NY Kan
Pseudonym: TCW-487
Cases: Case 002/01
Category: Witness
Background and role
Witness Mr Ny Kan (‘NY’) alias “Kan” was the brother of Son Sen and a member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea’s (‘CPK’) propaganda committee. By late 1977 or early 1978, NY was assigned to work in the protocol department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (‘MFA’). NY’s testimony focused on the CPK’s use of propaganda to indoctrinate the population, its policies of self-reliance and secrecy, the evacuation of Phnom Penh, and the conditions evacuees were subjected to during the forced transfer.
NY joined the Khmer Rouge revolution in 1970 after the coup d’état.
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At the time, he was a primary school teacher in Siem Reap province
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and was introduced into the revolution by another teacher, Seng,
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the propaganda committee’s chairman who became his supervisor.
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From 1970 until the end of 1977 or early 1978, NY was responsible for disseminating propaganda on behalf of ‘Angkar’
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initially in Chi Kraeng district, Kampong Kdei commune,
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which was aimed at promoting the peasants’ livelihood.
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NY testified that the essence of the indoctrination was to free the country from the ‘American imperialism’,
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preparing comrades to fight for such a cause and to be self-reliant
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by empowering the farming and crop production sectors.
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At the end of 1975, when Sector 15 was integrated into Sector 32,
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NY continued to be a member of the CPK propaganda committee,
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a role noted by the Trial Chamber (‘TC’).
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Indoctrination sessions
Indoctrination sessions open to hundreds of people within Sector 32 took place mainly in Chamkar Doung or Chan Thnal, close to Kampong Speu.
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The CPK’s main source of propaganda was a magazine called the Revolutionary Flag, of which NY was provided with excerpts to conduct indoctrination sessions. Citing NY’s evidence, the TC found that the Revolutionary Flag was frequently used as a training tool by the CPK. The core message conveyed by the magazine was for people to be constantly on the offensive to guarantee self-reliance.
Means of communication
Earlier in the revolution, officials in the Sector, District, and the Commune level communicated via messengers, who delivered letters by foot and later used bicycles or motorbikes.
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On the arrival of the Vietnamese troops
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in January 1979, the military
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started to communicate by telegrams
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at the Zone level.
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Relying on NY’s evidence, the TC established that telegrams were primarily used for long-distance communication
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and that there was no telephone access in Sector 32.
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Accordingly, the TC found that the evidence was inconclusive as to whether officials at the Zone and Sector level also communicated by telephone.
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Membership of the CPK
Membership of the CPK was not voluntary, but rather was directed by ‘Angkar’.
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Members were instructed to be honest, dedicated to work, capable of keeping secrecy
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and have ‘good moral behaviour’.
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By ‘moral conduct’ it was understood that people should refrain from being womanizers or from stealing others property.
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Those with questionable biographies
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would attend criticism and self-criticism sessions. Criticising others and oneself was part of the revolutionary discipline and was regarded as a manifestation of ‘patriotism’.
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The evacuation of Phnom Penh and the implementation of the self-reliance policy
NY arrived in Phnom Penh
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on 17 April 1975 with a force division,
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witnessing a chaotic situation
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whereby Lon Nol soldiers were surrendering themselves to the incoming Khmer Rouge soldiers.
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Along with many others, NY shared the joy of the Khmer Rouge forces’ victory
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as a turning point for the peasants’ prosperity.
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NY testified that while he knew there was a common plan to seize Phnom Penh, he was not aware of the details.
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NY explained that people were not evacuated by force
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but instead to be protected from a looming US aerial bombardment.
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NY’s testimony was cited by the TC when it stated that Khmer Rouge soldiers told the local population that they were being evacuated in order to protect them against anticipated further aerial bombings by the US.
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The TC also accepted
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that the soundness of such a justification could not be scrutinised as orders had to be obeyed.
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The Trial Chamber, nonetheless, did not find it credible that the CPK feared the imminent bombing and that in reality it was used as a means to evacuate the population.
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During the evacuation, long lines of people headed towards Oudong
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looking unhappy as they had no choice but to leave.
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NY testified that ‘[p]eople were not forced to go somewhere they didn’t belong. They were allowed to go to [the] places of their choices. That’s what I had been instructed.’
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In its Judgment, the TC cited NY’s testimony that “he was instructed to allow people to move to places of their choice […]”.
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Drawing on NY’s evidence and that of other witnesses, the TC found that there was an exodus of thousands of people from Phnom Penh
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who were made to travel for several days and weeks before reaching their destinations.
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People at the bases were instructed to welcome the newcomers.
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However, arrangements for the provision of food,
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water, shelter, and health care had not been made for the evacuees, which was particularly concerning against the backdrop of the extreme heat during April.
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Once the population reached their destinations, the self-reliance policy came into play where people were assigned to digging canals and building dams.
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NY observed that adjusting to rural life for those who were used to the urban lifestyle in Phnom Penh was particularly hard.
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NY’s testimony
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was cited by the TC to establish that in some areas the cooperatives were under the commune leadership
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and that the CPK’s party line was disseminated to the cooperatives, cadres, and workers.
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While NY was not aware of disappearances in Sector 32, where the Sector Secretary was Ta Si,
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he heard that people had left to take other positions.
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Subsequent role in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the policy of secrecy
NY was transferred to the MFA at the end of 1977 or early 1978
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to work for about three months
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in a department in charge of protocol.
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His supervisor was Cheam,
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the head of the department.
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In this role NY accompanied ‘low level’
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visitors, such as journalists,
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to Angkor Wat
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and assisted with preparing banquets and film projections for foreign delegations,
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who were welcomed by senior officials.
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While NY saw the CPK leaders
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in the high level meetings, banquets, or conferences, he testified that he was not aware of their roles and responsibilities, or of their working place.
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Everybody was bound by the policy of secrecy, which was instructed by using expressions such as ‘we only mind our own business’.
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Those in breach of the policy would be criticised and ‘refreshed’ in the self-criticism sessions in which they would be advised to refrain from committing the same wrongdoing.
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Citing NY’s evidence, the TC found that the “precise operational structure of the CPK was shrouded in secrecy”.
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Video 11
Videos
| Date | Written record of proceedings | Transcript number |
|---|---|---|
| 28/05/2012 | E1/76 | E1/76.1 |
| 29/05/2012 | E1/77 | E1/77.1 |
| 30/05/2012 | E1/78 | E1/78.1 |
| Document title Khmer | Document title English | Document title French | Document D number | Document E3 number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| កំណត់ហេតុនៃការស្តាប់ចម្លើយសាក្សី នី កន ចុះថ្ងៃទី ០៩ ខែមីនា ឆ្នាំ ២០១០ | Written record of interview of NY Kan, dated 09-03-2010 | Procès-verbal de l’audition de NY Kan datée du 09-03-2010 | D369/16 | E3/1611 |
| កំណត់ហេតុនៃការស្តាប់ចម្លើយសាក្សី នី កន ថ្ងៃទី ១៣ ខែធ្នូ ឆ្នាំ២០០៧ | [Corrected 1] Written record of interview of NY Kan | [Corrigé 1] Procès-verbal de l’audition de NY Kan | D91/22 | E3/1610 |