Another Year Passes Without Justice Being Served
Theary Seng, the author of the book Daughter of the Killing Fields, takes time to reflect at The Killing Fields Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The day I met Theary Seng I expressed my condolences to her by offering that I was sorry she had to author her book "This is the story of every Cambodian family, not just my own" she reminded me as she sat on a bench at The Killing Fields just outside Phnom Penh on a clear tropical winter day. Clearly, she is a committed woman.
Her book, documents her family's hardship during the Pol Pot years. When her candor is taken to task, it is the present Cambodian citizenry that must decide who is punished. Cambodia today boasts one of the youngest populations of any country in the world. Seventy percent of the populace is under 35 years of age, meaning they are too young to have vivid memories of this stain on human history. Similar to Hiroshima, Cambodia is comprised of people who never knew, and those who can't forget.
Rummaging through the closet of times gone by can be fraught with complexity in any country. After roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus perished at the hands of genocidal maniacs nearly twenty years ago in Rwanda, it was nine years before the wheels of justice began turning. In Cambodia, it has been over thirty. Producing the spark of a collective will in Khmer society that will ignite bright flames of respect due those held in dark rooms at Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh or killed at killing fields throughout the country has been difficult.
Former Tuol Sleng Prison boss Kaing Geuk Eav, commonly referred to as Duch, finally went on trial earlier this year, 30 years after the Khmer Rouge Army was toppled. He has offered apologies to his fellow citizens for his role in the past but astonishingly, he is one of just a handful of people presently detained while they wait turns on the witness stand. The trial has been plagued with charges of corruption and the lead Khmer prosecutor, a woman, has been criticized by many for not issuing more indictments. Numerous people believe she is bowing to the pressure of Hun Sen's government, and who could blame her?
Given that Hun Sen controls the elite Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) Brigade 70 and an additional reserve force of 4,000, (known as the "Bodyguard Unit") he has in effect, a personal militia. A former Brigade 70 officer was quoted in a June, 2007 report prepared by Global Witness; "Brigade 70 has also been involved in protecting illegal activities and has committed serious crimes such as killing, smuggling, illegally arresting people and violating people’s personal property.” Also answerable to Hun Sen is the National Military Police (NMP), a paramilitary force of nearly 8,000.
Article 51 of the Kingdom of Cambodia's constitution states, "Cambodian people are masters of their own country. All powers belong to the people. The people exercise their power through the National Assembly, the Senate, the Royal Government, and the Courts".
Transparency International placed Cambodia in 162nd place out of the 179 countries listed in their 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
Global Witness is a UK-based non-governmental organization (NGO)
which investigates the role of natural resource in funding conflict and corruption around the world. In 2007 they published a report entitled Cambodia's Family Tree regarding corruption and "family matters" in present day Cambodia.
If you would like to read the entire Global Witness Report, GET IT HERE. The full 96-page report is available in Khmer and English.
If you don't make it all the way to the end, here is what the last page says;
Elitus Kleptocraticus / n: Only responds to asset freeze. Normal habitat includes lavish property developments, but often also found in spas, banks and casinos in prominent luxury locations such as Zurich, London, Paris, Geneva, Monaco, New York, Singapore, and increasingly, Beijing. Unfortunately, behavioral problems usually ignored by species Donorus pedestriensis.
If the continual plundering of Cambodia weren't so worrying, this definition would be humorous. Unfortunately, it's no laughing matter.
As for Theary Seng, she is the Executive Director of the Center for Social Development (CSD), a local human rights organization based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia since its inception in June 1995.
Let's hope that this New Year in Cambodia is the last one ever observed without justice never having been served to at least one person responsible for crimes that affected "every Cambodian family." Perhaps it will be the first step in up-rooting Cambodia's family tree.
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage
Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Photographs
Stung Meanchey Landfill Phnom Penh Cambodia Photographs
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