CIVIL RESISTANCE
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CIVIC EDUCATION
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Imbroglio at ECCC
Interview with a prominent international press
1 Feb. 2012
1. Given the series of crises in the last 12 months, do you think the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is a credible body?
A resoundingly NO! The KRT is supposed to be a court of law, a vehicle for the prosecution of serious crimes. Prosecution is one of the more important, visible forms of reconciliation. However, let me emphasis and state the obvious, "legitimate" prosecution, not "play-acting" prosecution. Normally, we shouldn't need to qualify "prosecution", as it is understood that it has to be legitimate for it to be beneficial, for it to be reconciling.
But here, the KRT has turned it into a farce, full of deceits. Deceit can never transformed into justice, no matter how sophisticated the spin.
Simply, NO. This KRT is not credible; to the contrary, if prolonged, it could be harmful, as deceit with UN insignia (stamp of approval) will be harmful to this fragile population. Remember, the Cambodian people are already mired in distrust and cynicism which over the years solidified into paranoia. We trusted the UN, and when this trust is full of deceit, that will have a greater detrimental impact to our psychology than if we had not had our expectations raised at all by the presence of the UN at the KRT. The problems didn't only exist now. The crises crescendoed within the last 12 months, but problems existed and snowballed from the very beginning of the negotiation, to the operation process. It's just now we are experiencing the rolling momentum of the weight of these crises to the tipping point of SHAM! 2. What should the UN do to ensure that the Tribunal fulfills its mandate of prosecuting those "most responsible"?
The UN has squandered that window of opportunity for legitimate prosecution of those "most responsible" and "senior KR leaders". The issue is now one of "damage control" via withdrawal. Withdrawal (which will be a process of at least several months, including the demand of certain things to occur, e.g. the genuine investigation of Cases 003/004 by Judge Kasper-Ansermet, and its highly likely violation) is the lesser-evil solution.
Now, it is only the issue of salvaging benefits already produced (and benefits which could yet be produced during its strategic process of withdrawal) and regaining its integrity and the confidence and faith of the Cambodian people. Withdrawal would do a lot of good for the UN image globally; it would do a lot of good for Cambodian society specifically in sending a powerful message to our Cambodian government and striking against impunity by displaying courage and genuine seriousness for all the principles we all aspire to (judicial independence, rule of law, truth, accountability, etc.)
3. What, in your eyes, is the biggest challenge for the tribunal in coming months?
The continuing, growing challenge posed by the very public imbroglio of Cases 003/4, which will impact the efforts to fund-raise the necessary funds for both sides of the court. Unlike an "international" court which has an allocated budget for its operations, this "internationalized" court has to constantly raised funds. And of course, connected to all these issues, the most serious issue will be the long-term socio-psychological impact on the Cambodian society left by the quake of all the deceits from this KRT.
4. If case 003 and 004 do not go ahead, is this justice for the people?
Is there anything the UN can do to restore its legitimacy? Yes, the UN can restore its own legitimacy by withdrawing. The legitimacy of the KRT is beyond restoring... It is now only an issue of "damage control".
By withdrawing, I mean to include the practical process of withdrawing, which starts with setting conditions, communicating them to the public, waiting for the implementation of the conditions (and their inevitable subsequently violation, given the pattern of RGC violation), invoking Art. 28, and then seriously, actually, publicly withdraw. This would be a process of several months to almost a year. In the interim, push for as many benefits and protect those benefits so we can mine them after the withdrawal, e.g. in pushing for investigations into Cases 003/4, we will have the benefits of their investigations and the existing documents will be freely public, rather clandestinely public as they are now. Another example is the fragmented information coming out of 002 hearings on Phase I Movement. And of course, before UN withdrawal, SECURE THE ECCC INVENTORY worth in the millions for the VICTIMS. We can use the hundreds of computers, laptops, printers, desks, chairs, tables, vehicles--the fact that they're used in one sense works to our advantage in their non-intimidation when in the provinces for rural villagers.
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Duch Final Decision
Friday, 3 February 2012
Final Pronouncement of Supreme Court Chamber of ECCC
(Theary C. Seng's interview with a prominent international news company)
I just returned from the ECCC to attend the final appeal pronouncement of the Duch sentencing (I purposely avoided the word "verdict" because the whole of Case 001 has been on sentencing and not on whether Duch is guilty or not, as he confessed time and again). The legal implication carries dangerous consequences for the Cambodian national court system in the embedding of persistent violation of fair trial rights and due process, especially on the violation of pre-trial detention rights which is an abhorrent and pervasive problem in the national court system that we want change in our society. May I add that the majority of judges' decision to leave the illegal detention to the national court system is quite baffling and abdication of responsibility, as what's then the point of having the ECCC??? After $200,000,000??? After years of negotiation with UN??
- Theary C. Seng, 3 Feb. 2012 |
