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Reconciling Peace with Justice:

Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cambodia

Speaker Theary C. Seng

University of Michigan Museum of Art auditorium (Ann Arbor, MI)

7 - 9 P.M. 13 Jan. 2011

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My recent, most favorite interview with the Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, conducted on 17 Sept. 2010 at my Phnom Penh home (Georgetown University; KI-Media)

[ excerpt ]

Could you tell us a little bit more about your path to faith?

My parents were very much Buddhist. My aunts and uncles continue to be Buddhist even though they’ve been exposed to the church and live in a Christian American community. Some of my brothers would say that they’re probably agnostics, meaning that they could be Buddhists or they could be Christians; only one would stress his faith identity. The other two or three might see themselves as one or the other or both.

I have espoused Christianity as my own. Part of it was the initial exposure through Christian education, living in a Christian community. But I read a lot. I’ve read probably as much as any theologian on Christianity. So when I say I’ve come to own it, come to espouse it on my own, it’s not just through exposure but by deliberately thinking it through. So I would describe myself as a Christian, a Christian who is culturally Buddhist. I have no problem going to a wat or celebrating the Buddhist ceremonies, for example. Although it’s not a belief system that I hold, it is my culture.

Click for full interview. . .

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Solitude and Leadership

If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts

By William Deresiewicz Spring 2010 (The American Scholar.Org)

The lecture below was delivered to the plebe class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in October of last year (2009).

KI - Media

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A great, great article published this 15 Dec. 2010 by a former representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia.  Highly recommending reading !! - Theary C. Seng

The Beleaguered Cambodians

Margo Picken

Magnum Photo

More than thirty years after an estimated two million people died at the hands of Pol Pot’s regime of Democratic Kampuchea, trials of senior Khmer Rouge leaders and those most responsible for the deaths are at last taking place in Cambodia. On July 26, the first to be tried, Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known as Duch, was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity—a sentence that he and the prosecution have since appealed. Duch directed Security Prison 21, also known as Tuol Sleng, where at least 14,000 prisoners, mostly Khmer Rouge cadres and officials, were tortured and killed.1

Even more important, the next trial, which will probably begin in 2011, involves the four most senior Khmer leaders still alive: Nuon Chea, known as Brother Number Two; Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister; his wife, Ieng Thirith, minister for social affairs; and Khieu Samphan, who was president of Democratic Kampuchea. Now in their late seventies and early eighties, all four were arrested in 2007 and on September 16 were formally charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and related crimes under Cambodian laws.

While the trials have refocused international attention on Cambodia’s dark past, little attention has been given to how the much-watched proceedings relate to the troubled politics of Cambodia today. Will they lead to a new era of justice and accountability for a beleaguered people or end in another betrayal?

Cambodia is ruled by longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party. They govern with absolute power and control all institutions that could challenge their authority. Opposition political parties exist, giving the illusion of multiparty democracy, but elections have not been fair and the opposition no longer poses any threat to Hun Sen. The monarchy has survived but has little influence. The freedoms of expression, association, and assembly are severely curtailed. Human rights organizations are intimidated, and a draft law aims to bring them under the regime’s authority. The judiciary is controlled by the executive, and the flawed laws that exist are selectively enforced. Hundreds of murders and violent attacks against politicians, journalists, labor leaders, and others critical of Hun Sen and his party remain unsolved.

Continued (New York Review of Books) . . .

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Theary Seng speaking at The January Series, 7 Jan. 2011.

MORE PHOTOS . . .

Speaker series includes survivor

By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer

Long Beach Press Telegram

29 December 2010

Want to go?

WHAT: Calvin College January Series

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. weekdays from Jan. 5 to Jan. 25

WHERE: Bethany Christian Reformed Church hospitality room, 17054 Bixby Ave., Bellflower

ADMISSION: Free

INFO: www.calvin.edu/january/2011

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LONG BEACH - Theary Seng survived the Killing Fields of Cambodia and emigrated to the United States, where she was in the Long Beach area while attending Valley Christian High School.

She has since earned international acclaim for her autobiography, "Daughter of the Killing Fields" and her advocacy work for human rights as founder of the Cambodian Center for Justice and Reconciliation in Phnom Penh.

When not working on her many issues, she speaks at conferences all over the world telling her story and touching on issues of justice and reconciliation, democracy, faith and human rights.

Long Beach and surrounding area residents will have the opportunity to listen in on Seng and other speakers who are part of the award-winning January Series, presented by Calvin College and simulcast locally.

A Christian school in Michigan, Calvin College has earned critical acclaim for its annual series of speakers. Since 2008, the presentations have been simulcast and are now heard in 30 locations in the U.S. and abroad.

The Bethany Christian Reformed Church in Advertisement Bellflower is one of the participants and the only one in the Southland.

This year, the 24th of the series, will feature a diverse group of speakers talking about a variety of faith, ethical and social issues.

"I think (the January Series) gives exposure for some of the most prominent thinkers in many fields," said Stan Cole of Bethany Church.

The speakers include Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr., the Rev. Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, and Seng, who speaks Jan. 7. A total of 15 presentations will be delivered during the three-week stretch.

The January Series has received recognition for its quality and diversity of perspectives on issues of national and global importance.

The series began simulcasting to other locations in 2008 and is now shown in Canada and Europe.

Cole said the series explores often controversial issues as one of the school's goals "to challenge some long-held truisms."

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Re-published on KI-Media