Monday, March 30, 2009

Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions


A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions


A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions


A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

Hailstorm, unseasonal rain hit [Vietnam] north-central, southern regions


A hailstorm on Sunday blew off the tin sheet roofing from several houses in Thach Ha District in the north-central province of Ha Tinh

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)

A hailstorm on Sunday damaged power lines and blew away the roofs of hundreds of houses in the north-central provinces of Ha Tinh and Nghe An.
In Ha Tinh Province, two people were injured; and 687 houses and three schools in the districts of Thach Ha, Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh lost their roofs.

About 28 kilometers of power lines were devastated in Thach Ha District.

The hailstorm destroyed 90 hectares of rice paddies and 35 hectares of crops in the province, inflicting damages estimated at more than VND2.5 billion (US$141,000).

In Nghe An Province, nearly 200 houses were unroofed in Thanh Duc and Thanh Nho communes in Thanh Chuong District and Cao Son Commune in Anh Son District.

Dozens of electricity poles in these districts were broken, and hundreds of hectares of rice paddies and crops suffered serious damage.

The unpredictable weather Monday caused unseasonal rains in the south and is forecast to do the same today.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, an official of the weather bureau for the southern region, said Monday’s rains in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Kien Giang came from convection clouds that had been formed by hot weather in the area.

She said the phenomenon will spread to more areas in the south tomorrow, including HCMC and the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh; the coastal provinces and partially on areas bordering Cambodia.

The center also warned of possible storms and lightning in the coming days.

However, temperatures are expected to increase slightly in the south, with southeastern provinces expected to experience a peak of 37 degrees Celsius.

Reported by Mai Vong – Khanh Hoan

“Duch must not be sentenced”: Kar Savuth, Duch’s lawyer


Kar Savuth (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 March 2009
By Ky Soklim and Adrien le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French


According to the Cambodian defense lawyer of the former S-21 boss whose trial is opening on Monday 20 March, it is “impossible” that a sentence could be handed down to his client.

Cambodge Soir Hebdo: How is your client feeling?

Kar Savuth: When his trial started, Duch was very happy and he was not worried at all. He knows that if the tribunal is fair, he will be freed because he is not part of the high-ranking KR officials who should be the only ones to be tried by the KR Tribunal (KRT).Is there still an uncertainty on the sentence that will be handed over to him?

It is possible that there will be sentence. It’s the law. Duch should not be in jail. He did not want to be the chief [of S-21], he wanted to do something else, but he was not allowed to. He told me clearly that he never wanted to be in charge of this place where people were being killed. Who wants to kill human beings? No one! But, what could he do? If he refused to obey the orders, he would have been killed also.

The civil parties want to re-open the investigation to determine if Duch was involved in forced marriages…

It’s too late, the investigations are closed. In any case, forced marriages were done everywhere under the KR regime. They should not accuse Duch who is only obeying his bosses.

You fought so that Duch is not charged with “participation in joint criminal enterprise”…

This charge is not right. In any case, there were 196 jails in the country. It is unfair to accuse Duch. In his center, 12,381 people died, whereas in other jails, more than 150,000 died… We seek justice. Duch is a scapegoat, others who killed are still roaming free.

You were Hun Sen’s lawyer… How do you get along with François Roux who, in France, defends civil disobedience followers?

François Roux and I, we have the same strategy. But, it is wrong to say that I defend only people close to power. I am interested in important affairs, and I defended the KR since 1982. Duch must have heard about me, and that’s why he chose me. The other people charged were also interested [in me], but we can only defend one of the accused.

As Cambodian, do you consider yourself a victim of the KR regime?

Yes, I am victim. But, I don’t have a grudge against Duch, nor the other four who were charged. I am not angry against the minor officials, I am angry against those who issued orders, i.e. Pol Pot. The others were only following orders.

“Duch must not be sentenced”: Kar Savuth, Duch’s lawyer


Kar Savuth (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 March 2009
By Ky Soklim and Adrien le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French


According to the Cambodian defense lawyer of the former S-21 boss whose trial is opening on Monday 20 March, it is “impossible” that a sentence could be handed down to his client.

Cambodge Soir Hebdo: How is your client feeling?

Kar Savuth: When his trial started, Duch was very happy and he was not worried at all. He knows that if the tribunal is fair, he will be freed because he is not part of the high-ranking KR officials who should be the only ones to be tried by the KR Tribunal (KRT).Is there still an uncertainty on the sentence that will be handed over to him?

It is possible that there will be sentence. It’s the law. Duch should not be in jail. He did not want to be the chief [of S-21], he wanted to do something else, but he was not allowed to. He told me clearly that he never wanted to be in charge of this place where people were being killed. Who wants to kill human beings? No one! But, what could he do? If he refused to obey the orders, he would have been killed also.

The civil parties want to re-open the investigation to determine if Duch was involved in forced marriages…

It’s too late, the investigations are closed. In any case, forced marriages were done everywhere under the KR regime. They should not accuse Duch who is only obeying his bosses.

You fought so that Duch is not charged with “participation in joint criminal enterprise”…

This charge is not right. In any case, there were 196 jails in the country. It is unfair to accuse Duch. In his center, 12,381 people died, whereas in other jails, more than 150,000 died… We seek justice. Duch is a scapegoat, others who killed are still roaming free.

You were Hun Sen’s lawyer… How do you get along with François Roux who, in France, defends civil disobedience followers?

François Roux and I, we have the same strategy. But, it is wrong to say that I defend only people close to power. I am interested in important affairs, and I defended the KR since 1982. Duch must have heard about me, and that’s why he chose me. The other people charged were also interested [in me], but we can only defend one of the accused.

As Cambodian, do you consider yourself a victim of the KR regime?

Yes, I am victim. But, I don’t have a grudge against Duch, nor the other four who were charged. I am not angry against the minor officials, I am angry against those who issued orders, i.e. Pol Pot. The others were only following orders.

“Duch must not be sentenced”: Kar Savuth, Duch’s lawyer


Kar Savuth (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 March 2009
By Ky Soklim and Adrien le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French


According to the Cambodian defense lawyer of the former S-21 boss whose trial is opening on Monday 20 March, it is “impossible” that a sentence could be handed down to his client.

Cambodge Soir Hebdo: How is your client feeling?

Kar Savuth: When his trial started, Duch was very happy and he was not worried at all. He knows that if the tribunal is fair, he will be freed because he is not part of the high-ranking KR officials who should be the only ones to be tried by the KR Tribunal (KRT).Is there still an uncertainty on the sentence that will be handed over to him?

It is possible that there will be sentence. It’s the law. Duch should not be in jail. He did not want to be the chief [of S-21], he wanted to do something else, but he was not allowed to. He told me clearly that he never wanted to be in charge of this place where people were being killed. Who wants to kill human beings? No one! But, what could he do? If he refused to obey the orders, he would have been killed also.

The civil parties want to re-open the investigation to determine if Duch was involved in forced marriages…

It’s too late, the investigations are closed. In any case, forced marriages were done everywhere under the KR regime. They should not accuse Duch who is only obeying his bosses.

You fought so that Duch is not charged with “participation in joint criminal enterprise”…

This charge is not right. In any case, there were 196 jails in the country. It is unfair to accuse Duch. In his center, 12,381 people died, whereas in other jails, more than 150,000 died… We seek justice. Duch is a scapegoat, others who killed are still roaming free.

You were Hun Sen’s lawyer… How do you get along with François Roux who, in France, defends civil disobedience followers?

François Roux and I, we have the same strategy. But, it is wrong to say that I defend only people close to power. I am interested in important affairs, and I defended the KR since 1982. Duch must have heard about me, and that’s why he chose me. The other people charged were also interested [in me], but we can only defend one of the accused.

As Cambodian, do you consider yourself a victim of the KR regime?

Yes, I am victim. But, I don’t have a grudge against Duch, nor the other four who were charged. I am not angry against the minor officials, I am angry against those who issued orders, i.e. Pol Pot. The others were only following orders.

“Duch must not be sentenced”: Kar Savuth, Duch’s lawyer


Kar Savuth (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 March 2009
By Ky Soklim and Adrien le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French


According to the Cambodian defense lawyer of the former S-21 boss whose trial is opening on Monday 20 March, it is “impossible” that a sentence could be handed down to his client.

Cambodge Soir Hebdo: How is your client feeling?

Kar Savuth: When his trial started, Duch was very happy and he was not worried at all. He knows that if the tribunal is fair, he will be freed because he is not part of the high-ranking KR officials who should be the only ones to be tried by the KR Tribunal (KRT).Is there still an uncertainty on the sentence that will be handed over to him?

It is possible that there will be sentence. It’s the law. Duch should not be in jail. He did not want to be the chief [of S-21], he wanted to do something else, but he was not allowed to. He told me clearly that he never wanted to be in charge of this place where people were being killed. Who wants to kill human beings? No one! But, what could he do? If he refused to obey the orders, he would have been killed also.

The civil parties want to re-open the investigation to determine if Duch was involved in forced marriages…

It’s too late, the investigations are closed. In any case, forced marriages were done everywhere under the KR regime. They should not accuse Duch who is only obeying his bosses.

You fought so that Duch is not charged with “participation in joint criminal enterprise”…

This charge is not right. In any case, there were 196 jails in the country. It is unfair to accuse Duch. In his center, 12,381 people died, whereas in other jails, more than 150,000 died… We seek justice. Duch is a scapegoat, others who killed are still roaming free.

You were Hun Sen’s lawyer… How do you get along with François Roux who, in France, defends civil disobedience followers?

François Roux and I, we have the same strategy. But, it is wrong to say that I defend only people close to power. I am interested in important affairs, and I defended the KR since 1982. Duch must have heard about me, and that’s why he chose me. The other people charged were also interested [in me], but we can only defend one of the accused.

As Cambodian, do you consider yourself a victim of the KR regime?

Yes, I am victim. But, I don’t have a grudge against Duch, nor the other four who were charged. I am not angry against the minor officials, I am angry against those who issued orders, i.e. Pol Pot. The others were only following orders.

Khmer Rouge prison chief on trial


30 March 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH : The Khmer Rouge regime's prison chief finally stood trial on Monday for Cambodia's "Killing Fields" atrocities, accused of overseeing the torture and execution of 15,000 people three decades ago.
Former teacher Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch -- appeared before a UN-backed war crimes court set up to deal with senior members of the 1975-1979 communist movement which killed up to two million people.

Wearing a white striped shirt, the frail 66-year-old heard charges that prisoners at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison he ran were subjected to beatings, suffocation and electrocution before being killed.

"I have already been notified of the charges against me," Duch told the court in response to initial questions, after greeting judges in the traditional Cambodian manner of putting his hands together.

"Before I was arrested by the military court, I was a teacher."

Duch sat in the dock while a clerk read the order charging him with war crimes, crimes against humanity, premediated murder and torture relating to his time as head of Tuol Sleng, also known as S21.

He faces life in prison if found guilty.

"Several witnesses said Duch was feared by everyone at S21. He enforced both the general rules of the (Khmer Rouge) in relation to the security police, as well as strict rules which he devised for the operation of S21," the clerk said.

"In addition to executing prisoners condemned in advance as traitors, an overriding purpose of S21 was to extract confessions from prisoners in order to uncover further networks as possible traitors."

The clerk said Duch permitted his staff to use torture techniques including beatings, electrocutions, placing plastic bags over prisoners' heads or pouring water into their noses.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers will make their opening statements for the trial on Tuesday and Duch is expected to apologise in court later this week. The trial is expected to last several months.

"It's certain that he will use the opportunity given to him to speak to the judges, to the victims and, beyond that, with the Cambodian population," Duch's French lawyer Francois Roux told AFP.

But many of the hundreds of Khmer Rouge survivors who watched the hearing behind bulletproof glass in an auditorium appeared reluctant to forgive the past.

"I am angry because they killed my wife, and I am happy because I have the court to try Khmer Rouge leaders," said Bou Meng, one of the handful of people who survived Tuol Sleng because his artistic skills were useful to the regime.

Duch, who became a born-again Christian while in hiding in the 1990s, previously told investigators that the decision to arrest people and send them to Tuol Sleng was made by the Khmer Rouge central committee.

He also denies personally torturing or executing prisoners, although he has consistently accepted responsibility for the atrocities at Tuol Sleng.

Many Cambodians believe the controversial tribunal, established in 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations, is the last chance to find justice for the Khmer Rouge's crimes.

The joint trial of four other leaders of the 1975-1979 regime is set to start later this year after Duch's trial is completed, although no date has yet been set.

Tuol Sleng was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge's security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there during Duch's tenure for execution at nearby Choeung Ek, an orchard now known as the "Killing Fields."

Many were allegedly forced to confess that they were spies for the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Soviet KGB or for neighbouring Vietnam.

Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of the population through starvation, overwork and execution as they tried to take society back to a rural "Year Zero" in a tragic spin-off to the Vietnam War.

Pol Pot died in 1998.

Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle, and was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007. He was indicted last year.

Khmer Rouge prison chief on trial


30 March 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH : The Khmer Rouge regime's prison chief finally stood trial on Monday for Cambodia's "Killing Fields" atrocities, accused of overseeing the torture and execution of 15,000 people three decades ago.
Former teacher Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch -- appeared before a UN-backed war crimes court set up to deal with senior members of the 1975-1979 communist movement which killed up to two million people.

Wearing a white striped shirt, the frail 66-year-old heard charges that prisoners at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison he ran were subjected to beatings, suffocation and electrocution before being killed.

"I have already been notified of the charges against me," Duch told the court in response to initial questions, after greeting judges in the traditional Cambodian manner of putting his hands together.

"Before I was arrested by the military court, I was a teacher."

Duch sat in the dock while a clerk read the order charging him with war crimes, crimes against humanity, premediated murder and torture relating to his time as head of Tuol Sleng, also known as S21.

He faces life in prison if found guilty.

"Several witnesses said Duch was feared by everyone at S21. He enforced both the general rules of the (Khmer Rouge) in relation to the security police, as well as strict rules which he devised for the operation of S21," the clerk said.

"In addition to executing prisoners condemned in advance as traitors, an overriding purpose of S21 was to extract confessions from prisoners in order to uncover further networks as possible traitors."

The clerk said Duch permitted his staff to use torture techniques including beatings, electrocutions, placing plastic bags over prisoners' heads or pouring water into their noses.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers will make their opening statements for the trial on Tuesday and Duch is expected to apologise in court later this week. The trial is expected to last several months.

"It's certain that he will use the opportunity given to him to speak to the judges, to the victims and, beyond that, with the Cambodian population," Duch's French lawyer Francois Roux told AFP.

But many of the hundreds of Khmer Rouge survivors who watched the hearing behind bulletproof glass in an auditorium appeared reluctant to forgive the past.

"I am angry because they killed my wife, and I am happy because I have the court to try Khmer Rouge leaders," said Bou Meng, one of the handful of people who survived Tuol Sleng because his artistic skills were useful to the regime.

Duch, who became a born-again Christian while in hiding in the 1990s, previously told investigators that the decision to arrest people and send them to Tuol Sleng was made by the Khmer Rouge central committee.

He also denies personally torturing or executing prisoners, although he has consistently accepted responsibility for the atrocities at Tuol Sleng.

Many Cambodians believe the controversial tribunal, established in 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations, is the last chance to find justice for the Khmer Rouge's crimes.

The joint trial of four other leaders of the 1975-1979 regime is set to start later this year after Duch's trial is completed, although no date has yet been set.

Tuol Sleng was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge's security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there during Duch's tenure for execution at nearby Choeung Ek, an orchard now known as the "Killing Fields."

Many were allegedly forced to confess that they were spies for the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Soviet KGB or for neighbouring Vietnam.

Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of the population through starvation, overwork and execution as they tried to take society back to a rural "Year Zero" in a tragic spin-off to the Vietnam War.

Pol Pot died in 1998.

Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle, and was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007. He was indicted last year.

Khmer Rouge prison chief on trial


30 March 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH : The Khmer Rouge regime's prison chief finally stood trial on Monday for Cambodia's "Killing Fields" atrocities, accused of overseeing the torture and execution of 15,000 people three decades ago.
Former teacher Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch -- appeared before a UN-backed war crimes court set up to deal with senior members of the 1975-1979 communist movement which killed up to two million people.

Wearing a white striped shirt, the frail 66-year-old heard charges that prisoners at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison he ran were subjected to beatings, suffocation and electrocution before being killed.

"I have already been notified of the charges against me," Duch told the court in response to initial questions, after greeting judges in the traditional Cambodian manner of putting his hands together.

"Before I was arrested by the military court, I was a teacher."

Duch sat in the dock while a clerk read the order charging him with war crimes, crimes against humanity, premediated murder and torture relating to his time as head of Tuol Sleng, also known as S21.

He faces life in prison if found guilty.

"Several witnesses said Duch was feared by everyone at S21. He enforced both the general rules of the (Khmer Rouge) in relation to the security police, as well as strict rules which he devised for the operation of S21," the clerk said.

"In addition to executing prisoners condemned in advance as traitors, an overriding purpose of S21 was to extract confessions from prisoners in order to uncover further networks as possible traitors."

The clerk said Duch permitted his staff to use torture techniques including beatings, electrocutions, placing plastic bags over prisoners' heads or pouring water into their noses.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers will make their opening statements for the trial on Tuesday and Duch is expected to apologise in court later this week. The trial is expected to last several months.

"It's certain that he will use the opportunity given to him to speak to the judges, to the victims and, beyond that, with the Cambodian population," Duch's French lawyer Francois Roux told AFP.

But many of the hundreds of Khmer Rouge survivors who watched the hearing behind bulletproof glass in an auditorium appeared reluctant to forgive the past.

"I am angry because they killed my wife, and I am happy because I have the court to try Khmer Rouge leaders," said Bou Meng, one of the handful of people who survived Tuol Sleng because his artistic skills were useful to the regime.

Duch, who became a born-again Christian while in hiding in the 1990s, previously told investigators that the decision to arrest people and send them to Tuol Sleng was made by the Khmer Rouge central committee.

He also denies personally torturing or executing prisoners, although he has consistently accepted responsibility for the atrocities at Tuol Sleng.

Many Cambodians believe the controversial tribunal, established in 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations, is the last chance to find justice for the Khmer Rouge's crimes.

The joint trial of four other leaders of the 1975-1979 regime is set to start later this year after Duch's trial is completed, although no date has yet been set.

Tuol Sleng was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge's security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there during Duch's tenure for execution at nearby Choeung Ek, an orchard now known as the "Killing Fields."

Many were allegedly forced to confess that they were spies for the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Soviet KGB or for neighbouring Vietnam.

Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of the population through starvation, overwork and execution as they tried to take society back to a rural "Year Zero" in a tragic spin-off to the Vietnam War.

Pol Pot died in 1998.

Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle, and was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007. He was indicted last year.

Khmer Rouge prison chief on trial


30 March 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH : The Khmer Rouge regime's prison chief finally stood trial on Monday for Cambodia's "Killing Fields" atrocities, accused of overseeing the torture and execution of 15,000 people three decades ago.
Former teacher Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch -- appeared before a UN-backed war crimes court set up to deal with senior members of the 1975-1979 communist movement which killed up to two million people.

Wearing a white striped shirt, the frail 66-year-old heard charges that prisoners at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison he ran were subjected to beatings, suffocation and electrocution before being killed.

"I have already been notified of the charges against me," Duch told the court in response to initial questions, after greeting judges in the traditional Cambodian manner of putting his hands together.

"Before I was arrested by the military court, I was a teacher."

Duch sat in the dock while a clerk read the order charging him with war crimes, crimes against humanity, premediated murder and torture relating to his time as head of Tuol Sleng, also known as S21.

He faces life in prison if found guilty.

"Several witnesses said Duch was feared by everyone at S21. He enforced both the general rules of the (Khmer Rouge) in relation to the security police, as well as strict rules which he devised for the operation of S21," the clerk said.

"In addition to executing prisoners condemned in advance as traitors, an overriding purpose of S21 was to extract confessions from prisoners in order to uncover further networks as possible traitors."

The clerk said Duch permitted his staff to use torture techniques including beatings, electrocutions, placing plastic bags over prisoners' heads or pouring water into their noses.

Prosecutors and defence lawyers will make their opening statements for the trial on Tuesday and Duch is expected to apologise in court later this week. The trial is expected to last several months.

"It's certain that he will use the opportunity given to him to speak to the judges, to the victims and, beyond that, with the Cambodian population," Duch's French lawyer Francois Roux told AFP.

But many of the hundreds of Khmer Rouge survivors who watched the hearing behind bulletproof glass in an auditorium appeared reluctant to forgive the past.

"I am angry because they killed my wife, and I am happy because I have the court to try Khmer Rouge leaders," said Bou Meng, one of the handful of people who survived Tuol Sleng because his artistic skills were useful to the regime.

Duch, who became a born-again Christian while in hiding in the 1990s, previously told investigators that the decision to arrest people and send them to Tuol Sleng was made by the Khmer Rouge central committee.

He also denies personally torturing or executing prisoners, although he has consistently accepted responsibility for the atrocities at Tuol Sleng.

Many Cambodians believe the controversial tribunal, established in 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations, is the last chance to find justice for the Khmer Rouge's crimes.

The joint trial of four other leaders of the 1975-1979 regime is set to start later this year after Duch's trial is completed, although no date has yet been set.

Tuol Sleng was at the heart of the Khmer Rouge's security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there during Duch's tenure for execution at nearby Choeung Ek, an orchard now known as the "Killing Fields."

Many were allegedly forced to confess that they were spies for the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Soviet KGB or for neighbouring Vietnam.

Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of the population through starvation, overwork and execution as they tried to take society back to a rural "Year Zero" in a tragic spin-off to the Vietnam War.

Pol Pot died in 1998.

Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle, and was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007. He was indicted last year.