Thioun Prasith (black photo) and Sam Bith (below).
Khmerization’s Editorial
"people like Hun Sen, Heng Samrin, Chea Sim, Hor Namhong and Keat Chhon are also potential candidates for summons by the Tribunal".
The recent announcement by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal for more arrests of the Khmer Rouge leaders is a sign that the Tribunal has realised that justice cannot be achieved if only a bunch of those perpetrators of crimes of genocide are brought to trial. The 1.7 million Cambodian lives that were brutally cut short was simply not the work of the few top KR leaders. Certainly more perpetrators at the middle levels have more blood in their hands. And this we mean those who are currently holding important government positions under the umbrella of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
The Tribunal has the initiative to broaden the scope of their investigation and jurisdiction. Whether they have the political will to implicate the ex-KR leaders in the CPP, who are currently running Cambodia is another matter. While many more middle-ranked ex-Pol Pot’s lieutenants have a lot to answer for the crimes perpetrated during the KR regime from 1975-1979, we must not forget that those who are serving in the current government must not be allowed to wash their hands clean from those crimes altogether.
The surviving Pol Pot’s lieutenants must answer for their crimes. People like Chan Youran, Mak Ben, Thioun Prasith, Sam Bit, Ny Korn (Son Sen’s brother) and many more should be summoned and arrested if need be.
On the other hand, people like Hun Sen, Heng Samrin, Chea Sim, Hor Namhong and Keat Chhon are also potential candidates for summons by the Tribunal. While arresting these people would be impossible, the Tribunal must not be deterred and summoning them to answer some specific cases of crimes perpetrated under their command must be dealt with.
Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin were ex-KR military commanders in the Eastern Zone where more people were executed than anywhere in the country. Keat Chhon was a minister in the KR regime and was a close confidant of Pol Pot. And Hor Namhong was a director of the Boeng Trabek Prison where many prisoners were brutally tortured and executed. The crimes under these ex-KR leaders must come under scrutiny and dealt with under international laws.
Justice cannot be served if all the crimes perpetrated under the KR regime are not comprehensively dealt with. Likewise, national reconciliation cannot be achieved if all the perpetrators of those crimes are not brought to trial.
The Cambodian people have waited for too long for justice. The long-awaited KR Tribunal had finally been realised but it must fulfil its obligations to bring real justice to the long suffering people of Cambodia. Half justice is equivalent to no justice and if full justice cannot be achieved, then the $56 million dollars plus the future $114 million dollars that the Tribunal had requested from the international community will be a waste. And when the Tribunal broadens its investigations, those investigations must also include the investigations into crimes perpetrated by the ex-KR leaders who are serving in the current government.
The recent announcement by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal for more arrests of the Khmer Rouge leaders is a sign that the Tribunal has realised that justice cannot be achieved if only a bunch of those perpetrators of crimes of genocide are brought to trial. The 1.7 million Cambodian lives that were brutally cut short was simply not the work of the few top KR leaders. Certainly more perpetrators at the middle levels have more blood in their hands. And this we mean those who are currently holding important government positions under the umbrella of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
The Tribunal has the initiative to broaden the scope of their investigation and jurisdiction. Whether they have the political will to implicate the ex-KR leaders in the CPP, who are currently running Cambodia is another matter. While many more middle-ranked ex-Pol Pot’s lieutenants have a lot to answer for the crimes perpetrated during the KR regime from 1975-1979, we must not forget that those who are serving in the current government must not be allowed to wash their hands clean from those crimes altogether.
The surviving Pol Pot’s lieutenants must answer for their crimes. People like Chan Youran, Mak Ben, Thioun Prasith, Sam Bit, Ny Korn (Son Sen’s brother) and many more should be summoned and arrested if need be.
On the other hand, people like Hun Sen, Heng Samrin, Chea Sim, Hor Namhong and Keat Chhon are also potential candidates for summons by the Tribunal. While arresting these people would be impossible, the Tribunal must not be deterred and summoning them to answer some specific cases of crimes perpetrated under their command must be dealt with.
Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin were ex-KR military commanders in the Eastern Zone where more people were executed than anywhere in the country. Keat Chhon was a minister in the KR regime and was a close confidant of Pol Pot. And Hor Namhong was a director of the Boeng Trabek Prison where many prisoners were brutally tortured and executed. The crimes under these ex-KR leaders must come under scrutiny and dealt with under international laws.
Justice cannot be served if all the crimes perpetrated under the KR regime are not comprehensively dealt with. Likewise, national reconciliation cannot be achieved if all the perpetrators of those crimes are not brought to trial.
The Cambodian people have waited for too long for justice. The long-awaited KR Tribunal had finally been realised but it must fulfil its obligations to bring real justice to the long suffering people of Cambodia. Half justice is equivalent to no justice and if full justice cannot be achieved, then the $56 million dollars plus the future $114 million dollars that the Tribunal had requested from the international community will be a waste. And when the Tribunal broadens its investigations, those investigations must also include the investigations into crimes perpetrated by the ex-KR leaders who are serving in the current government.
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