he can be relied on to bitch about Bush... I guess we're supposed to ignore the fact that the man's never met a despot he didn't like.

In their pursuit of power, many Democrats are willing to whitewash the atrocities of a Saddam and overlook Darfur because they're scared of being distracted from elections and whatnot...

I'm not saying the righties are great either...

Our whole system is pretty much fucked.

[Zhukov]

The farmer throws out the swill and the pigs come to feed. How long has the US election been going? Other elections have come and gone. The Australian election lasted about three days (I'm hardly bragging here...)

It doesn't affect me so bad if I'm working on a predominantly Republican board, but to see apathy to what should be a subject of extreme interest on a predominantly leftward board is somewhat upsetting.

I hang in real lefty circles, and the US elections rarely get mentioned, not becasue everyone 'hates america' - but becasue there are more important things going on. It feels good to discuss worldwide happenings. I havevn't been interested in the political forums here for a while now, the interest might come back with the passing of the selections. I'm not really surprised to see an obsession with them.

[/quote]In their pursuit of power, many Democrats are willing to whitewash the atrocities of a Saddam and overlook Darfur because they're scared of being distracted from elections and whatnot...
[/quote]
I've heard something similar, and the excuse was something along the lines of: "Kerry will fix these things, that's why we need to put every effort into getting him elected." Sad.