Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 25/01/2004: Chea Vichea's funeral. (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)19th January, 2009
By Stéphanie Gée Ka-set in English
Click here to read the article in French
January 22nd will mark the 5th anniversary of the assassination of charismatic trade unionist Chea Vichea. Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, for their part, only just dodged their fate of yet spending another day behind bars. Both men were convicted of murder and condemned to spend 20 years in jail, but the highly unpopular verdict of their guilt left many unsatisfied. Lack of credible evidence... Trial marred with irregularities... On December 31st 2008, the Supreme Court ruled, much to the amazement of the audience and many, their release on bail. The American film-maker Bradley Cox took a deep interest in the case at its beginnings and set out to lead his own parallel investigation. For four years, he tracked down witnesses and clues and eventually put together a dossier in the form of the thriller-like documentary film “Who Killed Chea Vichea”, due for release this year and for which the film-maker still seeks financing. Bradley Cox gave an interview for Ka-set in Phnom Penh and goes back over the long and tiring making of the documentary.
Ka-set : What made you come to Cambodia?
Bradley Cox : Like a lot of people, I ended up here by accident. I was teaching a film course in Bhutan and when I finished it, I stayed a while around the Thai border, when someone asked me to come to Cambodia and make a documentary film, which I accepted, even though it turned out to be complete nonsense. This was just before the 2003 legislative elections and I thought the whole election process here was really interesting, much more than the ones in my country! So, I decided to do a documentary on that and managed to obtain funds from USAID [the United States Agency for International Development]. I happened to arrive one week before the January 29th Thai riots...
K7 : Why did you take such an interest in Chea Vichea's death and choose to make a documentary on that story?
BC : I met Chea Vichea because of my prior documentary on the 2003 elections. He had received a death threat a week before the elections. Vichea was the one guy who could gather huge demonstrations and he had threatened to do so if the opposition felt that the election did not play fair. I think that was the last taped interview he did. He was a really nice guy. It was hard not to respect this man in a country where you can pay a steep price for your actions.
Six months after that interview, he was killed. I was right there when it happened as I lived nearby. I arrived at the scene ten minutes after the shots, but back then, I didn't know that it would be the subject of my next documentary. It is only in August 2005, when they convicted the two men whom everybody knew were innocent, that it became clear to me. I wanted to make a documentary out of that story to show how these things happen.
K7 : How did you proceed to collect information on such a delicate question?
BC : The idea was to lead my own investigation into what happened, whether these men [Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun] were guilty or not. I tracked down their alibis and went to the places they were at [on the day of the assassination], talked to the people, some of whom were very scared to speak... Many did not want to talk in front of the camera, for obvious reasons. I tried to figure out what had really happened and got hold of documents I was not supposed to have.
I talked to the police unofficially, went to Finland to interview the wife of Chea Vichea [the country gave her political asylum shortly after her husband's death] who told me a lot about him and how their family had had to deal with living on constant threat. When she watched him leave home in the morning, she used to wonder whether he would be coming back at all. She told me how he was always very nervous, always looking left and right and could never really relax... I also went to France and spoke to a former [Cambodian] policeman who had very interesting things to say on how the police work - that will be in the film.
In addition, I talked to many judges, none of whom I ever managed to get to speak in front of a camera! But I wanted to show how the Court really works in Cambodia. There are many things that people like diplomats pretend not to know... With this film, it is going to be harder for them, hopefully, to dismiss certain things!
It is probably the most sensitive murder case since Piseth Pilika [a famous actress assassinated in July 1999]. This is why I spent a lot of time trying to get people to talk to me. I could see they wanted to speak , that they wanted people to know about it, but they did not want to be the ones who would get the blow back. That is understandable.
K7 : What does the documentary aim at showing?
BC : The basis is Chea Vichea's case but also a microcosm of some of the problems that continue to exist in Cambodia and make the people suffer. I think they have been let down by their leaders and deserve better. And you think the international community will be more helpful. But its representatives always talk about democracy, the rule of law... I don't think their actions follow their word: they are somehow passive accomplices to the impunity and corruption going on here. Maybe there is a bigger message here...
It was important for me to show that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were innocent and build some kind of national pressure on the Cambodian government to have them released, which is now done. And who knows why the Supreme Court decided that? It had nothing to do with the evidence, since it existed all along and they ignored it... There is a part of mystery here, although I wonder whether it might be linked with the death of Hok Lundy. It has to be acknowledged that a lot of pressure was put on that case. And an organisation such as LICADHO did not allow this case to die... I was very surprised about the ruling rendered on that day, like everyone else. On December 31st, I did not meet a single person at the Supreme Court who thought they would be released - and on that very day!
K7 : Do you now have to edit the end of your documentary?
BC : Yes, my film is going to be something different since now I don't have to prove that these men must be freed. When I go back to New York, I will have to rethink how to change my film. It is not going to have the same emergency it had when Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were still in jail. The story is finished but there is still in the film a bigger picture of what is ongoing in Cambodia. And this is why I still reckon the film will be relevant!
K7 : You have already directed “The Plastic Killers”, on the same topic. What is the difference between the two documentaries?
BC : “The Plastic Killers” is a shorter version of “Who Killed Chea Vichea” but has less references in it as it was more geared towards Cambodians who already knew who Chea Vichea was and what he represented. I wanted the people to know about this case. I tried to release the film before Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun's appeal but the day after, it was banned [by the authorities]! The police went into the markets, took all the copies before the could even be spread far enough. That was really disappointing to me, and despite its availability on the Internet (in English and Khmer), Cambodians do not really have access to it. This is why making VCD copies made sense, I was not going to put this on the television! [laughs] Cambodians never had the chance to see it. I don't think we can still find copies of it in Cambodia, now.
K7 : Did the Cambodian authorities put pressure on you at any point?
BC : No, but they knew what I was doing. I called Hok Lundy [former National Police chief who died in an accident in November 2008] to interview him about the Chea Vichea case. I think he laughed at my question... My investigation was no secret but I don't think they took it very seriously. Hok Lundy gave me permission to interview other high-ranking police officials but they wouldn't do it either!
However, I had two attempted break-ins at my house and as I had many video tapes with me, I figured I should move out of Cambodia: if they had been stolen, it would have meant the end of my whole film! […] I took the longest way possible to leave the country. I was very nervous, I had 500 tapes and if the Customs had had any idea of what was on them, they could have taken them! I decided to leave via Koh Kong, Cambodia's most porous exit. I could not take the chance to go to an airport.
K7 : Do you not fear the people you interviewed in your film might be in trouble once it is released?
BC : That was a major concern indeed, so I decided to hide their identities in some way, by obscuring their faces, disguising their voices or only showing their shadow or hands so that they are not recognisable. The other people who had interesting things to say, including the eye-witness [in Chea Vichea's murder, who went to take refuge in the United States, are not in Cambodia any more.
K7 : Are you expecting your film to be prohibited in Cambodia?
BC : I have the feeling that the Cambodian authorities will not be happy about it and that it will probably be prohibited. But I would like to give it away as much as possible. However, the last time we tried to do that in Cambodian markets, it did not work well!
K7 : Have you already presented the premiere of "Who killed Chea Vichea?"
BC : Yes, I did show a pre-screening last November at the 21st International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam . I was surprised to see that people seemed interested in the film when there was no Asian person in the audience. They were very receptive to the Human rights aspect and the level of impunity.
K7 : Do you think this type of case sees people targeted as scapegoats or ideal culprits?
BC : One thing about this case is its similarity with the Ros Sovannarith case. He was a member of the FTUWKC (Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, led by Chea Vichea) Steering Committee and was assassinated in 2004. They convicted a man for the murder and that case has many parallels to Chea Vichea's case. First, he was arrested by the same policemen from Tuol Kork who arrested Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun and there was obviously quite substantial evidence that the man was in Siem Reap on the day of the murder. Unfortunately, he did not receive any press and has been languishing in prison ever since... I think there was an appeal, but nobody even talked about it!
Once, I asked a policeman: 'When you set up these killings, where do you get the people from? He said that they basically needed two sets of people, either those who actually did the killing, and this is the easy part since they know they never get caught, or they try to find people who perhaps are not educated, poor, and maybe most importantly, who have a problem. In Chea Vichea's case, the one accused of killing had a problem: he had been fired from work for having stolen a lot of money. I think the one arrested for the murder of Ros Sovannarith was a drug user. These people, who already have difficulties with their families, fit the profile!
The first world screening of “Who Killed Chea Vichea?” will be broadcast by the American public television channel PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) during the course of the second semester of 2009.
Ka-set : What made you come to Cambodia?
Bradley Cox : Like a lot of people, I ended up here by accident. I was teaching a film course in Bhutan and when I finished it, I stayed a while around the Thai border, when someone asked me to come to Cambodia and make a documentary film, which I accepted, even though it turned out to be complete nonsense. This was just before the 2003 legislative elections and I thought the whole election process here was really interesting, much more than the ones in my country! So, I decided to do a documentary on that and managed to obtain funds from USAID [the United States Agency for International Development]. I happened to arrive one week before the January 29th Thai riots...
K7 : Why did you take such an interest in Chea Vichea's death and choose to make a documentary on that story?
BC : I met Chea Vichea because of my prior documentary on the 2003 elections. He had received a death threat a week before the elections. Vichea was the one guy who could gather huge demonstrations and he had threatened to do so if the opposition felt that the election did not play fair. I think that was the last taped interview he did. He was a really nice guy. It was hard not to respect this man in a country where you can pay a steep price for your actions.
Six months after that interview, he was killed. I was right there when it happened as I lived nearby. I arrived at the scene ten minutes after the shots, but back then, I didn't know that it would be the subject of my next documentary. It is only in August 2005, when they convicted the two men whom everybody knew were innocent, that it became clear to me. I wanted to make a documentary out of that story to show how these things happen.
K7 : How did you proceed to collect information on such a delicate question?
BC : The idea was to lead my own investigation into what happened, whether these men [Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun] were guilty or not. I tracked down their alibis and went to the places they were at [on the day of the assassination], talked to the people, some of whom were very scared to speak... Many did not want to talk in front of the camera, for obvious reasons. I tried to figure out what had really happened and got hold of documents I was not supposed to have.
I talked to the police unofficially, went to Finland to interview the wife of Chea Vichea [the country gave her political asylum shortly after her husband's death] who told me a lot about him and how their family had had to deal with living on constant threat. When she watched him leave home in the morning, she used to wonder whether he would be coming back at all. She told me how he was always very nervous, always looking left and right and could never really relax... I also went to France and spoke to a former [Cambodian] policeman who had very interesting things to say on how the police work - that will be in the film.
In addition, I talked to many judges, none of whom I ever managed to get to speak in front of a camera! But I wanted to show how the Court really works in Cambodia. There are many things that people like diplomats pretend not to know... With this film, it is going to be harder for them, hopefully, to dismiss certain things!
It is probably the most sensitive murder case since Piseth Pilika [a famous actress assassinated in July 1999]. This is why I spent a lot of time trying to get people to talk to me. I could see they wanted to speak , that they wanted people to know about it, but they did not want to be the ones who would get the blow back. That is understandable.
K7 : What does the documentary aim at showing?
BC : The basis is Chea Vichea's case but also a microcosm of some of the problems that continue to exist in Cambodia and make the people suffer. I think they have been let down by their leaders and deserve better. And you think the international community will be more helpful. But its representatives always talk about democracy, the rule of law... I don't think their actions follow their word: they are somehow passive accomplices to the impunity and corruption going on here. Maybe there is a bigger message here...
It was important for me to show that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were innocent and build some kind of national pressure on the Cambodian government to have them released, which is now done. And who knows why the Supreme Court decided that? It had nothing to do with the evidence, since it existed all along and they ignored it... There is a part of mystery here, although I wonder whether it might be linked with the death of Hok Lundy. It has to be acknowledged that a lot of pressure was put on that case. And an organisation such as LICADHO did not allow this case to die... I was very surprised about the ruling rendered on that day, like everyone else. On December 31st, I did not meet a single person at the Supreme Court who thought they would be released - and on that very day!
K7 : Do you now have to edit the end of your documentary?
BC : Yes, my film is going to be something different since now I don't have to prove that these men must be freed. When I go back to New York, I will have to rethink how to change my film. It is not going to have the same emergency it had when Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were still in jail. The story is finished but there is still in the film a bigger picture of what is ongoing in Cambodia. And this is why I still reckon the film will be relevant!
K7 : You have already directed “The Plastic Killers”, on the same topic. What is the difference between the two documentaries?
BC : “The Plastic Killers” is a shorter version of “Who Killed Chea Vichea” but has less references in it as it was more geared towards Cambodians who already knew who Chea Vichea was and what he represented. I wanted the people to know about this case. I tried to release the film before Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun's appeal but the day after, it was banned [by the authorities]! The police went into the markets, took all the copies before the could even be spread far enough. That was really disappointing to me, and despite its availability on the Internet (in English and Khmer), Cambodians do not really have access to it. This is why making VCD copies made sense, I was not going to put this on the television! [laughs] Cambodians never had the chance to see it. I don't think we can still find copies of it in Cambodia, now.
K7 : Did the Cambodian authorities put pressure on you at any point?
BC : No, but they knew what I was doing. I called Hok Lundy [former National Police chief who died in an accident in November 2008] to interview him about the Chea Vichea case. I think he laughed at my question... My investigation was no secret but I don't think they took it very seriously. Hok Lundy gave me permission to interview other high-ranking police officials but they wouldn't do it either!
However, I had two attempted break-ins at my house and as I had many video tapes with me, I figured I should move out of Cambodia: if they had been stolen, it would have meant the end of my whole film! […] I took the longest way possible to leave the country. I was very nervous, I had 500 tapes and if the Customs had had any idea of what was on them, they could have taken them! I decided to leave via Koh Kong, Cambodia's most porous exit. I could not take the chance to go to an airport.
K7 : Do you not fear the people you interviewed in your film might be in trouble once it is released?
BC : That was a major concern indeed, so I decided to hide their identities in some way, by obscuring their faces, disguising their voices or only showing their shadow or hands so that they are not recognisable. The other people who had interesting things to say, including the eye-witness [in Chea Vichea's murder, who went to take refuge in the United States, are not in Cambodia any more.
K7 : Are you expecting your film to be prohibited in Cambodia?
BC : I have the feeling that the Cambodian authorities will not be happy about it and that it will probably be prohibited. But I would like to give it away as much as possible. However, the last time we tried to do that in Cambodian markets, it did not work well!
K7 : Have you already presented the premiere of "Who killed Chea Vichea?"
BC : Yes, I did show a pre-screening last November at the 21st International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam . I was surprised to see that people seemed interested in the film when there was no Asian person in the audience. They were very receptive to the Human rights aspect and the level of impunity.
K7 : Do you think this type of case sees people targeted as scapegoats or ideal culprits?
BC : One thing about this case is its similarity with the Ros Sovannarith case. He was a member of the FTUWKC (Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, led by Chea Vichea) Steering Committee and was assassinated in 2004. They convicted a man for the murder and that case has many parallels to Chea Vichea's case. First, he was arrested by the same policemen from Tuol Kork who arrested Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun and there was obviously quite substantial evidence that the man was in Siem Reap on the day of the murder. Unfortunately, he did not receive any press and has been languishing in prison ever since... I think there was an appeal, but nobody even talked about it!
Once, I asked a policeman: 'When you set up these killings, where do you get the people from? He said that they basically needed two sets of people, either those who actually did the killing, and this is the easy part since they know they never get caught, or they try to find people who perhaps are not educated, poor, and maybe most importantly, who have a problem. In Chea Vichea's case, the one accused of killing had a problem: he had been fired from work for having stolen a lot of money. I think the one arrested for the murder of Ros Sovannarith was a drug user. These people, who already have difficulties with their families, fit the profile!
The first world screening of “Who Killed Chea Vichea?” will be broadcast by the American public television channel PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) during the course of the second semester of 2009.
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