Pure Evil - the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh

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One of the main reasons we wanted to return to Cambodia, and particularly to go to Phnom Penh, was to see the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh. I know I joked in some past blog entries about no kids beyond this point in case our nephews or Yasir’s boys or anyone else out there is sharing some of our stories and pictures with young people. This entry is particularly different from the other and tells about our first hand experience with learning more about the Khmer Rouge rule over Cambodia and the current effects on the country. It is not a light hearted exploit of our romps around the world, and instead shares our insight into our experiences to try to shed light on what happened in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979.

Tuol Sleng

Our first Khmer Rouge experience came from touring Tuol Sleng, or S-21. S-21 was the largest Khmer Rouge “security center” that turned a prior school into a torture chamber in the middle of the city. Over 15,000 prisoners were executed or died from torture or poor detention conditions at S-21. It is made of four three story buildings which are in various states of preservation. There are also graves on one side of the school grounds of victims who were found when the security center was liberated. The deceased could not be identified due to decomposition, so they were buried in individual, unmarked graves on the site. The first building to the left included several torture chambers, which showed wire beds with various torture implements and evidence of the Khmer Rouge activity there, including chains, strange metal implements, and empty boxes of U.S. ammunition. The second building contained mostly pictures of people who were interred at S-21. It was policy that the Khmer Rouge soldiers took two pictures of every person who came through the security center. The negatives remained and left a keen reminder of the people who died there, including woman and children. Seeing the faces of the young children who were not spared the wrath was heartbreaking. A news story published around the time of our visit shed light on this activity.

Recently, an Academy Award nominated documentary entitled “The Conscience of Nhem En,” which I have not seen, told the story of Nhem En, who was the S-21 photographer for two years starting in 1976. An article in the Cambodia Daily on March 11 said “if he took your photo ‘it almost certainly meant that you were about to enter hell.’” He joined the Khmer Rouge at the age of 11 in 1971, and has a unique vantage point of the history of the Khmer Rouge. He lives in Anlong Ceng district, the last remaining Khmer Rouge stronghold, close to the Thai border. He was a member of the Khmer Rouge until 1998, serving them for 27 years. Similar to other members of the regime, he is quoted as saying “Everything I did was just following the regime’s order.” He felt that the work he did at S-21 was “necessary” because the regime had to know who its enemies were. A truly despicable human being, he feels no remorse for what he saw and participated in at S-21. In fact, he is in the process of building a museum to the Khmer Rouge, to tell the “truth” through his 2,000 pictures he has on file. He also plans to add wax figures of important leaders, including Pol Pot. He plans to do this for a profit, and thinks he is justified in his actions because it would bring tourism to the province, which is not far from Siem Reap, where the Angkor temple complex is. Reading the story and thinking about the pictures I saw at S-21, and those of the children, truly sickened me. How could he possibly think that killing young children would in any way bring light to enemy combatants?

The third building at S-21 had a series of photography expeditions, some relating to the reign of the Khmer Rouge and some relating to the aftermath. One interesting exhibit included pictures of individuals who were comrades of the Khmer Rouge but have since been reintroduced and reintegrated into society. Most of the people who were part of the regime, like En, have remained in Cambodia and some even still partake in government and politics, including, I read, the current Prime Minister Hun Sen. This group of photographs shows varying reasons for their involvement with the Khmer Rouge, and differing views now. One of the women was only 14 when she “volunteered” for service. She knew that it was the safest place to be and her best chance of surviving. Another person was forced into service because if they did not join the regime, the Khmer Rouge would have killed her family. It sparked a very detailed discussion between Eric and I about what should have happened to these people. Should they have been reintegrated into society, or should they have been tried as criminals? Where should the line be drawn? Reintegration has gone a long way to heal the country, but it is strange to think there are so many people here living side by side including those who lost family and friends, and those who were the perpetrators, even on the lower ends of the command chain. Eric asked me my thoughts on someone who flipped the switch at a Nazi extermination camp, following orders, but knowing if he decline, he himself would be killed. It is a similar situation and one for which I have no answer.

Another interesting exhibit included pictures of a Swede and former Maoist supporter. He was a self proclaimed communist who, during the 1970s, thought that a collectivized agricultural regime under a communist government could be successfully implemented, leading to a more equal society. He visited Cambodia in 1978 to learn about the “successes” of the Khmer Rouge regime, taking photographic evidence along the way. He was shown an ideal agricultural cooperative that was used as a show pony to foreigners and international aid workers who were concerned about the situation. He was shown children singing and dancing and happy and healthy workers. This certainly was not the norm through the country where forced labor camps and death by starvation were rampant. The exhibit included the thoughts he had during his trip in 1978 and compared them to his thoughts now. He is no longer a Maoist or a communist, has since given up his interest in politics because of hid disillusionment with the system. More importantly, he regrets that his visit during 1978 was used to promote the legitimacy of Pol Pot’s regime.

The fourth building we visited was the hardest. The ground level included brick prisoner cells showing the dark, cramped, and confining spaces the prisoners lived in, with no bed and virtually no air. Although there were windows in most of the cells the soldiers put glass on the outside to muffle the screams. The second level included rows of wooden cells, again small and damp feeling, despite the heat. It reminded me of the rail cars used by the Nazis to transport Jews to concentration camps. I was speechless as this was my first experience visiting some place like this. But, I think everyone should visit either S-21 or a Nazi concentration camp, or even the prison that held Nelson Mandela. I think everyone should see firsthand the horrors that the victims experienced to prevent it from happening again, or continuing to happen as it is still today in other parts of the world. The fourth building was the one left most like it was found, including the barbed wire on the outside of the building. The barbed wire prevented prisoners from jumping off the balconies when they were being moved. Imagine a regime so evil that they did not want to lose prisoners to suicide because they instead wanted to torture and kill them personally.

The Khmer Rouge National Anthem displayed on the wall also provided another example of the sick minds behind the regime. The lyrics, which were displayed at the museum, include, in part:

Glittering red blood which blankets the towns and countryside of the Kampuchean motherland! Blood of our splendid workers and peasants! Blood of our revolutionary youth! Blood that was transmuted into fury, anger and vigorous struggle. On 17 April, under the revolutionary flag! Blood that liberated us from slavery! Long life 17 April, the great victory! --- We unite together to build up Kampuchea and a glorious society, democratic, egalitarian, and just ; --- Long Life! Long Life! --- Build up our country to achieve the Great Leap Forward!

It is amazing to think that people were asked to sing an anthem that spoke of Pol Pot releasing them from slavery, knowing full well that they were slaves in their own country by their own people, suffering in the worst way from a brutal combination of hard labor, starvation, and non-existent medical care. The concept that it was a democratic, egalitarian, and just society stands in stark contrast to the reality that Pol Pot continued to grow fat while his people starved to death.

The Killing Fields

The following day, we took a tuk tuk with Sonja and Corine to Choeng Ek, more commonly known as the Killing Fields. This was an area just outside of Phnom Penh that was used to dispose of individuals mostly from the S21 detention center. Currently, there stands a large white stupa, or Buddhist memorial, to remember the victims who lost their lives there. The stupa is glass on each side and contains rows upon rows of skulls that were excavated from the site. On each row are glass markers to estimate the age bracket of the victims. Some were very very young. Although tourists circled, the silence at the stupa was deafening.

Choeng Ek served as the liquidation center for torture victims from nearby S21, from approximately late 1976. So many executions were committed at S21 that they began exporting prisoners to S21 to prevent the spread of disease at the prison. Other victims were transported from throughout the area to Choeng Ek as well. Although little more than a field, the stupa, and some informational signs remain, the area is powerful in its own right. There were once a series of wooden houses to hold prisoners before their execution. Signs marked where the truck would drop off victims and where the murdering tools were kept. Because ammunition was precious to the Khmer Rouge, generally victims were killed by blunt trauma caused by any agricultural tool available. Upon the liberation of Phnom Penh in 1979, Choeng Ek was discovered and 129 mass grave sites were found. Of those 129, 86 were excavated, with the remains stored in the stupa to honor not only the victims at Choeng Ek, but to memorialize all Cambodians who lost their lives during the Khmer Rouge. We walked the grounds slowly and carefully, winding our way through the raised areas surrounding the mass graves that were most likely dug by their victims prior to their vicious execution.

As eerie as it was walking carefully around the ditches that remain from the mass grave sites - both excavated and not - I think the Tuol Sleng prison experience was more powerful. Regardless of the effect of each site on my conscience, it was one thing to read books about the Khmer Rouge, and watch movies and documentaries, but walking through the Killing Fields and S21 put things into a more clear perspective.

Evil on Trial

The most unique part of our visit to Phnom Penh resulted from the timeliness of our visit. After nearly ten years of negotiations, the UN, in cooperation with the Cambodian government organized a war crimes tribunal to try five high ranking Khmer Rouge officials. Pol Pot, unfortunately, died in 1998 and was not brought to justice. Currently, the Extraordinary Criminal Chambers of Cambodia, the ECCC, is in the processing of trying Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who was the Deputy Secretary and then Secretary of Tuol Sleng, S21. I will not go onto detail regarding the history of the tribunal, because that information is on their website (www.eccc.gov.kh). Instead, I will talk about our experiences going to see evil put on trial.

My friend, Sonja, is interning with the ECCC during her last semester of law school. She arranged for Eric and me to have gallery seats during one of the first days of trial testimony. We rode with her on the free UN bus about one hour to the site of the ECCC, on a former military base outside of Phnom Penh. Once there, we walked through security. We were not allowed a camera, or food or drink of any kind once beyond security. It was more strict than an airport. Just beyond security was the visitors’ “café” - a small stall with some food and an espresso machine with a few metal tables and plastic chairs. The café was enclosed by high fences with barbed wire on either side. The walkway to the court chambers and the walkway between the court and the administrative building, where Sonja works, are also bordered with this high fencing. I felt like we were in a prison. It was pointed out that just on the other side of one walkway, about 50 yards away, was the detention center, where Duch and the other four defendants are held. There have been great complaints from the guards about the treatment of the defendants. Apparently, their room and board is more luxurious than what most of the population of Cambodia lives in each day - all at the expense of the government, the UN, and other international sponsors.

After our latte, we walked to the court, up the stairs, and through another metal detector. The gallery is large, possibly holding 300 spectators. It curves around a center courtroom, but is separated from the courtroom by soundproof glass. When we arrived, several attorneys and staff were busy in the courtroom preparing for trial. The ECCC published an information guide and a list of who’s who, so we were able to tell who the prosecution and defense attorneys were. As with the Judges, the attorneys include both Khmer and international lawyers. Shortly before the start time, Duch was escorted in by two guards. Although he is old, and looked almost frail, he frightened me. I was transfixed by seeing someone I had read so much about in person - someone who was a contemporary of and an underling to Pol Pot. When the trial began, we put our headsets on as the trial is conducted in Khmer, French, and English.

The ECCC is a joint Cambodian and International tribunal, bearing the flags of the both the UN and Cambodia, and based on the civil law system. The US is considered a common law system, so the tribunal uses a different format. Putting my “lawyer hat” on, it was the first time I saw a civil law system in action. The substance of Duch’s testimony aside, I found it interesting that one of the judges conducted all of the questioning, allowing Duch great freedom in ensuring his side of the story was told. This portion of the trial handled the factual issue surrounding Duch’s involvement with the M13 security center prior to the Khmer Rouge takeover in 1975. The first question from the judge was “Please provide an explanation of your involvement with M13” or something equally vague. This allowed Duch to spend at least thirty minutes providing testimony relating to anything he wanted, including, essentially, pleading his defenses. At one point, the judge asked a question which prompted a yes or no answer, and Duch replied with a detailed response, again, pleading his defenses along the way. As an attorney, I desperately wanted to yell objection, or wanted to send a signal to the co-prosecutor to wake up and object or do something, but reminded myself of where I was. There were no interruptions on the part of the prosecution or the defense on any issue in the three hours we watched, outside of a preliminary hearing matter regarding a footnote in some documentary evidence.

What is also unique is that the criminal and civil trials are being conducted simultaneously. There are four “civil parties,” which I believe are similar to a class action with a representative party in the lead. During the entire trial the left side of the court room contains the co-prosecutors, and the representatives of each of the four civil parties. There were four counsel tables, each with at least four representatives, including the prosecution and civil parties. From what I gathered from the pre-trial remarks in the morning, the trial is broken down into various facts, i.e. the current factual issue is Duch’s involvement with M-13. When the judge concludes the questioning of Duch regarding this issue, the civil side may have an opportunity to ask their questioning as well. The prosecutor has a similar chance. There is no cross-examination of the witnesses. Then, when the facts relating to M13 are concluded, the next factual issue is investigated in a similar manner. This means that factual witnesses may take the stand numerous times on different issues throughout the trial. When some witnesses testify, they may be protected to avoid facing discrimination by testifying under aliases, or in a closed courtroom.

Putting on my “unemployed world traveler” hat, the substance of Duch’s testimony was interesting in several respects. After the judge asked the first question regarding Duch’s involvement with M13, Duch started his testimony by expressing remorse for the killing and by seeking forgiveness. He was killing for political reasons, it was not personal. They were “atrocities he had no choice but to commit.” He also discussed the background of M13 and his involvement with the Communist Party. He had an early interest in politics, and felt he “sacrificed” for the revolution, giving up most of his salary for the benefit of the revolution. He took an oath. “I raised my hand to respect and to swear to be sincere to the party, the class and the people of Kampuchea for my entire life and to serve the party, the class and the people for my entire life . . . and that I would sacrifice anything for the party.”

From a historical context, the executions started around 1966. Although Duch did not personally witness executions at that time, he knew they existed. Prior to his involvement, executions of political enemies were conducted by Lon Nol, the government that was supported by the US. Duch believed the US policy in Cambodia promoted the rise of the Khmer Rouge. In his words, “o my understanding, if Richard Nixon did not be quick to allow Lon Nol to start the coup d’etat and allowing Khmer Rouge to cooperate with Sihanouk, I think the Khmer Rouge would already be demolished; otherwise we would never be able to stand up again.” He also said that in response to Nixon and Kissinger’s involvement with Lon Nol, the Khmer Rouge took the “golden opportunity” to rise up against Lon Nol to protect the people of Cambodia, under a Marxist belief.

Once he took over responsibility for M13, he claimed he needed to be careful. The party heads made decisions regarding who to arrest and who not to arrest. The focus of his testimony, and frankly, his defense, was on his duty to the party and that he was just following orders. There was no need for him to worry about decisions. His goal was to focus on liberating the people, not liberating the land without people, so there was no focus on killing people in his mind. He did recognize the need to interrogate and torture people to gain information on party enemies, who stood in the way of the revolution. He released people he could. He claimed he was concerned about the prison conditions, how dark and wet they were and that people died from starvation, dehydration, and the dark. He supposedly requested that the prison be moved for better conditions, but his request fell on deaf ears. He did not like his position and claimed he begged for a transfer to a different post, which was also denied. There was no escape from his position, and he had a “conflict within himself.” He admitted beating and torturing prisoners, but felt it was his duty to the party and the revolution. “I had no thought other than following their orders in order to survive. I knew that the task was criminal in nature, but I had to follow the orders.” I did not find Duch to be a credible witness. During court recess, someone in the gallery waived to Duch and he smiled and waved back, as though we were at a cocktail party rather than a war crimes tribunal with victims’ families in the gallery.

I am certainly glad we had the experience to sit in on a portion of trial of this magnitude. I would have loved to hear witness testimony from victims, although I do not know if I could stomach it. Just listening to Duch justify his actions at the M13 security center, and explaining why people died there, was enough for me. The testimony did not even begin to touch on the specifics of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror. As much as we were in the 5th row of the gallery separated by glass windows from Duch, it was eerie to think I was sitting so close to someone who caused so much of the death I saw at S21 and the Killing Fields.

Aftermath

What is even more depressing is seeing the remaining concrete effects of the Khmer Rouge on the current population. Young children who survived the Khmer Rouge are only a little older than Eric and I. And, that was a generation that grew up without grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, or siblings. The destruction of the family structure, in addition to the environment, the existence of landmines, and a return to “year zero” has had a disastrous effect on the population. Two years ago, when we visited Siem Reap, we felt the people we met, and in particular the children, were so filled with pride in their country and had hope for the future. With the decline in the economy and reduced tourist dollars flooding into the country, what we saw during this trip was desperation and a population focused on getting through today, rather than focusing on tomorrow.

With respect to tourism, the main industry in Cambodia, the government is not maximizing its resources. Angkor is unique, but the government has not controlled the growth in Siem Reap. As a result, people sunk their savings into tourist driven businesses, and now cannot stay afloat. The expansive and unchecked growth in the region has affected the water table, and to continue at this rate will potentially destroy the historical temples. Phnom Penh and Kampot have beautiful riverfronts that could turn into wonderful promenades to increase tourism. Also, merely cleaning the garbage from the streets would increase tourism. Instead, the government is not concerned. They do not believe in “you need to spend money to make money.”

We also experienced more “touts” and hard selling than last time. People were more rude and aggressive than in Thailand or Laos. When they surround you, all yelling, and grabbing at you, and you think they are pick pocketing or trying to steal your bag, you are on the offensive. I went from thinking that the Cambodian people are welcoming and friendly to feeling as though there are so many who are untrustworthy. We met one Brit who spent three months in India, one of the hardest countries to travel to, and a few weeks in Cambodia. He said it was a country he could not wait to leave. If tourists are not comfortable and welcoming, and always feel on the defensive, not only are they less likely to return, but the stories travel and people wonder whether they should go to Cambodia at all. This is just one example of not thinking about the future.

And, the reputation of the current Prime Minister, Hun Sen, former Khmer Rouge, is a reputation of pure corruption. From Hun Sen, to government officials, to the police, there are allegations that everyone is on the take. And, the population is aware. When you know your government is stealing, it makes it okay for you and your family to steal. As a result, there are rampant problems with employees steeling from employers, not from necessity, but from greed. Frankly, if the government invested money in the tourism trade, the country would make more money, and there would be more money to skim off the top. The government also provides virtually no support services for the population. Almost everything is provided by NGOs. Surprisingly, Hun Sen has also been making public statements against the ECCC claiming they have no authority, are corrupt, and has been destroying what legitimacy the tribunal had.
Each of these issues can be traced directly, in my opinion, to the results of the Khmer Rouge. The population had to do what it could to survive - beg, borrow, and steal. And, when the perpetrators of the Khmer Rouge war crimes were not prosecuted, were reintegrated into society, became Prime Minister, were involved in government until 1998, and held a seat in the UN until 1998 - there are no consequences to actions. The sex trade is also still a big issue here. And, our untrustworthy nature saw every middle aged, lonely white man as a sexual predator. Eric was offered marijuana and sex several times.

The entire picture was depressing. A country we felt so strongly about last time during a short visit, left us disappointed on this visit. I hoped that the work of the ECCC would allow wounds to heal and allow the people to move on. But, without support of the government, I don’t see how the country can move forward, emotionally or economically.

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Photos

The Killing Tree
They wuold bang babies' heads against this tree to kill them and to save ammunition.

Victims' Pictures
Including children.