A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Cambodia - Civil Society and the Tribunal

In 2000, AP asked Laura McGrew, a researcher on Cambodia, to visit Cambodia and report on civil society’s advocacy for a tribunal to prosecute Khmer Rouge leaders. She produced this series of On the Record - Cambodia.

Issue 1: Cambodia's Terrible Legacy
The first issue gives a background on the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge and the struggle to hold them accountable. It speaks of the problem with past truth commissions around the world that simply identify many criminals but do not punish them. The issue also notes that persecution through a court only punishes a few people. So the question is raised of whether to identify many criminals without persecuting them or to persecute a few criminals while leaving the majority unnamed. The answer for Cambodia has been a hybrid tribunal set up through the Cambodian legal system but with some international involvement. Laura McGrew seeks to unravel civil society's opinion on this tribunal through her research which is presented throughout the rest of the issues.

Issue 2: The Case for Persecution
Issue 2 looks at the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge and the events leading up to the current plan for a tribunal, including the government's reversal of support for such a tribunal. It also analyzes some of the flaws and ambiguities in the proposed tribunal itself.

Issue 3:  The Human Rights Community
In Issue 3, human rights leaders provide their own critical analysis of the proposed tribunal. They urge that the tribunal be fair, impartial and credible.

Issue 4: The Legal Experts
In Issue 4, legal experts assess the tribunal from a legal perspective. Sam Sok Oeun, the head of the Cambodian Defenders Project, feels that a tribunal will bring many benefits to Cambodia's weak legal system. He draws a distinction between top leaders of the Khmer Rouge, who should be tried, and lower-level leaders, who should be given an amnesty if they tell the truth. There is also a piece by Dr. Kao Kim Hourn that speaks of justice, the trial, its timing, security, amnesty and the role of civil society.

Issue 5: Defining Reconciliation
Youk Chhang, Chea Vannath, and Ok Serei Sopheak take a long-term view of what Cambodia society will need to recover from the Khmer Rouge crimes. Youk Chhang makes a strong plea for trial and punishment of former Khmer Rouge leaders but also calls for social services to be provided for the Khmer Rouge defectors and their families. Chea Vannath focuses on the need to find the right process for achieving complete and long-term reconciliation and emphasizes the importance of including the voices of all concerned parties. Lastly, Ok Serei Sopheak speaks to the difficulties in achieving long-term reconciliation and the need for development in the isolated areas of the former Khmer Rouge to increase exposure of these long-contested areas.

Issue 6: The Religious Community
Issue 6 looks at how Buddhism, a religion noted for its forgiveness and the dominant religion in Cambodia, would deal with the legacy of the Khmer Rouge. The Venerable Yos Huot makes a plea for compassion and forgiveness, but also insists that justice should not be forgotten.

Issue 7: The Politicians
Issue 7 presents the view of four politicians, speaking in their capacity as leading members of civil society. H.E. Son Soubert focuses on the weakness of the Cambodian justice system and recalls his own efforts to get a tribunal established in the early 1990s. He also notes his preference for an international (as opposed to mixed) tribunal. H.E. Kem Sokha reflects on the links between human rights, democracy, justice, and reconciliation, and underlines the importance of free speech and public debate in deciding what to do about the Khmer Rouge. H.E. Mu Sochua speaks of the importance of human rights, the public's ignorance about justice, and the concomitant need for the government to provide public education. Lastly, Son Chhay notes the past must be addressed in order to rid society of the violence and impunity that plague Cambodia today. At the same time, he also realizes there is a need for reconciliation. Exposing the truth would be an important first step in this process.

Issue 8: The Khmer Rouge
Issue 8 offers some surprising insights into how the former Khmer Rouge are thinking and how they can be brought back into mainstream public life. The issue speaks of the difference between Khmer Rouge leaders and those at a lower-level, those who are more likely to express regret.

Issue 9: Survey Results and Recommendations
Issue 9 draws some conclusions about the material and summarizes Laura's research findings. The vast majority of Cambodians who participated felt that justice was crucial. Most said they wanted a fair and credible trial of the former Khmer Rouge leaders with at least some international participation, while some wanted total UN control over an international tribunal outside the country. Participants also wanted to know the truth about what had happened under the Khmer Rouge and why the suffering and deaths had been necessary.

Issue 10: Civil Society Organizations
The final issue of the series profiles some of the key organizations that are working on justice and reconciliation in Cambodia and that served as key counterparts for Laura's study.