Questions about KRT from students


Students from Samaki High School and National Institute for Education had a long list of questions for ECCC Public Affairs Officers visiting their respective schools on Friday 29 April 2011, a clear sign that the Cambodian youth is interested in learning more about the ongoing Khmer Rouge Trials.

The first visit this Friday was to Samaki High School in Phnom Penh. 6,000 students together with their teachers  had gathered at 7 am in the morning to listen to Chief of Public Affairs, Mr. Reach Sambath and Legal Communications Officer, Mr. Lars Olsen explain  about the work and functioning of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. After a one hour introduction about the ongoing proceedings before the court, the students lined up in record number to get answers to their questions. The questions they were seeking answers to were:

1) How long will the Khmer Rouge trials take?
2) Why did Duch kill people?
3) Is it acceptable for Cambodia that Duch was sentenced 35 years in prison?
4) What are the reasons that KR killed people?
5) Why did not KRT give Duch a death sentence?
6) Why did KR evacuate people?
7) Will Duch be included in case 002?
8) What are the benefits of KRT to Cambodian people?
9) How much does KRT cost, and where does the money come from?
10) What are the punishments that suit crimes committed by KR leaders, like torture or imprisonment?
11) How long did Duch trial take?
12) When will KRT start case 002?
13) I watch TV and saw that Duch was to pay reparations to victims. What kind of reparation would that be?
14) Why did KR regime happen?
15) Why did [1979 court] try Pol Pot in absentia?
16) Why did not UN come and help Cambodia during Khmer Rouge regime and let Cambodian people suffered?
17) Why did KR killed high educated people?
18) What were the reasons of establishing KRT?
19) Why UN staff are working at the KRT?
20) Besides the trial of the 5 KR leaders, will those who involved in torture be tried as well?
21) Who led the liberation from KR regime?
22) Who established KR regime?
23) For what reasons Duch did that (killed)? 
24) That KR tortured and killed people, what did they want Cambodia to become?
25) Why it took so long to arrest the 5 KR leaders?
26) During KR regime, people farmed a lot; where did KR bring the rice to?
27) Who can be categorized as “the most responsible person”?
28) I learned from VOA that there will be case 003; is that true?
29) What were the purposes of evacuating people?
30) Did KR order people to dig canals, build dams, farm, for their own sake or what?
31) How can we prevent KR regime from reoccurring?
32) Why did French donate money to KRT?
33) After trial on KR, will there be trial on other issues?
34) Why did they call Pol Pot regime a genocide regime?
35) Who ordered Pol Pot to kill Cambodian?
36) Can Cambodians complain against KR?


The same day in the afternoon, the Public Affairs Section had a similar event at the National Institute for Education. 1,100 future teachers from all across Cambodia attended this event. The questions ask by the students included:

1) What is the progress of the trial now?
2) How long does the trial take?
3) UN recognized KR regime as a UN member; who represented KR at the UN meeting?
4) There are different numbers of death during KR regime- 1.7 million, 3 million, over 2 million; which one is the correct number?
5) Why did the 1979 trial prosecute only Pol Pot and Ieng Sary but not Nuon Chea?
6) What are the facts to prove that the 5 KR leaders committed genocide?
7) Will case 002 finished as planned?
8) When the trial announce verdict of case 002, will the accuses be allowed to appeal just like Duch did?
9) Duch was sentenced 35 years in jail; if he die before he completes his term, will his body be kept in jail for the rest of the time?
10) Why did KR regime kill people?
11) Are there any other country that suffered like Cambodia?
12) Cambodia is a small country; why UN waited for so long to come and help Cambodia?
13) Can Duc seek for pardon from the King, like Ieng Sary did in 1996?
14) KR leaders were well educated, why did they allow genocide to happen?
15) People in what level that can be categorized as “senior leader” or “most responsible person”?

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