Khmer Rouger survivors angry over Duch jail sentence

Khmer Rouger survivors angry over Duch jail sentence

edition.cnn.com

A man who ran a notorious Cambodian torture prison where more than 14,000 people died during the Khmer Rouge regime was found guilty of war crimes Monday and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

At least 1.7 million people -- nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population -- died under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime from execution, disease, starvation and overwork, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

Duch pleaded guilty, but said he was only following orders and asked for forgiveness. Last November, he asked to be freed after spending some 11 years in detention.

(visit the link for the full news article)






[mod edit: fixed all bold text]

[edit on 26-7-2010 by 12m8keall2c]

Mod Edit: Review This Link: Instructions for the Breaking News Forums: Copy The Exact Headline

[edit on 7/26/2010 by semperfortis]

There was mixed reaction to this verdict here in Phnom Penh. Many, myself included feel it is all a farce.

A Sideshow?


It started as a sideshow, and that's how it ended.

On 7 January 1979, the Vietnamese army, together with a small group of Cambodian rebels, overthrew the genocidal regime, ending the 3 ½ year-long nightmare of the Cambodian people. Suddenly, the Khmer Rouge’s unspeakable atrocities were revealed and had generated an outcry echoed throughout the world. Demands for justice were voiced everywhere by journalists and civil society. However, the liberation of the country from these horrors did not end the suffering of the people. Instead, the international outcry against the Khmer Rouge in the United Nations corridors in New York was muffled by diplomatic manoeuvrings. Incredibly, big power machinations awarded Cambodia’s contested seat in the United Nations to the regime of Pol Pot, now exiled on the Thai border, rather than to the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), which later gained de facto control of the country. This travesty continued until 1991, long after a regime change in Phnom Penh had been accomplished. PRK was isolated politically and economically, although the former Soviet Union and its allies, including a number of non-aligned countries, notably India, continued to support and recognize it, but were outvoted in the General Assembly.

To make a UN resolution more palatable to the world, the Khmer Rouge united with FUNCINPEC, the royalist political party, and the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front (KPNLF), a pro-American faction, into the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea. The Khmer Rouge flag continued to flutter over the skyline of New York City throughout the 1980s. The Cambodian people, who were not consulted on this ultimate affront, were puzzled and cried for justice. In Phnom Penh , the PRK Government tried Pol Pot and Ieng Sary in absentia, but these trials were ignored by the international community.

The above quote also doesn't mention that Hun Sen, the Prime Minister that the Vietnamese installed when they "liberated" Phnom Penh was also himself in the Khmer Rouge!
www.un.org... eContainerList=true


I have no doubt that he will be well looked after in prison. There is no justice.

Henry Kissinger -- Teflon man

edition.cnn.com (visit the link for the full news article)

S21 is a horrific place to visit. I wish this guy would die a horrible death but then it's not easy to make the distinction between the people who had no choice but to commit terrible crimes when the only other option is death.



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[edit on 26-7-2010 by Frakkerface]

Out of curiosity - what punishment murderer who kills a single man gets in Cambodia?
I really doubt that it is far from what this monster will get for what he did.
This is a shame. I think that people should wake up to the idea that punishment for mass atrocities should be accordingly massive.
So that future "colleagues" of Duch anywhere would get that "just following orders" excuse would not allow them to escape justice.
I am not sure that today is happy day for those who survived this prison or for relatives of those who did not.

Originally posted by ZeroKnowledge

that "just following orders" excuse

That is a serious issue and was not just an excuse. A lot of people had to do jobs like this or face death. The will to survive is very strong....

[edit on 26-7-2010 by Frakkerface]

reply to post by Frakkerface


No no,simple soldier is following orders. Head of prison is a manager job. Even in Khmer society he could choose other occupation. Since he was trusted with such a job, he clearly had some weight in the ranks and by loosing some of it he clearly could get some less "prestigious" but much more humane occupation. So it is an excuse. Nobody can force a person to be head of a prison, it is insane.

Originally posted by Frakkerface

Originally posted by ZeroKnowledge

that "just following orders" excuse

That is a serious issue and was not just an excuse. A lot of people had to do jobs like this or face death. The will to survive is very strong....

[edit on 26-7-2010 by Frakkerface]

Frakkerface is correct. It was almost like a "convert or die" kind of time. Members, including children were routinely asked to prove their loyalty to Ankar (The organisation), this usually meant 'killing'. Members killed other members of their own families to prove their loyalty. People were moved regularly to stop attachments being formed.

From civil war to a revolution, they were living in extraordinary times.

19 years seems like he got off easy in my opinion.
He out to be taken out and shot.

you know what the funny thing was? it was us and china who supported the khmer rouge AGAINST the vietnamese who ultimately put a stop to the genocide. funny how the world work.

Originally posted by DOADOA
you know what the funny thing was? it was us and china who supported the khmer rouge AGAINST the vietnamese who ultimately put a stop to the genocide. funny how the world work.

Yes, the US and China did support the KR. Also, left wing academics like Chomsky actually supported the KR at the beginning of the regime change/revolution.

For the record, what happened in Cambodia is not legally defined as Genocide. As it was killing of their own people, the atrocities do not fit into The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (CPPCG), which is specific about racial motivated killings and persecution.

Yes, the sentence is light, which is why it is a farce. The Khmer rouge still has members in the current government.

The Vietnamese are 'seen' as the liberators of Cambodia however, there are many people who see it as a continuing occupation. The Vietnamese under the Communist Party have always had expansionist ideas. These ideas continue to this day in both Cambodia and Laos.