An interesting piece in yesterday's PP using Chea Sim's record in the 1970s and 1980s as a prompt to point out that to date only three KR officials had been convicted of any criminal activities. Most of the global media are referring to him as a Cambodian post-KR leader only.
As lawmakers yesterday paid their respects and chose a successor to former Senate president Chea Sim, who died on Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for renewed efforts to try former Khmer Rouge leaders, saying it was “a mockery of justice” that the 82-year-old had avoided prosecution for “serious crimes”.
In a statement released less than a day after the death of the Cambodian People’s Party president and former Khmer Rouge cadre, HRW accused Sim of “serious international crimes” during the Khmer Rouge years and alleged “possible genocide” and “crimes against humanity” were committed by Sim while he was secretary of Ponhea Krek district in Democratic Kampuchea’s Eastern Zone.
“Chea Sim’s passing is a reminder that virtually all former Khmer Rouge officials have gone unpunished for the millions of deaths and incredible suffering of ordinary Cambodians during Khmer Rouge rule,” HRW Asia director Brad Adams said.
“It is a mockery of justice that Chea Sim could serve in the post-Khmer Rouge Cambodian leadership for decades without ever facing an investigation, much less arrest or prosecution.”
According to 2005 HRW research, which was passed to the Khmer Rouge tribunal in 2006, Sim oversaw a security centre in the region and exercised authority over commune militia who arrested, tortured, killed and “enslaved” the population.
Among those targeted, says HRW, were former Lon Nol regime officials, members of Cambodia’s pre-revolutionary upper classes, fellow Khmer Rouge cadre suspected of political dissent and members of the Vietnamese, Cham and Chinese ethnic groups.
HRW blamed political control exercised over the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) by Hun Sen, also a former Khmer Rouge cadre, for the evidence against Sim not being seriously pursued.
They added that the prime minister’s influence had “stymied” the prosecution of other former cadres in who held similar positions of responsibility as Sim.
So far only three former Khmer Rouge leaders have been convicted for crimes during the Democratic Kampuchea regime including S-21 jailer Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea and head of state Khieu Samphan.
Hun Sen has long rejected calls to increase the scope of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, suggesting that it could trigger a civil war.
Sim, together with National Assembly President Heng Samrin, was among six senior government officials who ignored summonses to give evidence in the court’s Case 002/01.
Speaking yesterday, Documentation Centre of Cambodia director Youk Chhang said the allegations against Sim were not new and the decision of the ECCC had to be respected.
“What he did is no secret, it’s been published by scholars in the ’80s. We have to respect the judge’s decision and also expect the judge to follow the rules on the evidence they are holding,” he said.
HRW’s Adams also took aim at Sim’s legacy in law enforcement.
As a member of the Vietnamese-installed government in the 1980s, Sim helped establish a security apparatus which brutally repressed opposition, extracted confessions from torture and sometimes held prisoners indefinitely, often in “dark cells” that were isolated from the world, according to HRW.
“Chea Sim was best known among Cambodians for running the police state in the 1980s that imprisoned and tortured people for peaceful political activities,” Adams said.
“His legacy continues to this day, with unreformed security forces run for the interests of the ruling party instead of the public good.”
Meanwhile, at the Senate yesterday, 52 of 61 senators voted the CPP’s Say Chhum, former Senate deputy, to replace Sim as head of the body, with Nay Pana voted as his deputy.
Although Hun Sen announced in April that he would take over from Sim as CPP president, party spokesman Sok Ey San yesterday declined to reveal when the standing committee would officially appoint a successor.
Human Rights Watch scrutinizes Chea Sim's KR legacy
- Jacked Camry
- Is the World Outside still there ?
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It's a mockery of justice that Brad Adams still is milking this cow after 25 years. Nice work in building capacity and handing over to the locals Brad!
- Felgerkarb
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Jacked Camry wrote:It's a mockery of justice that Brad Adams still is milking this cow after 25 years. Nice work in building capacity and handing over to the locals Brad!
It's a living.
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Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
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- MerkinMaker
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Any article that quotes Brad Adams automatically go in my bullshit basket. He's got such a hard on for the CPP that his opinions can never be viewed as objective. When was the last time he actually set foot in Cambodia anyway?
- Felgerkarb
- Sir Felgerkarb, Kt Pb
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starkmonster wrote:Any article that quotes Brad Adams automatically go in my bullshit basket. He's got such a hard on for the CPP that his opinions can never be viewed as objective. When was the last time he actually set foot in Cambodia anyway?
He can't return.
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Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
Why are the gods such vicious cunts?
Where is the god of tits and wine?
The Ministry of Information is not happy with PPP for running the story:
Oops. Hopefully it won't turn into a GlobalWitness-gate
In contrast to HRW, Sam Rainsy praises Chea Sim's legacy.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/r ... e-chea-sim
First part of the article
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/r ... e-chea-sim
First part of the article
Rainsy lauds late Chea Sim
Fri, 12 June 2015 Meas Sokchea
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy yesterday praised former ruling party president Chea Sim, who died on Monday, calling him a national hero and comparing his patriotic ideals to those of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk.
Speaking to reporters after paying his respects at the former Senate president’s house in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district, Cambodia National Rescue Party president Rainsy lauded the former Cambodia People’s Party factional heavyweight, once considered the second-most powerful man in government after Prime Minster Hun Sen.
“I have always respected Samdech Chea Sim after the 1993 election,” Rainsy said.
“I have followed and supported Samdech Chea Sim’s stance because Samdech Chea Sim has always glorified national reconciliation. We do not forget Samdech Chea Sim’s recommendation, we will follow his recommendation.”
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- Wun Gwo Pee
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Cambodia Daily is reporting that the Ministry of Interior is threatening to ban Adams from entering Cambodia unless he apologises for the article.
I thought that he was already bannedalanclarke72 wrote:Cambodia Daily is reporting that the Ministry of Interior is threatening to ban Adams from entering Cambodia unless he apologises for the article.
They will ban him again for good measure. It's like the live version of an Internet forum.
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