Letter to Editor

The Khmer-language Phnom Penh Post

Published Friday, 27 May 2011

In KI-Media

Unofficial English translation

"What the Cambodian People Are Anticipating is Case 002,

Not Cases 003 and 004!"

Political Analysis by Neth Pheaktra

Phnom Penh: "I would like to see the full completion of the trial proceedings for Case 002 against the four former senior Khmer Rouge leaders before starting to scrutinize Cases 003 and 004," a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime commented, adding that Case 002 has great significance for Cambodia’s history and for learning about the inner working of the Communist Party of Kampuchea on how it ordered and planned the killings of the Khmer people.

This case will fill a gap in Cambodia’s history because the question as to "why the Khmer Rouge savagely killed its own people?" has so far not provided an answer to all the victims. Furthermore, these four former senior Khmer Rouge leaders are currently very old and they are ridden with countless diseases.

This clearly shows that what the Cambodian people consider as important and is of great interest to them is Case 002, but not Cases 003 and 004. In fact, the latter two cases are currently facing turmoil among the judicial staff of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal itself. The International Co-Prosecutor would like to pursue the prosecution of these cases, but the National Co-Prosecutor – Mrs. Chea Leang – had released a Press Statement clarifying her position by stating that the suspects in Case 003 are not senior Khmer Rouge leaders nor are they the most responsible individuals of the Democratic Kampuchea regime.

Mrs. Chea Leang underscored in her Press Statement that:  "The National Co-Prosecutor holds the position that the suspects in Case 003 do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for prosecution, and the prosecution of the defendants currently detained by the ECCC sufficiently fulfills the mandate of this Tribunal."

What was raised by the National Co-Prosecutor clearly emphasizes the goal of national reconciliation and the protection of political stability in Cambodia which has experienced peace only in the past decade. The push for more prosecutions on former Khmer Rouge cadres by the International Co-Prosecutor for whatever reason can lead to a failure in the national reconciliation process through the Khmer Rouge cases as it would increase the number of prosecutions and create more complications. The Cambodian Premier stated in the past that he would rather see the Khmer Rouge Tribunal fail than allow Cambodia to return to a new civil war.

Nevertheless, to prosecute or not to prosecute is a judicial matter. The Cambodian people want justice but they do not want a return to civil war or turmoil, nor do they want to see any secession zone created from the desire for justice. What the Cambodian people want is for National and International judicial officers to provide clear balance between justice and national reconciliation. Peace in Cambodia came at a heavy cost, financially and in terms of human lives. Therefore, the Cambodian people no longer want to see bloodshed and tragedy anymore.

. . . . .

Dear Editor of The Phnom Penh Post:

I am deeply troubled by Neth Pheaktra’s analysis “What the Cambodian People are Anticipating is Case 002, Not Cases 003 and 004!” in the Khmer-language Phnom Penh Post, 20 May 2011. He attributes one quote to an unnamed victim saying that s/he would like to see Case 002 against the “four senior Khmer Rouge leaders fully tried first before moving on to scrutinizing cases 003 and 004”, and goes on to defend the position of the National Co-Prosecutor Chea Leang and Prime Minister Hun Sen against Cases 003 and 004, quoting the Prime Minister that he would rather see the Tribunal fail than allow for political upheaval. In response to the analysis, I’d like to raise three points:

1. Division of Labor. The 40-plus personnel in the Office of Co-Investigating Judges of the Extraordinary Chambers (“ECCC”, or “Tribunal”) can proceed with their investigation of Cases 003 and 004 without interfering in the progress of Case 002. These 40-plus personnel have no role or duties in the trial hearings of Case 002 beginning on June 27. Currently, they are sitting idle, collecting salaries in the range of US$250,000 per month. The numbering of the case files is sequential for purposes of management, but the work on these cases can be done concurrently, especially as they are at different stages in the ECCC process, without overlapping staff or venues.

2. The False Dilemma of Peace vs. Justice. Truth is a pre-condition of justice. Justice is an integral element of peace. There can be no genuine peace without justice; there can be no justice without truth. A fragile peace of temporary stability of the Pyongyang or Burmese ilk cannot last; it will only further imbed impunity, oppression and other social ills into iron-clad destructive mentality. A fragile peace or faux stability is a superficial façade over a boiling kettle of unresolved social injustices. Truth, justice and peace are mutually reinforcing of and not opposed to each other, as argued by Neth Pheaktra, Madam Chea Leang and Prime Minister Hun Sen.

3. Cambodians Demand QUALITY justice, not a figure. We know there is no magical figure as to how many should be tried or indicted. We know it is not practical nor desirable to try everyone with a bloody hand for crimes committed during the period of 17 April 1975 to 7 January 1979. That would be in the hundreds if not thousands, and it would create social chaos and instability, working against the goals of reconciliation. That said, however, the current five is not enough and to push for another five is not unreasonable. Here, to argue social instability is to employ a false pretext, which is the current position of the National Co-Prosecutor and of the Government. In blocking further prosecutions, the Prime Minister is assuming the role of a prosecutor or co-investigating judge, an unacceptable overreach of his political position.

Cambodians will not be satisfied with the current five indictees, especially in light of the US$200,000,000 already spent on this ECCC, for the deaths of 1,700,000 to 2,200,000 loved ones. And there's a real fear that only Duch and one or two of the senior KR leaders in Case 002 will live through the whole trial. This is not an equation that is acceptable to Cambodians—trying only five, with the real possibility that of these five, only three or four will live through the full legal proceedings and be the scapegoats of the KR regime. It's nonsensical math.

In sum, to prosecute or not to prosecute is a judicial decision, not to be decided by politics, if we are to adhere to international standards. International standards of QUALITY JUSTICE of INTEGRITY FOR ALL, including poor Cambodians, not just for the Cambodian elites and people of the developed world. International standards of the United Nations, agreed upon by the Cambodian government for this ECCC.

__________________________
Theary C. Seng, Founding President
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education