Cambodian Genocide
Checking in with the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Published October 22, 2009 @ 08:00AM PT
What hasn't gone wrong at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal*? No, seriously. It's pop quiz time:
Which of the following didn't happen over the last year?
(a) A corruption scandal over allegations that local staffers were forced to kick back portions of their salaries to senior tribunal officials;(b) Statements by Prime Minister Hun Sen suggesting (threatening?) that attempts to expand the the list of indictees were likely to produce another bloody civil war;
(c) Tribunal cursed to seventh circle of hell by very angry defendant;
(d) International Co-Prosecutor's resignation in protest after being mauled by Prime Minister's pet tiger;
(e) a and b.
(f) a, b, and c.
(g) I'm pretty sure all of that happened, even the totally ridiculous thing about the tiger.
The correct answer is (f). (Hun Sen does not, to my knowledge, have a pet tiger, but Ieng Thirith definitely cursed the whole enterprise during a hearing earlier this year.) And things show no sign of improvement, given the recent reaction to a summons for six senior government officials to appear as a witnesses in the Tribunal's second case. Hun Sen would apparently prefer they not testify. His argument? That the role of the officials in the process of overthrowing the Khmer Rouge and, nearly 30 years later, setting up the Tribunal, renders them ineligible to testify because "turning the plaintiffs into witnesses would doom the accused."
Quick show of hands: Who's convinced by this sudden interest in fair trial rights for the accused? I'm not, but I suspect that the defendants will be spared the presence of the ministers anyway. One of them has already indicated that he will likely be washing his hair that day.
The Tribunal's troubles are not only a problem for the victims, who have waited a really long time for justice, but also for the advancement of international criminal law. The Phnom Penh Post reports that a number of victims have raised allegations that they were subjected to forced marriages. Earlier this year, the Special Court for Sierra Leone handed down the first ever convictions for forced marriage as a distinct crime under international law. A decision by the Cambodian Tribunal's Trial Chamber to add forced marriage to the list of crimes against humanity under its jurisdiction could be an important step in the growth of this emerging legal norm. But it's hard to take seriously a court that is so obviously beholden to political imperatives, and the ongoing corruption issues will seriously hamper the Tribunal's ability to contribute to the development of international law.
Justifying Justice in Cambodia
Published August 27, 2009 @ 10:27AM PT
The field of transitional justice has a knack for self-prescribing rather lofty expectations.
Drinking the kool-aid at post-atrocity trials and truth commissions involves adopting the jargon of reconciliation, dealing with the past, overcoming trauma, establishing rule of law, and so on. It's as if the field is so insecure that it feels the need to justify itself to itself, when, at the most basic level, the rationale for prosecuting a Nazi is no different than for any murder suspect.
This week, a psychiatrist testified at the trial of a Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, that the prosecution of former Cambodian genocidaires can help victims "overcome their trauma through justice."
The bold claim seems reasonable on an individual level, but is otherwise ultimately unsubstantiated. Precious little research has been able to capture a discernible impact of transitional justice proceedings across broad segments of society. A new study, funded by the U.S. National Institute of Health, will hopefully shed light on the impact of the genocide trials on the large number of Cambodians suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
We may be genocidal thugs, but at least we didn't burn people alive.
Published August 05, 2009 @ 04:56PM PT
The Cambodian genocide trials seem to get more grisly by day, as witnesses recount horrific experiences from the country's infamous "killing fields." Case in point:
A former security guard at the Khmer Rouge's most notorious prison told a tribunal Wednesday he watched as a Western prisoner was burned alive.
But the head of the prison - the first senior Khmer Rouge figure to face trial in the U.N.-assisted tribunal - denied it.
"It's hard for me to believe that the prisoner was burned alive. I believe that nobody would dare to violate my order," Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, told the court. "They had to be killed and then burned to ash."
I'm all in favor of fair trials and innocent-until-proven-guilty, but there's something about being the head of a prison known for its creative torture tactics, and notable lack of survivors, that has a way of damaging one's credibility.
[Photo of a sign at Tuol Sleng prison, now a memorial museum.]
This Week in Who's-Going-to-Jail
Published July 16, 2009 @ 03:18PM PT
Mr. Tharcisse Renzaho, former governor of Kigali and army colonel, is the lucky winner of life imprisonment, courtesy of a guilty verdict from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. From Lisa Gambone at War Crimes:
"Renzaho was found guilty based on his support of the killing of civilians at roadblocks, the distribution of weapons, and his involvement in the murder of more than 100 Tutsis at the Sainte Famille Church, where refugees' names were read from a list and the victim's subsequently shot in the church's garden. He was also found criminally liable for rapes that occurred as a result of his remarks encouraging sexual violence against Tutsi women."
Bec Hamilton writes with skepticism on the evidence presented against former Rwandan parliamentarian Béatrice Nirere, as she (ultimately unsuccessfully) attempted to appeal her life sentence through Rwanda's gacaca justice system.
Meanwhile, half a world away, the Swedish government suspended the extradition of a Rwandan genocide suspect, following a request made by the European Court of Human Rights, likely on account of concerns over judicial independence in Rwanda.
"There is such a thing as effective international justice"
Published June 29, 2009 @ 08:18PM PT
The wheels of post-genocide justice have been busily turning recently. In Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia courts are trying the accused - 15 and 30 years later.
Rwanda
Rwanda's post-genocide Gacaca court system is set to finish its work tomorrow, June 30th [author's note - I have heard that they might be pushing back the end date until late July to attempt to finish trying the outstanding cases]. Although, as the UN humanitarian news service notes, the "jury is still out on effectiveness of 'Gacaca' courts" the process draws the active participation and interest of Rwandan society, even as it comes to a close.
Bec Hamilton reports from one of the last cases, the review of the sentencing of Béatrice Nirere, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in isolation for her involvement in planning the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi population in Rwanda.Last week, Bec
sat in an over-crowded stifling room (despite glassless windows, no fresh air made it through due to the number of people cramming to see inside) as her case was considered for review.
Throughout her post Bec notes the differences between the Gacaca courts and the trials she's attended at the Hague:
Cambodians Observe "Day of Anger"
Published May 20, 2009 @ 06:06PM PT
Cambodians marked the annual "Day of Anger" today, in remembrance of the 1.7 million victims of the Khmer Rouge regime. An estimated 2,000 people gathered at the Choeung Ek "killing field" just south of the capital, Phnom Penh, to watch a group of students re-enact scenes of torture and execution.
Copies of a new textbook --- the first to detail the history of the genocide in Cambodia --- were also handed out at the ceremony, and distributed to schools throughout the country:
Youk Chhang, the head of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said the government-approved book, "A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)," was reviewed by Cambodian and foreign scholars and includes lessons from genocides in Nazi Germany, Rwanda and elsewhere.
Survivors criticized the slow-as-molasses turning of the wheels of justice for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge, as the first of five defendants is only now finally on trial in a UN-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh:
"Why is the court taking so long to prosecute these leaders?" asked Tat Seang Lay, 47, whose two brothers were killed by the Khmer Rouge. "I want to see justice. I wish the court could end its trial process within the next few months."
Reflections on Cambodia: The Infamy of Complicity
Published February 24, 2009 @ 05:30PM PT
Tonight, I'd like to draw your attention to a post by Heddy at Evolving Praxis, who reflects on the U.S.'s complicity in (or even, enabling of), the Cambodian genocide:
"When reflecting on genocide, I think the most pivotal part of this process is what happens after our initial revulsion of these events and our mental condemnation of the perpetrators (yea, that is the easy part). The more difficult yet more important part of the question is reflecting on what did we do as a people and what would we do if we were there? This stuff is not bygone history - there are many many people simultaneously alive with us today who live with the scars of these horrific and incomprehensible crimes, and of course, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity rage on today. Hopefully consideration of these things by people today will bring a consciousness that will move people and governments towards action to be supportive and/or helpful in the healing process, to stop these things from happening now, and to do all we can to stop/prevent this from happening in the future. Maybe I am naive, but yes, I do think it all starts with awareness, education and a consciousness within ourselves."
This moves beyond the oft-bemoaned international inaction in the face of genocide, and gets at the circle of actors that actively enable --- often through a feigned ignorance that is more accurately characterized as harshest and most callous manifestation of unilateral self-interest --- the reigns of terror of genocidaires and violent dictators.
As John Pilger writes in The Guardian (also referenced in the Evolving Praxis post), that circle of enablers --- and even protectors --- bear significant responsibility that should not be ignored as a genocide's individual perpetrators slowly make their way onto the scales of justice:
"Unless international justice is a farce, those who sided with Pol Pot's mass murderers ought to be summoned to the court in Phnom Penh: at the very least their names read into infamy's register."
Sadly, that register is a long one --- and growing.
[Photo: A man prays in front of a banner remembering the Cambodian genocide.]
