Where are the Khmer Rouge now?
on Phnom Penh Pal (Cambodia), 01/Nov/2013 17:02, 34 days ago
The forest was burning right up to the other side of the road just a few metres from where we were sitting drinking beer with former Khmer Rouge soldiers. The licks of fire were slightly transfixing, aided by beer in the afternoon and a conversation in a language which I don't fully understand. But then my head snapped around as I heard the Khmer words for Khmer Rouge and realised that this conversation might get interesting.When I first arrived, I was intrigued to find out what happened to all of the Khmer Rouge soldiers. Were they able to live normal lives, or did they have to hide their pasts, or was that impossible and they were outcasts of society? Drinking beer beneathPreah Vihear temple, I was beginning to find some answers.We were introduced to these former Khmer Rouge soldiers by a lady who has trained and supported hundreds of mid-wives over the years, but before that, as a young girl, she was running around with a machine gun fighting for the Khmer Rouge. The men that we were drinking with also appeared to have left their past behind them as they were now soldiers in the Cambodian army, and one of them was a celebrated artillery gunner.Part of me finds it strange to think of former Khmer rouge soldiers going back to normal lives,  bringing up families and doing every day jobs, but there must be distinguishing between those who were involved because they may have grown up in Khmer Rouge areas and those who led the regime and took the decisions.TheKhmer Rouge Tribunalis currently considering what will happen to those who led the regime, and whether they are responsible for decisions that meant 2 million died. The Tribunal was set up to try five people: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Kaing Guek Eav (Duch). Duch was the head of the S-21 prison (Toul Sleng) and has already been convicted and put in jail. The case of Khieu Samphan (Head of State) and Nuon Chea (Dep Secretary of the Communist Party) finished last Wednesday with a judgement expected next year.We went to the Tribunal and heard part of Khieu Samphan's defence, which went something like this:He only joined the Khmer Rouge because he was scared that the then King would kill him and he didn't really believe in it allHe didn't have any power over the"zone"commanders therefore he has no responsibility for the deaths of nearly 2 million peopleWhen the Khmer Rouge came into power, the country was already starving meaning mass forced migration to rural areas was a sensible policyHe didn't actually really know how bad everything had gotHe never lost his temper at home (witness statement from his wife)There are unlikely to be any more trials because the current Government does not want them and there are parts of Cambodian society that do not see the usefulness of spending millions of dollars on it. Part of this feeling is because the country has so many other needs, and also partly because those on trial are old.However, there is a third reason; a desire to stop talking about it because of the emotions it can stir, especially given that some former Khmer Rouge middle to top leaders are now prominent in the Government. The Prime Minister, Chair of the Senate and President of the National Assembly were all Khmer Rouge commanders before defecting in the late 1970s and helping to overthrow them.But the view itself has some legitimacy as Cambodian society must find a way for Khmer Rouge soldiers and Khmer Rouge victims to co-exist, and this requirement for co-existence between perpetrators and victims was a question in my mind before I came.Perhaps surprisingly, it should not be assumed that the Khmer Rouge is universally hated, although they certainly are by many. When Ieng Sary died, he was accorded a hero's funeral and lived for many years in opulence and freedom. The Khmer Rouge retained support even after 1979 and controlled parts of Cambodia until 1998. It seems that the notion of co-existence may not be right, as it implies that there are two separate sides living in the same space, when actually as the Khmer Rouge came from Cambodian society, it returns to it as well.Gordon