New York, Jul 26 2010 7:10PM
They made their way from across Cambodia, young and old, rural and urban, cynical and optimistic. Some were weary survivors, while others were not even born when the Khmer Rouge carried out its genocidal policies in the late 1970s. But they all had the same desire: to witness first-hand whether justice would be delivered.
More than three decades after the Khmer Rouge's fall from power, the United Nations-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (<"http://www.eccc.gov.kh/english/news.view.aspx?doc_id=360">ECCC) – set up to try those responsible for the worst crimes committed under the regime between 1975 and 1979 – today delivered its first verdict. It follows months of hearings watched in person by over 28,000 Cambodians.
The panel of domestic and international judges convicted Kaing Guek Eav (aka Duch), who ran the notorious S-21 or Tuol Sleng prison in the capital, Phnom Penh, of both crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced him to 35 years in jail, less 16 years for time already spent in custody.
For many in the international community, including the UN, the verdict is a milestone and a signal of what might be possible in other countries when the appropriate legal machinery is applied to war crimes that took place long ago.
But for many Cambodians, today's decision was personal. Hem Thon, an elderly villager, lost her husband and children to the Khmer Rouge. She had hoped for a longer verdict than 35 years, but "I feel relief," she said outside the tribunal in Phnom Penh. "I am crying because I had a flashback to the Khmer Rouge regime."
Hun Sameoun, a 65-year-old nun who lives in the capital, described the decision as fair. "I can be at peace now," she added.
Yet for others, no jail sentence for Mr. Kaing would be long enough to make up for the family and friends lost to a regime that tortured and murdered its own people, or for the personal hardships suffered as well.
Bou Mong is one of the handful of people who are thought to have survived S-21, where an estimated 15,000 Cambodians were detained and subjected to forced labour or other inhumane conditions before being executed.
"I am not happy with Duch's sentence," he said. "I want him [to have] a death sentence given the fact that I was treated like a dog while I was an S-21 prisoner. I survived because I could draw a picture of [Khmer Rouge leader] Pol Pot, so I could please him and his supervisor." The death sentence is not permitted in Cambodia.
Surya Subedi, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, issued a statement in which he described the verdict as "a historic milestone in holding those responsible for human rights violations accountable for their actions."
He also stressed his hope that the decision would "serve as a catalyst for the Government to address impunity and accelerate its legal and judicial reforms."
The ECCC was set up after the Government reached agreement with the UN in 2003, and serves as an independent national court with international judges. Cambodia invited international participation because of concerns over the weakness of its own legal system.
Some legal experts believe that this hybrid system brings added benefits, with the trials at the ECCC providing vital experience for the judges, the lawyers and the administration in handling complex cases involving international crimes.
The ECCC is mandated to prosecute only those responsible for the most serious committed under the Khmer Rouge, when an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians were killed. That means there may be only a handful of other trials before the tribunal wraps up its work later this decade.
That is in part why, according to Tim Carney, who was the director of information and education at the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in 1992-93, the verdict today is of "potentially great significance."
But Mr. Carney, who is also a retired United States ambassador, noted that the next trial – that of Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith – could be even more important given they are among the most senior members of the Khmer Rouge figures who are still alive.
"The key [to the court's success] is if the big fish will go down too."
He praised the UN for its role in helping to bring the ECCC to life and said the court showed that there is value in pursuing justice, even for crimes that occurred a long time ago.
"Half the Cambodian population wasn't born at the time of the Khmer Rouge. But that doesn't mean it isn't important… The court showed that it is more important that justice be thorough, rather than it be quick."
That view was echoed by Chea Leang, one of the national co-prosecutors in the Kaing trial, who read out a statement. "Nothing can erase the pain and suffering endured by the Cambodian people," she said. "[But] this verdict sends a powerful and unequivocal message: those who abuse their power and victimize innocent civilians cannot act with impunity. They will be held accountable. They will be judged. And they will be tried in a court of law."
Jul 26 2010 7:10PM
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