Cambodia Marks 40 Years Since The Fall Of The Khmer Rouge

Photo: An estimated 2 million Cambodians died during the Khmer Rouge era. (ABC News: Claire Slatterly)

ABC News Online: Reconciliation remains elusive as Cambodia marks 40 years since fall of the Khmer Rouge

When you discuss the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, you will often hear people recite a very specific period of time: three years, eight months and 20 days.

Even 40 years after Pol Pot and his cadres were brought down, the length of their reign is seared into people's minds for the terror and brutality it evokes.

An estimated 2 million people died from overwork, starvation and mass killings during the Khmer Rouge era.

It's difficult to overstate the impact the regime has had on the approximately 6 million Cambodians who survived — and still has on their country today.

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WNU Editor: It is going to take generations before Cambodia recovers from this genocidal period in its history.

Cambodia Prime Minister Denies Reports That A Chinese Naval Base Is Under Construction Off Cambodia’s Southwest Coast

The government has denied a report that it will allow China to build a naval base at a port being built in Koh Kong province. Reuters

SCMP/AFP: ‘No foreign troops on Cambodian soil’: Prime Minister Hun Sen insists no China naval base being built

* The long-time leader, and Beijing ally, made comments on social media after receiving a letter from US Vice-President Mike Pence
* Rumours a Chinese naval base is under construction off Cambodia’s southwest coast have been swirling

Cambodia will not allow foreign military bases on its soil, strongman premier Hun Sen said Monday, swatting away US concerns about a possible Chinese naval site near hotly contested seas.

China has lavished billions of dollars in soft loans, infrastructure and investment on the poor Southeast Asian kingdom, gifting Prime Minister Hun Sen a fast growing economy that he wields as justification for his 33-year authoritarian rule.

In exchange Cambodia has been staunch China ally.

It has seeded disunity among the 10-member Asean bloc of Southeast Asian nations over a diplomatic resistance to Beijing’s aggression in the strategically pivotal South China Sea.

Rumours a Chinese naval base is under construction off Cambodia’s southwest coast have been swirling.

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Update #1: Cambodian PM says won't allow any foreign military base in his country -- Reuters
Update #2: Minister denies naval base report (Khmer Times)

WNU Editor: China has lent billions to Cambodia for infrastructure and development projects. I for one would not be surprised if there are other "strings" attached to these deals.

Cambodia Accuses Laos Of 'Border Invasion'

Reuters: Cambodian PM accuses Laos of border violation, mobilizing troops

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen accused neighboring Laos on Friday of sending troops into Cambodian land in April and said they must leave by an Aug. 17 deadline and that he was mobilizing soldiers to the border area.

Hun Sen said at a ceremony in Phnom Penh about 30 soldiers from Laos had crossed into the area and that some of them remained there during daytime. He said he had been in touch with the government in Laos.

"I can no longer keep patience," Hun Sen said. "It's not right that we fight each other but if they don't withdraw, we must do it ... We don't declare war, we just ask to get our own land back."

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More News On Cambodia Accusing Laos Of A 'Border Invasion'

Cambodia PM gives ultimatum to Laos over 'border invasion' -- AFP
Cambodia PM gives ultimatum to Laos over 'invasion' -- Al Jazeera
Prime Minister Gives Laos Troops 6 Days to Leave Border Area -- Cambodia Daily

Former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk Dies At 89

Cambodia Former King Norodom Sihanouk Dies Aged 89 -- BBC

Norodom Sihanouk, the former Cambodian king who was a key figure through decades of upheaval, has died.

The former king died at a hospital in the Chinese capital, Beijing, after having a heart attack. He had been in poor health for several years.

Sihanouk, who was 89, came to the throne in 1941 and led Cambodia to independence from France in 1953.

Despite long periods of exile and his abdication in 2004 due to ill health, he remained an influential figure.

Sihanouk abdicated in 2004 in favour of his son, King Norodom Sihamoni.

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More News On The Death Of Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk

Former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk dies at 89 -- CNN
Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk dies at 89 -- The Guardian
Cambodia’s Mercurial Former King, Norodom Sihanouk, Dies at 89 -- Time
Cambodia Mourns Former King Who Shaped Decades of History -- Voice of America
Cambodian King Left Mixed Legacy -- Patrick Barta, Wall Street Journal
The Fantasy of King Sihanouk -- Philip Gourevitch, The New Yorker
Cambodia's Former King Leaves Mixed Legacy -- Daniel Schearf, Voice of America
King Norodom Sihanouk obituary -- The Guardian
Norodom Sihanouk -- The Telegraph

My Comment: I met Norodom Sihanouk by accident at the Kaiyaun Temple in Quanzhou, China in 1988. I was the junior member of a visiting business delegation, and we came across him while he was leaving the temple. There is not much more that I can add to that .... the only memory I have of that experience is remembering how short of a man he was.

Former Khmer Rouge Leaders Indicted For War Crimes

Court: Top Khmer Rouge Cadre Charged With War Crimes -- CNN

(CNN) -- Four of the top former surviving Khmer Rouge cadre were charged with war crimes in Cambodia by a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal for their role in the late 1970s genocide that left nearly one-quarter of the country's population dead, the court said Thursday.

The four also face charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and offences under the Cambodian Criminal Code 1956, including murder, torture and religious persecution.

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More News On Indicting Former Khmer Rouge Officials For War Crimes

Khmer Rouge tribunal indicts 4 senior leaders -- AP
Four Senior Leaders of 1970s Khmer Rouge Regime to Face Trial in Cambodia -- Bloomberg
Four Khmer Rouge leaders indicted -- The Hindu
Ex-Khmer Rouge leaders face genocide trial -- ABC News (Australia)
War crimes charges filed for Khmer Rouge -- UPI
Cambodia indicts four Khmer Rouge leaders -- AFP
U.N.-backed tribunal indicts 4 Khmer Rouge leaders -- Reuters
Cambodia's judgment day in photos -- CNN

Cambodia Is Getting Justice (In A Small Way)

Khmer Rouge chief torturer Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, stands next to a security guard during closing arguments in his trial. Photograph: Lars Olsen/Reuters

Khmer Rouge Trial Adjourns; Accused Death Camp Commander Awaits Sentence -- Voice of America

In the last minutes of his trial, the man accused of running a Khmer Rouge death camp Friday asked for an acquittal. The three Cambodian and two international judges ignored the request and ended the trial.

In Cambodia, the trial of a prison commandant who ruled over the deaths of at least 12,000 people has wrapped up. But, it will be months before a verdict and sentence are issued.

In the last minutes of his trial, the man accused of running a Khmer Rouge death camp Friday asked for an acquittal. The three Cambodian and two international judges ignored the request and ended the trial.

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More News On The Trial Of The Khmer Rouge

Cambodian ex-prison chief pleads for release -- AP
Khmer Rouge war-crimes trial of prison chief Duch closes in surprise twist -- Christian Science Monitor
Cambodia torturer Duch – killer of 12,380 – asks court to set him free -- The Guardian
Khmer Rouge Warden Asks to Be Freed -- New York Times
Khmer Rouge torturer had to "kill or be killed" -- Reuters
Khmer Rouge chief Duch stuns court with release bid -- BBC

My Comment: This mass murderer has no sensitivity to the horrible crimes that he has committed. To ask for an acquittal even with the overwhelming evidence against him is unbelievable. This murderer is a poster child of what true evil can look like.

The Khmer Rouge On Trial In Cambodia. The Face Of True Evil For All To See

Photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia shows a general view of the U.N.-backed tribunal court hall while Kaing Guek Eav iis being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 23 Nov 2009

First Khmer Rouge Trial Begins Final Hearings in Cambodia -- Voice of America

The court has heard how Kang Guek Eav, also known as Duch, ran the S-21 death camp.

In Cambodia, the final hearings have begun in the first trial of a Khmer Rouge leader.

The court has heard how Kang Guek Eav, also known as Duch, ran the S-21 death camp. Sixteen thousand people are thought to have been held there before being executed by the Khmer Rouge government between 1975 and 1979.

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More News On Cambodia's First Khmer Rouge Trial

Closing arguments in Khmer Rouge trial -- CNN
Khmer Rouge torturer had broad autonomy, lawyer says -- Reuters
Khmer Rouge Tribunal Enters Final Phase -- New York Times
Cambodian Khmer Rouge trial of Comrade Duch set to end -- BBC
Nazi defence provides model for Khmer Rouge cadre -- AFP
Q+A: Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal -- Reuters
FACTBOX: Khmer Rouge casts lingering shadow over Cambodia -- Reuters

Ex-Khmer Rouge Still Dominate Regions Of Cambodia

During Pol Pot's reign in the 1970s, his Khmer Rouge killed between one million and two million people in their communist revolution. Skulls, like these on display in the Tuol Sleng museum, are all that remain of the anonymous victims of genocide. Justin Guariglia/National Geographic

From Yahoo News/AP:

ANLONG VENG, Cambodia – Just as the chief Khmer Rouge torturer takes the stand before a United Nations-backed genocide tribunal, a mausoleum fit for a king will be unveiled for another murderous leader from the same regime.

The entombed Ta Mok, known to his victims as "The Butcher," remains a revered figure in Anlong Veng because practically everyone here — from the district chief to the tourism promoter, from the wealthiest businessmen to dirt-poor farmers — was once Khmer Rouge.

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My Comment: The sad part of Cambodia is that the survivors are all Khmer Rouge. Their opponents were murdered a long time ago in the killing fields.

Cambodia's healing will not occur for the next 50 years. It is only when this generation is gone, and future generations without blood on their hands are in positions of power .... that reconciliation with this horrid past can then begin.

Why Al Qaeda Isn't Gaining A Foothold In Cambodia

Village Elder: Yousuf Bin Abetalip, one of Cambodia's 400,000 Muslims.
Photo by David Montero

From Christian Science Monitor:

The post-Khmer Rouge nation is a portrait of tolerance for Muslims, but the US worries that this could change.

CHROYAMONTREY, Cambodia - In this village, and others like it throughout Cambodia, Muslims and non-Muslims live side by side in harmony, their existences unmarred by the toxic cocktail of government repression, separatist ambitions, and growing radicalism characteristic of many neighboring countries.

"I've been living with Muslim neighbors since I was young," says resident Ouk Ros. "When there's a marriage, we join together in the party."

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My Comment: Saudi Wahabism is now coming to Cambodia. Everything is going to change now.