Sihanouk’s National Congress Remembered

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Friday, 02 November 2012

Sihanouk gained much of his popularity from the people, allowing them to voice their grievances and having relevant government officials respond to the National Congress.

Cambodian Buddhist monks chant, offering prayers in front of the Royal Palace for  the late King Norodom Sihanouk in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012.

PHNOM PENH - Mourners of former king Norodom Sihanouk say they want to see the resumption of the late king’s once popular National Congress, a public forum where people could voice their grievances and raise problems for the state authority to solve. While the body of the former kings lies in state inside the Royal Palace following his death earlier this month, many of his subjects still remember the congress, one of him best-known legacies.

In Sihanouk’s Passing, Loss of a Witness To History

Say Mony, VOA Khmer

Wednesday, 24 October 2012 

Pouch Kri said he is disappointed because one thing Sihanouk never did was clarify his role in the rise of the Khmer Rouge before the UN-backed tribunal underway in Phnom Penh.

King Norodom Sihanouk spent much of his time in China after abdicating in 2004, never went before the court.

PHNOM PENH - Like many other Cambodians, Pouch Kri reveres the “king father,” Norodom Sihanouk, who passed away in Beijing last week. But the 74-year-old is also disappointed, he said, because one thing Sihanouk never did was clarify his role in the rise of the Khmer Rouge before the UN-backed tribunal underway in Phnom Penh.

Westerner Identities in Tuol Sleng Photos Remain Unconfirmed

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Wednesday, 05 September 2012

​​The two photographs are part of a collection of more than 1,400 images anonymously donated to the center last month.

A tourist walks past photos of former prisoners displayed at Tuol Sleng genocide  museum, a former Khmer Rouge prison known as S-21, in Phnom Penh.

PHNOM PENH — The identities of two Westerners whose images were found amid some 1,400 photographs from Tuol Sleng prison remain unconfirmed, researchers at the Documentation Center of Cambodia said. Two researchers from the center showed the photographs to Kaing Kek Iev, the former head of Tuol Sleng better known as Duch, who is serving a life sentence for atrocity crimes at the UN-backed tribunal, but he was unable or unwilling to say who they were.

Former Khmer Rouge Want No More Cases at Tribunal

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Saturday,28 July 2012

Former Khmer Rouge cadre in the former stronghold of Anlong Veng say they are uneasy with the prospect of further arrests.

Im Chaem is among the five suspects for further cases.

ANLONG VENG - Despite some pressure on the Khmer Rouge tribunal to pursue more cases, former Khmer Rouge cadre in the former stronghold of Anlong Veng say they are uneasy with the prospect of further arrests. One resident here in the district in Oddar Meanchey province, Um Mek, said he always wanted to see Khmer Rouge leaders held accountable for atrocities committed under their rule.

Anti-Genocide Memorial Erected in Last Khmer Rouge Stronghold

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Thursday,19 July 2012

The memorial, a black marble plaque with gold lettering, was mounted on the wall at Anlong Veng High School.

Human sculls are displayed in the stupa of Choeung Ek, a former Khmer Rouge "killing field" dotted with mass graves about nine miles (15 kilometers) south  of Phnom Penh,

ODDAR MEANCHEY Province - In an effort to prevent future atrocities like those conducted under the Khmer Rouge, the Documentation Center of Cambodia has been erecting memorials at high schools across the country. The memorials are meant to prompt discussion of the regime, in hopes of more national reconciliation. One of these memorials was erected last month in the final stronghold of Democratic Kampuchea, as the Khmer Rouge is formally called, in the northwestern part of the country, Anlong Veng, in Oddar Meanchey province.

UN Expert To Khmer Rouge Court Sees Promise Over Problems

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Tuesday, 17 July 2012 

Though ECCC’s international prosecutors and judges have resigned one after another, Scheffer expressed optimism to VOA Khmer in June.

David Scheffer, UN special expert to Khmer Rouge tribunal.

In spite of the recent hurdles faced by the ECCC – ranging from the resignation of international prosecutors and judges and a lack of salary for its staffers – the recent appointment of a prominent academic expert on world war crime as a special expert to the tribunal by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon promises the continued success of the court’s efforts.

War Crimes Expert Optimistic on Tribunal's Future

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Friday, 22 June 2012

The UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal is facing a number of obstacles, from dwindling funds to ongoing criticism of the Cambodian government's hand in the court's decisions. However, David Scheffer, the UN's special expert for the court and a former US war crimes diplomat, says the tribunal is capable of delivering justice for the atrocity crimes of the Khmer Rouge. VOA Khmer's Say Mony interviewed Scheffer on a recent trip to Phnom Penh.

‘Red Wedding’ Shows Lasting Scars of Forced Marriage

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Thursday, 07 June 2011

Son Thann, 58, and now lives in Kandal province was also forced to marry one of the Khmer Rouge soldiers.

A new documentary film premiered in Phnom Penh on Thursday reveal forced marriages ordered by the Khmer Rouge ahead of the Khmer Rouge tribunal's initial hearing of its four senior leaders late this month. Red Wedding, which last 58 minutes, follows the current life of a woman who is bitterly describing her sufferings during the Khmer Rouge period when she was forced to marry one of their soldiers. Her unwanted husband raped her under the Khmer Rouge's orders, she said in the film. Pen Sokchan was 16 at that time.

Rare Khmer Rouge Photos Find Permanent Home

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Saturday, 18 February 2012 

The photographs, which depict life under the Khmer Rouge from a trip Becker took in  1978, will be housed permanently at the Bophana Center in the capital.

Rare photos taken by American journalist Elizabeth Becker are now on display in Phnom Penh. The photographs, which depict life under the Khmer Rouge from a trip Becker took in 1978, will be housed permanently at the Bophana Center in the capital. “I wanted an institution in Cambodia to have these copies for history,” said Becker, who covered the war in Cambodia for the Washington Post and authored a book on the Khmer Rouge.

Former Khmer Rouge Prisoners Sell Story of Their Lives

Say Mony | Phnom Penh, Cambodia,
Friday, 10 February 2012

Khmer Rouge prison survivor, Chum Mey, sells books and magazines

The United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia has ordered the Khmer Rouge’s main jailer to spend the rest of his life in prison for crimes it says were “among the worst in recorded history.” The tribunal said Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch oversaw a “factory of death” in the 1970’s at the feared Tuol Sleng Prison, where an estimated 14,000 people died. The prison itself, called “S-21” by the Khmer Rouge, is now a museum. One of two former inmates, Bou Meng sits outside the Tuol Sleng Museum selling copies of his biography, "A Survivor From Khmer Rouge Prison S-21".

Survivors Sell Books at Prison That Once Held Them

Say Mony,VOA Khmer
Friday, 27 January 2012

Khmer Rouge survivor Chum Mey, 81, right, talks to reporters as another survivor  Bou Meng, 70, left, listens at Choeung Ek stupa, former Khmer Rouge killing                         field in the outskirt of Phnom Penh, file photo.

Bou Meng and Chhum Mey spend less time at the trial of Khmer Rouge leaders these days, and more time at the torture center they both survived. The two men sit at the Tuol Sleng musuem, the former prison known the Khmer Rouge as S-21, selling the stories of their lives to tourists. The men say they are not happy to do so, but they have no choice if they want to earn a living.

Regime’s History Should Not Just Come From Tribunal: Researcher

Say Mony,VOA Khmer
Friday,23 December 2011

Dy Khamboly, author of "A History of Democratic Kampuchea" and Huy Vannak,  a Public Affairs Officers at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, discuss the importance  of youth participation in the Khmer Rouge trial process.

The Khmer Rouge trial currently under way at the UN-backed court should not be the only source of information Cambodians have, especially the youth, a researcher said Monday. Dy Khamboly, who authored a book on the regime for the Documentation Center of Cambodia, told “Hello VOA” that Cambodian youth must understand the history of the regime to avoid confusion or misinformation; however, that history should come from multiple sources.

With Trial Under Way, Tribunal Faces Questions of Legacy

Say Mony, VOA Khmer | New Jersey
Monday, 05 December 2011

Andrew Cayley,the international prosecutor for the tribunal, who was in the US, spoke to VOA Khmer while giving a talk at Rutgers University, in New Jersey. The international prosecutor at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal says the court must work to ensure the practice of law if its legacy to Cambodia is to be assured. “We have to show a good example to young lawyers,” Andrew Cayley told VOA Khmer in an interview. Cayley spoke after a talk he gave to law students at Rutgers, in the US state of New Jersey, last month.

Opening Statements Conclude in Khmer Rouge Leaders Trial

Say Mony, VOA Khmer 
Tuesday, 29 November 2011

The Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia wrapped up its opening hearings last week. Prosecutors laid out their case against three individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed while serving in top leadership positions in the movement

Khieu Samphan a 'Liar,' says U.S. Genocide Professor

Say Mony, VOA Khmer 
Thursday, 24 November 2011

Jailed Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan told a UN-backed court on Wednesday he knew nothing about the mass atrocities that took place while he was the nominal head of the regime. For one genocide researcher attending the landmark trial in Phnom Penh, this sounds unlikely. Say Mony reports for VOA Khmer from the court.

Historic Trial Opens for Aging Khmer Rouge Leaders

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Tuesday, 22 November 2011

The UN-backed tribunal opened a landmark case against three Khmer Rouge leaders in Phnom Penh on Monday, with prosecution claiming the former communists were involved in a criminal policy that led to mass atrocities. The widely welcomed proceedings marked the first substantial hearing for the three leaders, Nuon Chea, 85, the chief ideologue of the regime; Khieu Samphan, 80, its nominal leader; and Ieng Sary, 86, its foreign minister, whose case took four years to investigate and bring to trial. VOA Khmer reports.

Lenient Treatment of Tribunal Suspects Upsetting for Some

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Saturday, 10 September 2011

When Khmer Rouge prison survivor Vann Nath died earlier this week in a quiet Phnom Penh clinic, family members had been scrambling for cash to pay for his treatment. Staff at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal pooled $500 to offset costs, as Vann Nath lay in a coma after a heart attack Aug. 26. Friends scrambled to collect money online. Meanwhile, the four former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of widespread atrocity crimes and responsibility for the deaths of 1.7 million people are getting free health care with good doctors under the UN-backed court.

Top Healthcare of Tribunal Suspects Upsetting for Some

Say Mony, Kong Sothanarith,VOA Khmer

Saturday, 09 September 2011

When Khmer Rouge prison survivor Vann Nath died earlier this week in a quiet Phnom Penh clinic, family members had been scrambling for cash to pay for his treatment.

Staff at the Khmer Rouge tribunal pooled $500 to offset costs, as Vann Nath lay in a coma after a heart attack Aug. 26. Friends scrambled to collect money online. He died on Monday.

Meanwhile, the former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of widespread atrocity crimes and responsibility for the deaths of 1.7 million people are getting free health care with good doctors under the UN-backed tribunal. Vann Nath’s family members and other regime victims did not fail to notice.

Among Students, Doubts Over Tribunal Suspects’ Defense

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Friday, 14 July 2011 

Cambodian Students line up to attend the Khmer Rouge trial in Phnom Penh, June 27, 2011.

As more Khmer Rouge leaders are put on trial by a UN-backed tribunal, some Cambodians students say they don’t believe their defense claims, that they established an ultra-Maoist regime to prevent Cambodia from falling into foreign hands. The tribunal has put the crimes of the Khmer Rouge back into the public consciousness, and many of the young generation are now learning more about the regime than they learned from parents who often withhold their own stories of atrocities.

For Victims, More Indictments the Way to 'Justice'

Say Mony, VOA Khmer
Wednesday, 05 July  2011

As the Khmer Rouge tribunal moves toward a trial of four jailed leaders of the regime, many victims say they want more indictments from the UN-backed court. The court has potentially five more suspects to investigate in two more cases, but these are opposed by the prime minister and others. "Just a few of them is not enough, so I want Case 003 and others ," said In Vuthy, a civil party complainant in the upcoming trial, who had 11 relatives die under the Khmer Rouge.