Thirty years later, it's about time.
____________________________
Genocide Trials Begin
Published: 21/11/2011
PHNOM PENH : Three top Khmer Rouge leaders went on trial for genocide at a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia Monday accused of "brutality that defies belief" during a reign of terror that left up to two million dead.
More than three decades after the "Killing Fields" era, hundreds of Cambodians packed into a Phnom Penh courtroom to hear the opening statements, seen as a key moment in the still-traumatised nation's quest for justice.
Defendants "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, ex-head of state Khieu Samphan and former foreign minister Ieng Sary have denied charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The regime's most senior surviving members appeared to listen intently to the accusations made against them relating to the communist movement's 1975-1979 rule.
"The Communist Party of Kampuchea turned Cambodia into a massive slave camp, reducing an entire nation into prisoners living under a system of brutality that defies belief to the present day," said Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang in her opening address.
Regime survivors, monks, students and former cadres were among those who filled the public gallery, while parts of the long-awaited proceedings were broadcast live on television.
"It's a major milestone that finally this trial has started," said court spokesman Lars Olsen. "Many people never thought it would happen."
Nearly 4,000 victims are taking part in the legal process.
"I feel very happy. I came here because I want to know the story and how it could have happened," said 75-year-old farmer Sao Kuon, who lost 11 relatives under the Khmer Rouge.
Missing from the session was the fourth accused Ieng Thirith -- the regime's "First Lady" and the only female leader to be charged by the court -- after she was ruled unfit for trial last week because she has dementia.
Judges have ordered her release, but she remains locked up while an appeal by the prosecution is considered, which is expected to take two weeks.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... ials-begin
Cambodian Genocide Trials Begin
-
Gaybutton
- Posts: 21597
- Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
- Location: Thailand
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 1323 times
-
Gaybutton
- Posts: 21597
- Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:21 am
- Location: Thailand
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 1323 times
Re: Cambodian Genocide Trials Begin
Khmer Rouge leader slams 'fairytale' accusations
Published: 23/11/2011
PHNOM PENH -
A top Khmer Rouge leader accused the prosecution at his historic war crimes trial of telling "fairytales", insisting that most Cambodians had supported the brutal regime, on Wednesday.
Ex-head of state Khieu Samphan is on trial along with two other defendants on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the deaths of up to two million people during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 reign of terror.
Prosecutors opening the long-awaited trial this week have told the packed courtroom of the horrors inflicted in the "Killing Fields" era, describing the defendants as "common murderers of an entire generation of Cambodians".
Such accusations were rebuffed by 80-year-old Khieu Samphan as he took the stand at the UN-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh.
"You seem to want everybody to listen to your fairytales," he said, during his hour-long statement. "I have the feeling that you really want my head on the block."
Khieu Samphan, "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary all deny the charges against them relating to the hardline communist regime.
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied cities, abolished money and religion and wiped out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.
Pol Pot's right-hand man Nuon Chea on Tuesday also rejected the allegations against him, claiming he had served "the nation and the people" by defending Cambodia from Vietnamese aggressors.
In a similar vein, Khieu Samphan said he was acting to "defend my country" after a 1970 coup that installed a US-friendly government led by Lon Nol.
"Regardless of whether you like or dislike it, the majority of Cambodian people gave their support to us for our opposition to the Lon Nol regime," he said.
The prosecution has said the defendants knew about and participated in crimes such as forced evacuations, enslavement at labour sites, the "smashing" of enemies and the genocide of Cham Muslims and the Vietnamese.
But Khieu Samphan, the only accused to directly respond to some of the examples of human suffering mentioned by prosecutors, denied he knew what was going on at the time.
"Do you really think... that when I visited these worksites alone or accompanied by the king (Norodom Sihanouk), workers were being murdered in front of us with holes or bullets in the back of their necks?"
Khieu Samphan's famed French lawyer Jacques Verges, who has acted for some of the world's most infamous figures including Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, urged judges to remember the accused were "human beings".
"They suffered and made mistakes but to paint them as monsters totally responsible for the situation is totally unreasonable."
Third defendant Ieng Sary, the international face of the secretive regime, also took the stand on Wednesday, despite earlier saying he would not speak during his trial.
Sitting in a wheelchair, the frail-looking 86-year-old said he would take part although he disagreed with the court's ruling that a royal pardon and amnesty granted to him in 1996 did not bar him from further prosecution.
The trio's case, the tribunal's second and most important, is seen as vital to healing wounds in the still-traumatised nation.
Missing from the courtroom is the fourth accused, Ieng Thirith -- the regime's "First Lady" and the only female leader to be charged by the court -- after she was ruled unfit for trial last week because she has dementia.
Owing to fears that not all of the elderly accused, who suffer from various medical ailments, will live to see a verdict, the court recently split their complex case into a series of smaller trials.
With the opening statements now concluded, the tribunal will begin hearing evidence on December 5 in the first mini-trial, which will focus on the forced movement of the population and related crimes against humanity.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/26 ... ccusations
Published: 23/11/2011
PHNOM PENH -
A top Khmer Rouge leader accused the prosecution at his historic war crimes trial of telling "fairytales", insisting that most Cambodians had supported the brutal regime, on Wednesday.
Ex-head of state Khieu Samphan is on trial along with two other defendants on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the deaths of up to two million people during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 reign of terror.
Prosecutors opening the long-awaited trial this week have told the packed courtroom of the horrors inflicted in the "Killing Fields" era, describing the defendants as "common murderers of an entire generation of Cambodians".
Such accusations were rebuffed by 80-year-old Khieu Samphan as he took the stand at the UN-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh.
"You seem to want everybody to listen to your fairytales," he said, during his hour-long statement. "I have the feeling that you really want my head on the block."
Khieu Samphan, "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary all deny the charges against them relating to the hardline communist regime.
Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied cities, abolished money and religion and wiped out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.
Pol Pot's right-hand man Nuon Chea on Tuesday also rejected the allegations against him, claiming he had served "the nation and the people" by defending Cambodia from Vietnamese aggressors.
In a similar vein, Khieu Samphan said he was acting to "defend my country" after a 1970 coup that installed a US-friendly government led by Lon Nol.
"Regardless of whether you like or dislike it, the majority of Cambodian people gave their support to us for our opposition to the Lon Nol regime," he said.
The prosecution has said the defendants knew about and participated in crimes such as forced evacuations, enslavement at labour sites, the "smashing" of enemies and the genocide of Cham Muslims and the Vietnamese.
But Khieu Samphan, the only accused to directly respond to some of the examples of human suffering mentioned by prosecutors, denied he knew what was going on at the time.
"Do you really think... that when I visited these worksites alone or accompanied by the king (Norodom Sihanouk), workers were being murdered in front of us with holes or bullets in the back of their necks?"
Khieu Samphan's famed French lawyer Jacques Verges, who has acted for some of the world's most infamous figures including Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, urged judges to remember the accused were "human beings".
"They suffered and made mistakes but to paint them as monsters totally responsible for the situation is totally unreasonable."
Third defendant Ieng Sary, the international face of the secretive regime, also took the stand on Wednesday, despite earlier saying he would not speak during his trial.
Sitting in a wheelchair, the frail-looking 86-year-old said he would take part although he disagreed with the court's ruling that a royal pardon and amnesty granted to him in 1996 did not bar him from further prosecution.
The trio's case, the tribunal's second and most important, is seen as vital to healing wounds in the still-traumatised nation.
Missing from the courtroom is the fourth accused, Ieng Thirith -- the regime's "First Lady" and the only female leader to be charged by the court -- after she was ruled unfit for trial last week because she has dementia.
Owing to fears that not all of the elderly accused, who suffer from various medical ailments, will live to see a verdict, the court recently split their complex case into a series of smaller trials.
With the opening statements now concluded, the tribunal will begin hearing evidence on December 5 in the first mini-trial, which will focus on the forced movement of the population and related crimes against humanity.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/26 ... ccusations