CIVIL RESISTANCE
My TREASON & INCITEMENT MASS TRIAL (Initial Page on Trial Matters) TUESDAY, 14 JUNE 2022 VERDICT ANNOUNCEMENT Court Statement: Concluding Remarks ការការពារ ផ្លូវច្បាប់ របស់ខ្ញុំ [ ... ] |
CIVIC EDUCATION
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Obama should stay away from Cambodia Op-Ed by Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy International Herald Tribune / New York Times 31 Oct. 2012
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We're 1,000% with you, Royal Rebel! Keep up the great work!
Unofficial translation into French of Princess Soma's article
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Now, I understand the recurring reference to Switzerland when speaking of a place or nation as aesthetically beautiful... It is the most beautiful country on earth!
See photos of other members of KRAMAnation from around the world! More photos on Facebook... . . .
Reconciliation as Process and Practice Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sando, Sweden, 16-23 October 2012
In facilitating several sessions on Values, Justice, Acknowledgements, Forgiveness, I will draw heavily on the Cambodia experience (articulated in Reconciling Peace with Justice talk given at the University of Michigan on why I believe in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, various publications on the ECCC and its relation to peace, reconciliation and justice more broadly (in particular, "Justice Must Be Recast" commentary), and my very public Withdrawal from and Denouncement of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal as "Political Farce"), and the "bibles" I carry with me wherever I go on these topics: - Exclusion & Embrace by Miroslav Volf - The Arts of the Wise Leader by Mark Strom - The Art of Forgiving by Lewis Smedes . . .
International Condolences for King Sihanouk (images) A Nation Pays Respect (images) Photos from King Sihanouk's Funeral The Complex Legacy of Norodom Sihanouk by Milton Osborne
Crowd waiting for body of King Sihanouk to arrive from Beijing
Cambodians line streets to see ex-king's body (images)
Cambodians mourn Sihanouk, their King Father The Los Angeles Times, Mark Magnier Oct. 15, 2012 ...The controversial leader, whom Cambodians refer to as the King Father, lived in Beijing for most of his last decade in failing health. But his seven decades on the political scene left many Cambodians feeling a great sense of loss, having never known life without him.
“Either love him or hate him, the King Father had been a figure from whom we lived and learned about our collective history,” said Theary C. Seng, founder of the Cambodian Center for Justice and Reconciliation in Phnom Penh, the nation's capital.
“His life, his reign, his politics have so infiltrated, impacted and altered the lives of every living Cambodian, young or old, during the 70-plus years in which he played a national role.”
Sihanouk was often condescending, Seng said, as seen by his habit of calling Cambodians his “children.” His policies led to great repression and suffering as well as great laughter and freedom. “He was a man of great ironies,” Seng said. “Cambodia will feel the void of his presence for years to come.” [...]
Images of Mourning for King Sihanouk Telegraph, London, 17 Oct. 2012 Remembering the life of 'Monseigneur Papa' Sihanouk Jacques Bekaert is a former Bangkok Post writer, 17 Oct. 2012 Time Magazine, 15 Oct. 2012 . . .
8 Weeks Schedule
Speaking at Spirit of Humanity Forum Iceland (September)
Collecting Family History Paris (September)
Speak Truth To Power Photo Exhibition and Training at Bophana Center Phnom Penh, September 2012
Meeting with Members of Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia (AKRVC) and Film Interview with ABC News Phnom Penh (October)
ABC News: Who do you blame for this? For example, is Australia as a donor complicit? Theary Seng: "...the Cambodian government, with the most senior officials having been former KR cadres, but everyone already knows this and we didn't expect much. But what we didn't expect to this degree is the complicity of the UN and the donor community... At first, donors were apathetic, letting the government have full control of the wheel; now the donors are proactively complicit in doing everything to whitewash this failure into a success; they have to, as they are already in too deep. They cannot accept the reality that is is a failure and they should abandon it. They have other interests they need to protect here -- economic and political interests; they use the justice and human rights language as a disguise to further these other primary political and economic interests."
More at Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia... "Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Court 'Dying' ABC News film, aired 16 Oct. 2012
Meetings with Cambodian-Australians with Khmer Post to discuss CIVICUS Cambodia's works, Justice/Reconciliation, human rights in Cambodia Sydney / Melbourne, Australia (October)
More photos along with narratives... Listen to the ABC News Australia (Khmer service) interview with Theary Seng on "Language In Crisis" LIVE on 9 October 2012, now available online. Meeting with Philosopher-Author Mark Strom and his wife Sue Balmoral Beach (Sydney), 7 Oct. 2012
Meeting with donor The Charitable Foundation founder/philanthropist Steve Killelea, CEO Peder Pedersen Sydney, 8 Oct. 2012 Facilitating course Reconciliation as Process and Practice, Folke Bernadotte Academy Sweden (October)
Visit with friend who is in process of moving family to Cambodia Swiss Alps (October)
Meeting with American Jewish World Service's president Ruth Messinger and Delegation to Cambodia Raffles Le Royal Phnom Penh (November)
ANSA-EAP Foundation Board of Trustees meeting Manila (November)
Hosting 2 Children's Organizations (one working with street, another with abused children) at brother's Kirirom Orchards Kampong Speu (November)
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Khmer Rouge defendant Ieng Thirith ruled unfit for Cambodian genocide trial due to dementia The Washington Post, 13 Sept. 2012 Others said the development highlighted one of the main complaints against the tribunal — that it is too late to truly deliver justice. Pol Pot, the regime’s top lead er, died in 1998. The tribunal opened in 2006 — nearly three decades after the fall of the Khmer Rouge — following years of wrangling between Cambodia and the United Nations. The lengthy delays have been costly and raised fears that the frail surviving Khmer Rouge leaders will die before their verdicts come. “ Of course if she is seriously ill with Alzheimer’s, she should be released. There is no point in trying an incapacitated person,” said Theary Seng, a human rights advocate representing some victims who are allowed a role in the proceedings. “The point is the (tribunal) is so late in coming. The political foot-dragging and inertia has caused this travesty of justice.”
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Poetic Justice and Civil Party Withdrawal in the News Nov. 2011 Ex-leader: Khmer Rouge atrocities are 'fairy tale' AP Newswire, 23 Nov. 2011 "I'm not surprised that Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary continue to deny their crimes as the charges against them of genocide, war crimes are very serious," said Theary Seng, a Cambodian lawyer and human rights activist who lost family members under their regime. "Even if I am not surprised, I am however disgusted by their lack of remorse for the suffering they caused. They are delusional in their denial in light of the weight of evidence against them - the mounds of skulls and bones, the horrific testimonies from every survivor of cruelty, the magnitude and scope of evil unleashed by them across the whole of Cambodia."
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"Khmer Rouge trial is failing Cambodian victims of Pol Pot's regime" Human Rights Watch Brad Adams' editorial The Guardian, 26 Nov. 2011
. . . "Justice Denied" Douglas Gillison, Foreign Policy Magazine, 23 Nov. 2011 . . . Deputy President of Victims Association, a Civil Party of the Orphans Class, Mr. CHEY Theara, Withdraws Civil Party Status, Denounces ECCC as Political Farce _______________________ PRESS RELEASE _______________________
Full statement in both Khmer and English in KI-Media. Here, if ISP censors in Cambodia.
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Khmer Rouge Trial Missing a Marquee Defendant Wall Street Journal, 21 Nov. 2011 “The release of Ieng Thirith is only one reflection of how incredibly late these trials are coming into place,” said Theary Seng, founder of the Cambodian Center for Justice and Reconciliation and herself, too, a victim of the Khmer Rouge regime, having lost her parents and spent five months in prison. She has withdrawn from the tribunal process, and instead put her energy into organizing public games of darts featuring the faces of the Khmer Rouge leaders along Phnom Penh’s riverfront – a “way of release” following victims’ frustrations with the trial process, mixed with “dark humor,” she said.
But the trial - a joint enterprise between the UN and Cambodia - has been heavily criticised. Theary Seng, whose parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge, said putting three people on trial for the deaths of 1.7 million simply wasn't enough. (BBC News, 21 Nov. 2011)
Khmer Rouge Trial: Cambodia Awaits Answers BBC News, 21 Nov. 2011
. . . AFP, 21 Nov. 2011 Khmer Rouge survivor Theary Seng told AFP she was "frustrated beyond words" that only Khieu Samphan looked likely to shed light on what happened. "The people want to know who is behind the Khmer Rouge, we want to see and understand the larger picture and we're not going to get that," she said.
From Tragedy to Sham in Cambodia Asia Times Online, 19 Nov. 2011 In KI-Media Others have gone further, arguing that the time might be ripe for the UN to pull the plug on the controversy-plagued court altogether. Last week, Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime and a prominent advocate for victims' rights, withdrew her status as a civil party to the court, describing the proceedings as a "complete sham". She said the UN should threaten to withdraw after setting some clear conditions for its continued participation. By pressing ahead, Seng said, the world body runs the risk of rubber-stamping a flawed process and further embedding cynicism in the Cambodian population. "I understand the unwieldiness of any large bureaucracy, but at the end of the day it comes down to personalities, and there have been extremely weak personalities," she said. "In this regard, the UN is complicit."
In the End, Loss of Faith in Tribunal: Former Complainant Hello VOA Special with Theary Seng, 16 Nov. 2011 Khmer Rouge Victim Quits Tribunal Saying UN-backed Court is a Sham DPA, 15 Nov. 2011
Prominent Victims' Advocate Quits Khmer Rouge Tribunal VOA International/English, 15 Nov. 2011 KRT Critic Offers 'Poetic Justice' The Phnom Penh Post, 16 Nov. 2011 Theary Seng Denounces Tribunal; Introduces Dartboard Scheme The Cambodia Daily, 16 Nov. 2011
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Click here to read the full press release...
More information at "ECCC Civil Party" More information at Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia Theary Seng Criticizes KRT as "Political Farce" The Phnom Penh Post, 10 Nov. 2011
Radio Free Asia (both AM and PM broadcasts on 10 Nov. 2011)
Cambodian-American Lawyer Withdraws her Civil Party Status Voice of America Khmer Service, 10 Nov. 2011
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