Karen in Cambodia

I'm back in Cambodia to say goodbye to Sue and Southeast Asia. My first trip to Phenom Phen in February, I visited the S21 prison (Tuol Sleng) and the killing fileds. It was an emotionally exhausting experience that left me wondering how people can torture, kill and disregard human life under the orders of an insane dicatator. There were over a million deaths during the reign of Pol Pot and today, 50% of Cambodia's population is under age 25. At S21, deaths were estimated at between 15,000 and 19,000.

Upon my return to Phenom Phen, Sue alerted me to the fact that the ECCC; Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, had begun holding the international trials for key players of the Khmer Rouge in a facility in Phenom Phen; it was a public forum and I could attend if I wanted. With the images of Tuol Sleng still fresh, I decided I most certainly would like to witness this piece of history. No photographs of the chambers were allowed.

The man on trail this week was Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, the head, the main commander, of S21, Tuol Sleng, from 1975 to 1979. The charges included Crimes Against Humanity, Grave Breaches of the Geneva Convention, and Homicide and Torture. Multiple countries were represented in the council as well as the attornies for the defense. All were behind glass, I sat in rows with primarily Khmer people from the villages; there is hardly a family in Cambodia that did not lose a menber to the Khmer Rouge, everyone has a story.

Duch himself looked like a nice little old man but I suspect so did the Nazi's when they were discovered. Headphones were provided in English, Khmer, and French so one could follow the proceedings easily. At the last day, after hearing the testimony of a second guard who had been on the stand for 1.5 days, Duch personally thanked the guard for is honesty and declared that he himself is legally and emotionally responsible for the deaths at S21. It was a heady moment with murmers amongst the crowd and smiles exchanged among the Khmers, Cambodian people are extraordinary and the trials were fascinating.

http://www.rfa.org/english/multimedia/duch-05042009134745.html?textonly=1