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Here are some
comments about Choeung Ek Genocidal Center
Mr. Chour Sokty
Director of Choeung Ek Genocidal Center
"I was in the movement group during Khmer Rouge
Regime and I was overworked and malnutrition", he said in an interview on Sunday
at his office inside Choeung Ek Genocidal Center. He added that his family
members and his friends worked or starved to death, died of disease or were
executed for committing crimes. Crimes punishable by death included not working
hard enough, complaining about living conditions, collecting or stealing food
for personal consumption, wearing jewelry, engaging in sexual relations,
grieving over the loss of relatives or friends and expressing religious
sentiments.
"We must preserve Choeung Ek Genocidal Center as an
evidence of these historic crimes and as the basis for remembrance and education
by the Cambodian people as a whole, especially future generations, of the
painful and terrible history brought about by the Ultra Khmer Rough regime
against the people and territory of Cambodia during the period 1975-1979,
lasting 3 years, 8 months and 20 days.", he stated confidently.
He hopes to see the Khmer Rouge tribunal happening
soon in order to find justice for the victims and survivors. He doesn't want
revenge on the Khmer Rouge leaders, but he strongly insists justice be served to
prevent future crimes against humanity. "If there is no Khmer Rouge tribunal,
this genocidal regime will be amnesty.", he added.
Mrs. Meas Sphea Ravy,
Deputy Director of Choeung Ek Genocidal Center
She said Pol Pot had turned Choeung Ek, originally
a beautiful longan orchard and a peaceful rice field, to a killing field and
burial ground for more than ten of thousands of victims operated from 1975 to
1979. It was in essence the burial ground for those arrested and tortured at the
Toul Sleng prison in downtown Phnom Penh Some were killed and buried at the
prison itself, but most victims were shipped the fifteen kilometers out of the
capital at night by truck, many still blindfolded to this killing field.
She added we have examine, restore and maintain the
memorial stupa for the education of others and out of respect for the dead.
Choeung Ek is a symbolic memorial site in Cambodia that is dedicated to the
victims of Democratic Kampuchea of Pol Pot in 1975-1979. This place has been
transformed into a space with memorials, fences, trees and informative plaques
for both Cambodian and tourists. Visitors will fully understand that Pol Pot
Genocidal regime really happened in Cambodia after they have seen this cruel
killing field which displays real human skeletons not counterfeit ones, she
said.
In order to enhance the conservation process of
this killing site effectively, we have to do 3 main activities, she said.
Firstly, we have t o clean and maintain the skulls and bones of the victims and
keep them in an appropriate place. Secondly, we conserve the mass graves which
can be destroyed easily by rain and food, so we have built a dike to prevent
flooding which comes from the nearby lake. Thirdly, we built an art gallery to
show the killing process picture included pre-killing, during killing and past
killing at Choeung Ek killing field during Ultra Khmer Rouge regime. It is
necessary to conserve the earth facts real evidence for the Khmer Rouge
tribunal. This killing site illustrates the worst tragedy of the 20th century
for the future generations.
Mr. Neang Say,
Deputy director of Choeung Ek Genocidal Center
"After Khmer Rouge Regime collapsed, I came to
Choeung Ek killing field on January, 1979 and I saw the killing tools storage
room, the chemical substances storage room, the prisoners' working office, the
dark and gloomy detention, the orchard of longan tree, the killing and the magic
trees and there were two loud speakers and a generator inside the killing site
which was surrounded by barbed wire. Choeung Ek used to be the place where Pol
Pot slaughtered his people without mercy in their thousands and buried them in
mass graves. Some were killed and buried at the S-21 prison, but most victims,
after having been detained, starved, tortured and interrogated were shipped the
fifteen kilometers out of the capital at night by truck, many still
blindfolded." he said in an interview inside his office at Choeung Ek Genocidal
Center.
He stated that we must preserve 8985 skeletal
remains at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center as evidence of these historic crimes
and as the basis for remembrance and education by the Cambodian people as a
whole, especially future generations, of the painful and terrible history
brought about by the Democratic Kampchea regime against the people and territory
of Cambodia during the period 1975-1979, lasting 3 years, 8 months and 20 days.
This area has become a historical museum for national and international
tourists.
Mr. Uy Vichet,
Lecturer at Asian University, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
I have seen a beautiful memorial stupa on a green
field inside Choeung Ek Genocidal Center which contains more than 8000 skulls
recovered from the graves to serve as a tribute and a reminder of such the evil
Pol Pot regime. A guide at the center told me that these skulls were dug from 89
mass graves disinterred out of the estimated 129 mass graves in the vicinity.
They are skulls of members of the Lon Nol government, public servants, police
officers, military officers, intellects, teachers, ethnic Vietnamese, Christian
clergy, Muslim leaders, members of the Cham Mulslim minority, members of the
middle class and educated people who are identified and executed by Ultra
Communist Khmer Rouge regime.
The guide also added that Khmer Rouge judicial
processes for minor or political crimes, began with a warning from the Angkar,
the government of Cambodia under the regime. People receiving more than 2
warnings were sent for "re-education", which meant near-certain death. Some
people were taken away to a place such as Toul Sleng (s-21 prison) or Choeung Ek
for torture or execution. However, the prisoners remained quite and not afraid
because Angkar told them that they were only being moved to another new home.
They were trucked out to be killed while blindfolded at Choeung Ek and they were
bludgeoned to death by pick-axe, hoe, iron bar wooden club or something else
serving as a weapon. Babies were held by their feet and their heads were smashed
against the trunk of the trees.
I felt chill hearing about this cruel evil event. I
almost could not believe my ears and eyes when I first visited this genocidal
center. I think that Choeung Ek genocidal center is real evidence of the worst
tragedy on earth in the last centaury and it is a crucial place for doing
research on the evil regime . The Khmer Rouge tribunal is most important to
educate next generations about this cruel regime in order to prevent this type
of blood-thirsty regime from happening again in the future of the world. |
