Monday, July 26, 2010
more than thirty years later: verdict
An earlier post contains some media links to info about the first of the Khmer Rouge trials, that of Comrade Duch, responsible for more than 14,000 deaths at the Toul Sleng Prison. This prison is now a genocide museum in the middle of Phnom Penh. The verdict was announced today: only 19 years in prison (shortened from 35 because of 11 years already served and 5 years held illegally by the Military Tribunal). That adds up to less than 12 hours in jail per death. There has been a flurry of coverage in the international media and its the front page of all of the local news sources. Here's the NY Times Blog coverage with photos here, and some background info here from CNN, and a great NY Times article with quotes from his statements here. Check out the Phnom Penh Post website for several articles.
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I've been keeping up with this news ever since you sent me your original post. I think it's criminal that the deaths of all those people are treated in this manner.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what justice would look like in this case. It seems that some sort of reparations should be made, some sort of poverty alleviation maybe. I went with a couple of the English students I teach to a documentary last night, "Enemies of the People." It was a series of interviews with Khmer Rouge members and Pol Pot's number two man, who used the word "solved" instead of "killed." It was chilling to watch the executioners talk about how and where they killed people and how they felt. They seemed just like everyday people.
ReplyDeleteVOA blurb on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U39KhA6L4Cs