Eye scar from KR torture of 34 years ago:

When I was 6 years old living under the Khmer Rouge in Chensa village of Svay Rieng province (bordering Vietnam), in 1977 before the 5-6 month imprisonment, the KR authority gathered all the little children for a work project - to carry muddy palm fronds and other tree branches soaked in mud in the fields on the outskirts back to the village as thatched roofs. After a full day's work, the KR cadres took us to the village well to wash us. One of the KR cadres while pouring water on me pierced my right eye with his finger nail to blind me. The eye ballooned to the size of a baseball for one month; my mom who thought I was blinded for life mixed herbs and placed them on my eye to cool it... Miraculous, my eye was saved, leaving me with this scar, 34 years later, as a reminder of the cruelty (and blessings!) as well as a window from which to view the world.

. . .

Trial of Khmer Rouge Leaders Underway in Cambodia

25 July 2011 By John Roberts

World Socialist Web Site

Repost on KI-Media

[Theary's Note: I am sympathetic with the defense in this regard - wanting, expecting the likes of Jacques Verges and other lawyers of the defendants to make the political arguments, flesh out the geopolitical context of the Cold War years in which we found ourselves during the KR years.]

... The trial is expected to last months or even years. It is already clear from the investigative phase of the cases which began in 2007 that the main aim of the process is to not to bring justice for the survivors. Rather it is a show trial designed to close the book on the Khmer Rouge genocide while covering up the responsibility of others, inside Cambodia and internationally.

... US President Richard Nixon was directly responsible for destabilising Cambodia as part of the neo-colonial war in Vietnam, leading to the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Washington organised the coup that ousted Prince Norodom Sihanouk in 1970 and installed General Lon Nol, triggering a civil war. A massive bombing campaign, illegal even under US law, from 1969 to 1973 killed an estimated 700,000 Cambodians and wrecked the economy.

The US, China and the European powers recognised the Khmer Rouge as the legitimate government of Cambodia until 1991. With the end of the Cold War, the major powers struck a deal with the Hun Sen government to open up Cambodia as a cheap labour platform. Under the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, Vietnam withdrew its military, paving the way for elections and an influx of foreign investment. However, the crimes of the Khmer Rouge were too enormous to be ignored. They had to be addressed, but without opening up a historical can of worms. As a result, the formation of the Extraordinary Chambers [in] the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) has been a lengthy and tortuous process aimed at protecting the interests of all countries involved.

... Any attempt by the defence to point to the broader political context, especially to the crimes of US imperialism in Indochina during the 1960s and 1970s, will be summarily ruled out of order. The judges are clearly determined to find the accused guilty and suppress any evidence that might embarrass or incriminate the major powers.

. . .

While in California, a family friend pou Long whipped out this photo on his iPhone of him, me, my aunt Rey (Renee), and a Singaporean nurse (Lumpini Transit Refugee Camp, 1980)

. . .

Thank you, KI-Media, for introducing me

to the articulate, powerful voice of

Ms. Peauladd HUY.

Peauladd, I am in awe.

. . .

I am here

-for my momma, my hero.

1

There is a reason I am here

in the world. I can no longer wait

to be acknowledged by someone believing

that this is only for matters concerning the earth

and what’s already done. I am somebody –

once speaking face to face,

man to man, but you dismissed me,

kicking me in my chest and head, again and again, when I appealed to you

speaking the same language

in the routine of torture. You said, shut up,

if you cry, you’ll get more. What was I to do

but stand up for myself. Your threats no longer affect me.

Do you hear me? I am beyond reproach.

What more can you do?

Piss on my bones again?

2

Don’t be alarmed, Reader.

I am here to speak

because they are too afraid

to remember, still too stunned to speak out

what are making them cry out at night. (Children, mothers

and fathers now, are still shaking

awake between damp sheets

in the a.m. hours. Refusing sleep

to deny a life of nightmares.)

I am not like them. Did you think that I would shut down that easily?

That I would crumble again and yield

(to bury the hatchet) because now you said

impunity for the Khmer Rouge defectors. That their slates are wiped clean,

each killing dismissed, each life meaningless.

3

Reader discretion is advised.

What do you make me of? An animal

again before my frightened children: a ewe

to be gutted-up for your experimental

eating pleasure. You, you, and you over there

in council chair, do you think I don’t know

how many gall bladders it took to dye

your eyes a permanent yellow?

You, you, you, you, you. Whoever is left,

you know who you are. Shame on you,

even now, still having the gall to deny

us our part in our own history book?

We’re a saga, an era of mass slain.

What are you afraid of –

that your own children will see you as monsters?

. . . . .

Decision of International Court of Justice

Cambodia v. Thailand

18 July 2011

For these reasons, THE C OURT,

(A) Unanimously,

Rejects the Kingdom of Thailand’s request to remove the case introduced by the Kingdom of Cambodia on 28 April 2011 from the General List of the Court;

(B) Indicates the following provisional measures:

(1) By eleven votes to five,

Both Parties shall immediately withdraw their military personnel currently present in theprovisional demilitarized zone, as defined in paragraph 62 of the present Order, and refrain fromany military presence within that zone and from any armed activity directed at that zone;

(2) By fifteen votes to one,

Thailand shall not obstruct Cambodia’s free access to the Temple of Preah Vihear orCambodia’s provision of fresh supplies to its non-military personnel in the Temple.

. . .

Angelina Jolie

. . .

BBC, 27 June 2011

Cambodia: First hearing ex-Khmer Rouge leaders’ trial

A UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia is holding its first hearing in the trial of four former top Khmer Rouge leaders.

The defendants include the “number two” in Pol Pot’s regime, Nuon Chea. They face charges including genocide and crimes against humanity over the deaths of up to 2m Cambodians in 1975-79.

They all deny the accusations, and the trial is likely to last for years.

Last July, former Khmer Rouge member Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, was jailed for 35 years.

But because of time already served and compensation for a period of illegal detention, Duch – the former head of a notorious prison where some 15,000 died – will be free in 19 years.

Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Maoist Khmer Rouge regime was ousted from power by Vietnamese forces in 1979.

‘Second Nuremberg’

The four defendants appeared at the initial hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh on Monday morning.

Besides Nuon Chea, they include former head of state Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister Ieng Sary and international face of the regime, and also his wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs.

The hearing will run for a maximum of four days, and no evidence will be given.

Instead, the hearing is expected to focus on witness and expert lists and preliminary legal objections.

The trial proper is expected to open later this year, possibly in September.

“There hasn’t been a case as large and complex as this since Nuremberg,” international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley told the AFP news agency in a recent interview, referring to the historic Nazi trials after World War II.

Theary Seng, who lost both her parents to the Khmer Rouge, told the BBC: “This is the heart of the matter – this is the case that we have been anticipating for many years, since the operation of the court in 2006.

“It will allow a lot of information to surface which will help to chip away at the repeatedly-asked questions of why did it happen?”

Theary Seng is one of almost 4,000 “civil parties” to the case – victims who will have a voice in court alongside the prosecution and defence.

Health concerns

At least one of the defendants – Ieng Sary – is expected to argue that he should not be on trial at all, the BBC’s Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh says.

The former foreign minister received a royal pardon 15 years ago as part of the deal which produced the final surrender of the Khmer Rouge.

The defendants are all in or near their 80s and some have been in bad health, so there is a real danger that not all of them may live to see the end of the trial our correspondent adds.

The suspects have been kept in detention since their arrests in 2007.

Parts of court proceedings will be broadcast on TV, but hundreds of people from all over Cambodia are still expected to travel to the court to see the accused.

The current Cambodian government has repeatedly opposed efforts to widen the tribunal’s inquiries, and insisted that there should be no further trials after that of the four leaders.

. . . . .

Newsletter, July 2011

ANSA EAP's VOICES

Reflections on Media and Social Accountability

In 2009, ANSA-EAP provided a small grant to YASCITA for the development of radio and television programs on social accountability through Radio Swara Alam and Kendari TV. At the same time, ANSA-EAP provided technical support, in the form of learning and mentoring activities, to the media groups to orient them on the social accountability approach and guide them in developing the proposed media programs.

A’o Dode, former Executive Director of Radio Swara Alam and member of YASCITA, shares his reflections on the experience of mainstreaming SAc in Kendari City media groups and society.

Upcoming Events

ANSA Global panel meeting.

The first meeting of the ANSA Global advisory panel will be held in Manila, Philippines on 29 June 2011. The meeting is part of a three-day event that will bring together social accountability stakeholders--such as representatives from government, civil society, and other development partnes--from all over the world. Detailed program available here.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs is organizing several meetings that will be held in the next few months.

-  2011 Public Service Forum and Awards

-  Expert Group Meeting

-  UN-INTOSAI Symposium

-  4th Session of the Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption

ANSA-EAP Updates

New Downloads.

The training material used in the GTZED Enhancing Local Planning - Budgeting Link workshop is now available for download.

New ANSA-EAP BOT Officers.

The ANSA EAP Board of Trustees elected its new set of officers last April 2011. Ms. Theary Seng, Founding Director of CIVICUS Cambodia is ANSA-EAP Chairperson while Mr.Teten Masduki of Transparency International - Indonesia serves as Vice Chairperson. Other members serving on the BOT are Mr. Antonio G.M. La Viña, Ms. Angelita Gregorio-Medel and Mr. Juan Miguel Luz.

The eNews is published by the ANSA-EAP Operations Team, Ateneo School of Government, Pacifico Ortiz Hall, Fr. Arrupe Road, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108, Philippines. To unsubscribe please send an email with subject "unsubscribe" to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

. . . . .

CONVOCATION

Toronto, Canada

28 June - 3 July 2011

Theary Seng at PFI Convocation, Toronto, 30 June 2011 (Photo: Deacon Michael Bishop)

Theary Seng (wearing scarf made by Peruvian women prisoners) speaking with author/journalist Philip Yancey at the PFI Convocation in Toronto (Photo: Kevin Yap, July 2011)