khmer rouge tribunal - case one update.

The nine-month long trial of Kang Kek Iew (better known as "Duch"), the first case for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, ended this week. Duch is charged with crimes against humanity for his participation in the Khmer Rouge, notably in his role as commander of Tuol Sleng prison ("S-21"), where at least 14,000 people were imprisoned (almost all of whom were tortured and killed). Duch confessed to the significant role that he played in the deaths of many Cambodians.

The NY Times has a concise update of what happened in the last days of Duch's trial. The gist of it is that Duch asked for the tribunal to set him free, even with his numerous admissions of guilt. Duch's lawyers had a very unusual legal strategy in the last week of the case -- although I don't think it was a "strategy" as much as a complete debacle: First, Duch's Cambodian lawyer claimed that his client was not guilty -- even though Duch made many confessions. The next day, Duch's French lawyer asserted that Duch ought to be granted lenience because the S-21 deaths did not account for a "large" number of those who died during the Khmer Rouge's reign.

Despite Duch's lawyer's arguments in the past week, from what I've seen in this trial, there is more than enough evidence to convict Duch for the crimes that he committed. There is no way he should be granted "lenience," not to mention set free entirely. The evidence presented by the prosecutors (and Duch's own confessions, even with his qualifying statements) established that Duch did indeed commit crimes against humanity and he should be punished accordingly.

Although this first trial was a long time in the making (and, in my opinion, way too late in the game), I must admit that I'm pleased to see that the a fair trial even took place and seems well on its way to resulting in a verdict.

The tribunal's verdict is expected in early 2010. The trials of the remaining four defendants are scheduled to take place in 2011.

khmer rouge tribunal: finally started.

I've posted about the Khmer Rouge Tribunal before. The first trial just started. It seems like they're only dealing with procedural issues now, with the substantive legal issues to follow next month. Here are a couple of articles to check out + where to find the official site:

Reuters UK -- http://uk.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUKLNE51F03H20090216

New York Times -- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/world/asia/17cambodia.html?ref=world

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia -- http://www.eccc.gov.kh/english/default.aspx

Needless to say, I'll be keeping a close watch on this one.

too little, too late?

Late last night I read a short piece in the New York Times about the U.S.'s recent pledge of $1.8 million to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The ECCC is a hybrid court system (a combination of United Nations and Cambodian efforts) tasked with the responsibility of trying the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge for atrocities committed in Cambodia between April 1975 - January 1979.

Most of you are likely familiar with what I mean by "atrocities," but for those who are not familiar and are interested in learning in greater detail, I recommend A History of Cambodia (David Chandler) and The Pol Pot Regime (Ben Kiernan). Or, if you're interested in a quicker tutorial, read the relevant portion of A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (Samantha Powers) (which is one of my favorite books and definitely worth reading in its entirety) or watching the movie The Killing Fields (this is the really easy way out, but I still find the movie worth watching, especially for the Sam Waterston/Haing Ngor combo).

My mom and dad lost almost their all of their immediate family members (both sets of parents, seven out of nine siblings, plus countless extended family and friends) during the Khmer Rouge regime and the preceding bombings of the country. I cannot begin to describe what my parents or other Cambodians went through because now, even after many years of trying to wrap my mind around it, I cannot even begin to surmise what that level of loss might feel like. There are certain acts that speak volumes on their own and provide lucid illustrations of what loss looks like: My parents' prolonged silence when they are struck by certain memories at inopportune moments; my surviving aunties' matter-of-fact manner of discussing horrific acts committed against and in front of them; every one's intense dedication to family and community . . . . well, sometimes loss simply cannot be articulated through words alone.

I don't mean to use this post to dwell upon my family's personal losses, but I must first say that it is possible to miss something that you never had. There is not a day that goes by where I don't find myself thinking of my family, of our people, and allow myself to acknowledge --- even if only for a fleeting moment --- that pang of loss that stems from a recognition of an absence in my life. I may not have ever met my grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins and others, but their absence has played a significant role in shaping who I am today.

But I digress. Back to the article. I'm pleased to see that the U.S. will provide some financial support to the ECCC, especially since the tribunal has made some steps to adhere to guidelines established by the international community (in an effort to combat corruption, etc). However, I'm still left with the question of whether this tribunal as a whole is simply too little, too late? Can justice truly be served decades after the commission of heinous crimes, after the main instigators of the crimes lived free to die of natural causes?

This is something I hope you'll contemplate. I have many more thoughts on this (no surprise), but I'll have to pause here for now. Bedtime calls, and an early day at the office awaits . . . .