PRUM Sou
Pseudonym: TCW-548
Cases: Case 002/01
Category: Witness
Background and role
Prum (or Prom) Sou (or Som or Son)
1
alias “Sun Loeun” (while he was in school)
2
worked in the Commerce Office of Preah Vihear (Sector 103) during the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) period.
3
In 1971, he was assigned by “Angkar” to serve as a “propagandist” in the villages in Rovieng District.
4
Later, in 1973, he worked for a production unit in rice farming
5
before being assigned to the Commerce Unit in Sector 103 in 1974, where he prepared inventory for commerce and distribution.
6
He testified that the core function of the Commerce Unit was to distribute clothes, dishes, and other materials collected from Phnom Penh to different districts and co-operatives.
7
According to Prum Sou, the staff at the Commerce Unit had to attend assembly meetings once every three months regarding the implementation of the 3.5 to 7 tonnes per hectare requirement for rice production.
8
The Trial Chamber in Case 002/01 relied on his testimony regarding the administrative structure of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) in Sector 103,
9
the role of Nuon Chea during the DK period,
10
and the transfer of evacuees to co-operatives and work-sites in Sector 103.
11
Administrative structures of the CPK
Prum Sou testified that in 1973, on the order of the District and Sector levels, the community in Sector 103 was transformed into a co-operative where people ate communally.
12
In that regard, the Trial Chamber found that prior to April 1975, co-operatives were gradually established in a number of regions under CPK control, in some cases based on Sector orders.
13
People lived, worked, studied, and ate communally in the co-operatives,
14
which had the purpose of eliminating private land ownership.
15
Prum Sou stated that in late 1977, he attended an event in Sector 103 where Nuon Chea announced the establishment of a new North Zone.
16
The Trial Chamber noted that following the capture of Phnom Penh in 1975, the boundaries of the Zones were redrawn, and relied on Prum Sou’s statement to find that further restructuring took place in or around 1977 when the new North Zone was created out of what had previously been the Preah Vihear and Siem Reap/Oddar Meanchey Autonomous Sectors.
17
According to Prum Sou, the first Secretary of Sector 103, Man, had a Deputy Secretary and a member under his control.
18
The Chamber relied on Prum Sou’s testimony to find that in the DK era, all levels of hierarchy were governed by committees comprising a Secretary, a Deputy Secretary, and at least one other member.
19
Prum Sou also identified “Kang Chap” alias “Sae”, as chairman of the new North Zone – these were both aliases for Chann Sam, whom the Chamber found served as Secretary of the new North Zone during the DK period until his arrest in 1978.
20
Similarly, the Chamber found that Bou Phat alias Hang was the Secretary of Sector 103 until “at least” 1978, when he was arrested.
21
Role of Nuon Chea
Prum Sou described a meeting held in the new North Zone where Nuon Chea introduced the new Zone chairman.
22
Considering this evidence, the Trial Chamber found that Nuon Chea travelled to the countryside during the DK period to meet with Zone leaders and hold educational and propaganda meetings.
23
Prum Sou testified that in that meeting, Nuon Chea spoke about rice production and the need to be vigilant against the enemies.
24
With reference to this evidence, the Trial Chamber found that Nuon Chea had a formal responsibility for propaganda and that education-related matters also included the discipline of cadres and other internal security matters.
25
Transfer of evacuees to co-operatives and work-sites
While working in the Commerce Unit in Sector 103 on 17 April 1975, Prum Sou said that he witnessed evacuees from Phnom Penh disembarking from boats at Kampong Thom.
26
He was tasked with distributing food, materials, and supplies to evacuees.
27
From there, Prum Sou and his group first transported the evacuees by truck to Sector 103 - the trip to Rovieng District took a full day.
28
The Trial Chamber found that both military and civilian trucks were used in the transport of evacuees,
29
observing that this could take days.
30
It also noted, in relation to inter-regional movements from south to north, that thousands of individuals were displaced and transported in individual trucks, boats and trains, relying on Prum Sou’s testimony that “about 3,000 evacuees were transferred by truck from Kampong Thom to Sector 103.”
31
Prum Sou testified that subsequently, evacuees were transferred from the co-operatives to work in Thmei village, a new village that had to be cleared of forest to make way for planting so people there could become self-sufficient.
32
However, the co-operatives were not “skilled” or “experienced” enough to handle the number of evacuees that arrived in Sector 103.
33
The new people were also more affected by illness than the Base people because they had to adapt to a new way of life, and when people fell ill and medicine was scarce, they could not be saved.
34
Relying on Prum Sou’s testimony, the Chamber found that the Khmer Rouge soldiers and officials divided people according to the co-operatives and work-sites to which they would be sent, and that the co-operatives were not equipped to handle the volume of people arriving, particularly the new co-operatives in the jungle.
35
Videos
