Khmer Rouge atrocities brought to justice by Singapore lawyers
A Singaporean-led team of human rights lawyers has unearthed the truth about the atrocities suffered by a Cambodian ethnic minority during the regime of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Mr Mahdec Mohan, 31, and his team took a year to come up with a 50-page legal document detailing how Khmer Krom families were abducted and buried in mass graves. His investigations led to a significant breakthrough for the Khmer Krom community which could now be represented at future hearings and be entitled to seek damages. Read the article below to find out more.
ARTICLE
S'pore lawyer helps victims of Khmer Rouge
His team's work set to win justice for ethnic minority persecuted in the 1970s
THE atrocities borne by a Cambodian ethnic minority at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s will now come to light, thanks to a Singaporean-led team of human rights lawyers.
Finding hard evidence of the persecution of the Khmer Krom took a year of work by Mr Mahdev Mohan, 31, and his team.
A 50-page legal document the four- man team produced tells, for example, of how 350 Khmer Krom families were taken to another village with the promise of farm work, only to be locked in cowsheds, bludgeoned to death and then buried in mass graves.
Court prosecutors in Cambodia, to whom the document was submitted, have assured the Khmer Krom that their sufferings will not be overlooked.
They will be considered civil parties in a trial next year of four leaders of the Khmer Rouge over its campaign of genocide in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979.
This means the Khmer Krom, who have roots in Vietnam's Mekong delta, will be represented at future hearings and be able to seek reparations for their community, among other things.
It is a significant step forward for a community whose sufferings were not included in the charges against the Khmer Rouge leaders being prosecuted in a Cambodian court for their roles in a regime that caused the deaths of two million people.
Mr Mahdev, who lectures at the Singapore Management University (SMU), is the first Asian outside Cambodia to represent victims of the Khmer Rouge regime in the tribunal set up by the Cambodian government and the United Nations.
He said when he was told that crimes against the Khmer Krom had been overlooked, he was a bit cautious.
'When dealing with survivors, one finds they all feel they've suffered a great deal. But as a lawyer, you need to get the objective facts,' he explained.
Working with human rights specialist Laurel Fletcher from the University of California, Berkeley, and Mr Ang Chanrith, a Cambodian lawyer, Mr Mahdev interviewed more than 100 Khmer Krom survivors, did research and visited mass graves.
Their conclusion was that the Khmer Rouge had a 'clear and pronounced policy' that systematically targeted the Khmer Krom, who were perceived as spies for the Vietnamese.
The court has ruled that specific charges for crimes against the Khmer Krom cannot be brought against the leaders because they do not fall within the original scope of investigations.
However, the evidence gathered will still go towards supporting the case in the upcoming trial.
When contacted, court prosecutor Andrew Cayley said: 'The prosecution will seek to recognise the Khmer Krom as a group of people who suffered during the Khmer Rouge regime, specifically because of their perceived affiliation with the ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia.'
He complimented Mr Mahdev as a 'decent man animated by noble principles' and said the prosecution will work with the team to ensure the Khmer Krom are included in the case 'in a meaningful way'.
Mr Mahdev also wants to extend the chance to help the victims to his students at SMU, under a programme he chairs on Asian peace-building and human rights. The students who sign up will get to help in the research for the case.
Said Mr Mahdev: 'If you are a human rights lawyer, you should always be helping the underdog. It's the people who are struggling to be recognised that need a voice.'
Source: 19 Jul 2010, The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.