Case 002 Witnesses, experts and Civil Parties

Rice farmer Sen Srun, 67, was formally interviewed five times by the court at his residence in Kampong Cham. He joined the revolutionary movement in 1971 and became a member of Batallion 305, Zone 304, Section 30. Mr. Sen was ordered to return to his home village in 1976. Upon returning, he was arrested and detained for ten days, after which he, with the consent of his family, was arranged to marry a woman. He was sent to work in the mobile unit as a tree climber. Mr. Sen recalls a relative integration of the Cham and Khmer people in his village, although practicing religion, wearing Cham clothing and speaking Cham were all forbidden. A large scale purge of the mid-level to high-ranking Northwest Zone Cadres took place in 1976 and 1977 as they were subsequently replaced by Southwestern counterparts. Sen told the Trial Chamber that he was assigned to accompany the Long Sword Group - a militia group created to track down and arrest Chams. He explained that all Cham people in the two villages were arrested in one day, perhaps 200-300 individuals, and that he was tasked to lead the arrested people to Wat Au Trakuon. The next day, Mr. Sen was told by a cadre that the arrested Cham people had been smashed during the last night. In 1979, Mr. Srun was assigned as village chief, after which time he ordered the exhumation of several mass graves surrounding the village.

Witness Mr. Seng Kuy, 62, is a Khmer who described the treatment of  the Chams in Angkor Ban village number 2. He stated that after the Khmer Rouge soldiers arrived in his village in 1975, he was considered “a slave among other slaves.” He told that he was assigned to work in the rice fields. After the Khmer Rouge regime took the power, the Chams were brought into his village. Mr. Seng testified that the Chams did not practice their religion because they were afraid of the Khmer Rouge. In 1977, Mr. Seng witnessed the arrest of approximately 15 Cham people, which were executed by Mr. Run and his communal security forces. He added that he heard Mr. Run being referred to as a butcher.  Mr. Seng added that at the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, Mr. Run was killed by the people of Angkor Ban because he was the one arresting people. He added that he was one of the people assigned to transport the arrested Chams to the Au Trakuon pagoda. He was ordered to do this particular task by the chief of the Angkor Village; he was afraid to be killed if he refused. He testified that he never saw the arrested Chams again after leaving them at the pagoda.

Witness Mr. Seng Kuy, 62, is a Khmer who described the treatment of  the Chams in Angkor Ban village number 2. He stated that after the Khmer Rouge soldiers arrived in his village in 1975, he was considered “a slave among other slaves.” He told that he was assigned to work in the rice fields. After the Khmer Rouge regime took the power, the Chams were brought into his village. Mr. Seng testified that the Chams did not practice their religion because they were afraid of the Khmer Rouge. In 1977, Mr. Seng witnessed the arrest of approximately 15 Cham people, which were executed by Mr. Run and his communal security forces. He added that he heard Mr. Run being referred to as a butcher.  Mr. Seng added that at the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, Mr. Run was killed by the people of Angkor Ban because he was the one arresting people. He added that he was one of the people assigned to transport the arrested Chams to the Au Trakuon pagoda. He was ordered to do this particular task by the chief of the Angkor Village; he was afraid to be killed if he refused. He testified that he never saw the arrested Chams again after leaving them at the pagoda.

The Civil Party Mr. Sos Ponyamin, 61, described the treatment of the Chams during the Democratic Kampuchea regime. He explained how the Khmer Rouge forbade Chams to respect their religion. Chams were forced to eat pork and were forbidden to fast and pray. Mr. Sos also revealed that they were prohibited to use
their own language and women were forced to cut their hair. He told that if they would have opposed any of these principles, then they would have been accused of being enemies of Angkar. Mr. Sos stated that people were arrested without any reasonable explanations. His cousin told him that there was a plan to arrest 80 Chams, and Mr. Sos organized a revolt with two other people. He explained that after the crackdown of the revolt, the soldiers took the Chams out of the village and interrogated and tortured them. He also described the working and living conditions at the worksite. He stated that the conditions were the same for Cham and Khmer people, and that he saw many corpses, but he did not witness any executions. Mr. Sos lost seven
of his relatives during Khmer Rouge regime. 

Mr. It Sen, 63, from the Tbong Khmum province, was the first Cham witness to appear before the court to provide testimony on the genocide charges against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan. He talked about how the Khmer Rouge soldiers forbade the Chams from practicing Islam, wearing their traditional clothing, and speaking their own language. He mentioned that those who were heard speaking Cham were taken away and murdered. He confirmed the Cham uprising that happened in Koh Pal Island and talked about how he and his co-villagers were forcibly evacuated to the Trea village after the soldiers cut off their food supply. Mr. IT eventually revealed that the Trea village was actually a detention and execution site where he witnessed the soldiers drowning people in the river. He stated that he escaped from captivity after he managed to pry a floorboard open, thereby giving him the opportunity to swim all the way back to his home village.

Ms.LING Lrysov described, from the perspective of a female mobile unit laborer at the Trapeang Thma Dam Worksite, the enslavement of thousands of laborers at the site, insufficient food provisions, inadequate and unhygienic accommodation, and the diseases from which the laborers suffered. She also describes arrests, killings and disappearances of laborers, as well as deaths from disease and starvation. The Witness also describes the imposition of forced marriages by the authorities at the site. 

Witness Ms. YI Laisov, 57, testified on forced marriage and the working conditions at the Trapeang Thma Dam site. She explained that she was told to marry a man called Rhom. She added that the unit chief threatened that she and her family would be killed if she would refuse to marry. She testified that people who were considered to be lazy by chiefs had to attend self-criticism meetings. She also testified that Ta Val was in charge of the Trapeang Thma Dam worksite.

Mr. CHHUM Seng, 61, was a former Lon Nol soldier and a company chief in the Trapeang Thma Dam Worksite during the Khmer Rouge regime.  The witness described the arrests of the North-West Zone cadres and former Lon Nol soldiers. In regard to disappearances, Mr. Seng stated that two people disappeared from his unit and that he did not know where and how they disappeared since they never returned. The witness stated that they were monitored also during the night, and those who talked against Angkar were transferred into a different unit to be monitored. He mentioned a proverb that goes like “even a fish dies if it talks too much” to describe the situation. He also explained that the workers were made to marry each other according to their biographies. 

The witness, LAT Suoy, was a soldier in Battalion 513 of Sector 5, served under Ta Nak as a guard at the Trapeang Thma Dam Worksite from late 1976, tasked with patrolling and controlling the dam. He describes the different types of work forces assigned to work on/ the dam construction (sector mobile group and district/commune mobile groups) and notes differences in terms of life and work conditions. He also details the authority structure of Sector5 and the dam worksite. He describes regular visits to the dam work site by Northwest Zone / Sector5 Secretaries and visits by Chinese delegations and mentions that Party Centre leaders and other foreign delegations also visited the dam.

Mr. Om Chy, who is 62 or 63 years old, said he led a mobile unit of 500 people at the January 1 Dam worksite. He described the harsh working conditions at the site and claimed that no one had worked there of their own free will. According to Om Chy, idle people and lazy people were sent for re-education. He also said that anyone who opposed was considered an enemy. Om Chy also said he had heard that people had been arrested and taken to Bagota Security Center. He said those arrested never reappear. The witness said that in 1977 it was planned to carry out a purge but that he was not in the village at the time. The witness recounted that he had been sent to work in another commune 20 km from the village where he had previously worked. He reported that when he returned to the village, his neighbor had disappeared. He also heard that 5 families had been purged. Mr. Chy also indicated that the marriages were arranged according to the biographies of the workers.

Madame Khin Vat, 65, testified that she started working at the Kampong Chhnang Airport Worksite after her husband disappeared for perceived links to Vietnam.  The witness stated that she was formally a member of military unit 502, and she was in charge of the women’s unit, which involved taking care of children, and doing farming.  She described during her testimony that even the sick had to work, and she estimated that 5-10 people were sick every day in her unit. She also testified that around 5 workers died from illness- fatigue, and malaria. She described the visit of Chinese guests at the worksite.  She also heard that senior leaders visited the worksite.  Other people at the worksite told her that specifically Khie Samphan better known as the second Uncle visited the airport. The witness told that she fled the Kampong Chhnang worksite in 1979, and she believes that she went to the worksite in mid-1978

លោក អ៊ុំ ជី អាយុ ៦២ ឬ ៦៣ ឆ្នាំ បាន​ប្រាប់​ថា លោក​ជា​ប្រធាន​អង្គភាព​ចល័ត​ចំនួន ៥០០ នាក់​នៅ​ការដ្ឋាន​ទំនប់ ១ មករា។ លោក​បាន​រៀបរាប់​ពី​លក្ខខណ្ឌ​ការងារ​លំបាក​នៅ​កន្លែង​ធ្វើការ ហើយ​បញ្ជាក់​ថា គ្មាន​នរណា​ម្នាក់​ធ្វើការ​ដោយ​ស្ម័គ្រ​ចិត្ត​ឡើយ។ បើ​តាម​លោក អ៊ុំ ឈី បើ​អ្នក​ណា​អសកម្ម ឬ​ខ្ជិល​នឹង​ទទួល​បាន​ការ​អប់រំ​ឡើង​វិញ។ លោក​ក៏​បាន​បញ្ជាក់​ដែរ​ថា អ្នក​ណា​ដែល​ប្រឆាំង​នឹង​ច្បាប់​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​មើល​ឃើញ​ថា​ជា​សត្រូវ។ លោក អ៊ុំ ជី បញ្ជាក់​ថា លោក​បាន​ឮ​មនុស្ស​ត្រូវ​បាន​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​យក​ទៅ​កាន់​មជ្ឈមណ្ឌល​សន្តិសុខ​បាហ្គោតា។ គាត់​បាន​ប្រាប់​ថា អ្នក​ដែល​ត្រូវ​បាន​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​មិន​ដែល​ឃើញត្រឡប់មកវិញឡើយ។ សាក្សី​បញ្ជាក់​ថា នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៧៧ មាន​គម្រោង​បោសសម្អាត​ប្រជាជន ប៉ុន្តែ​គាត់​មិន​នៅ​ភូមិ​នោះ​ទេ។ គាត់​ពន្យល់​ថា ពេល​គាត់​ត្រឡប់​មក​វិញ អ្នកជិតខាង​គាត់​បាន​បាត់​ខ្លួន។ លោក​ក៏​បាន​ឮ​ថា ពលរដ្ឋ​៥​គ្រួសារ​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​បោស​សម្អាត។ លោក ជី ក៏​បាន​រៀប​រាប់​ដែរ​ថា អាពាហ៍ពិពាហ៍​ត្រូវ​បាន​រៀប​ចំ​ទយកដាក់តាម​ជីវប្រវត្តិ​របស់​កម្មករ។

MAM Soeurm, 59, was born in Phnom Penh Province. He gave testimony about his experience while working at the Trapeang Thma Dam Worksite in 1977. He worked there as a member of a mobile unit in sector 5. During this time, he stated that workers were under constant surveillance. He said that he was told of arrests that took place within his unit, apparently without any reason. The witness also gave testimony about the working conditions at the dam, as well as the daily quotas of soil that workers were supposed to reach and the visits of foreign delegations of observers to the worksite. Moreover, he told the Tribunal about food rations and hygienic conditions at the Worksite, which were insufficient. Additionally, he stressed the fact of lack of medical treatment at the dam. Finally, he spoke about a special working unit, where workers that didn’t reach the daily quota were reassigned to. In this unit, the witness explained that the working conditions were even harder than in the regular ones. 

Witness, SAM Sithy, provided an extremely credible and detailed first-hand account of the execution of his father, a former Lon Nol soldier, and the massacre of several families, including his own. 

Mrs. Kong Uth, 63 or 64, was part of a mobile unit from her village from 1975-79, and as part of this she visited many worksites. Shewas to the 1st January Dam worksite, which she confirmed was called a ‘hot battlefield’, due to the intensive nature of the work, and the long hours (they started work at 4am). Most of the workers were between 23-25, especially single women, who were believed to possess the most strength to work. There were tens of thousands of workers, but no children. At the criticism meetings, workers were told to work harder. The witness stated that she is still suffering from the severity of the labor to this day. She stated that she never stole food, despite not having enough food to eat, but would drink dirty water when thirsty even if it made her sick. People got ill frequently, and there were many accidents from collapsed rocks falling on workers. They used traditional massage and coining to help. She described armed militias and guards who watched over the workers. None of her family members were killed during the regime, but she was forced to get married, as arranged

Mr. Him Han, 66, was a member of Division 310 and was responsible for sorting biographies of RAK cadres from bad to good. In January 1976, he became a full candidate member but his rights were taken after being allegedly connected to the enemy, and sent to work as a regular worker in Kampong Chhnang. He described the conditions as exhausting and insufficient. Before the Division 310 purges, the witness was summoned to a meeting at Olympic Stadium and stated that he witnessed senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge, including Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan, Pol Pot and Nuon Chea. He described people disappearing as a result of the division 310 purges, and explained that that was also a threat while working at Kampong Chhnang. He stated that Division chief of 310 Oeun and the deputy chiefs were arrested by cadres from the southwest zone, and that he found out Oeun had been sent away after a meeting at Wat Phnom. The witness stated he was sent to Kampong Chhnang where he was demobilized. He described the insufficient work conditions and food rations and said that the work was very hard and the workload exhausting. The workers were not allowed to walk freely or visit other units, and he was instructed not to talk with people from the East Zone, with whom they were working, or they would disappear. In his unit people hid their illnesses to avoid being considered lazy, and were killed and injured in explosions. He confirmed that there were many female workers and Chinese technicians on site.

Mr. Sem Hoeurn was only 15 years old at the time of the Lon Nol Coup and joined the Khmer Rouge with the understanding that he was going to liberate his country. He became disillusioned with the regime, however, and was sent to work as a lay person after ‘violating’ the regime. He was present at Wat Phnom, following the occupation of the city, and witnessed torture while training as a soldier. His unit was sent to farm rice, where he was expected to produce five tons of rice per hectare, with only hoes and their bare hands. He said that he did not like the regime, as they mistreated soldiers, their own people, and did not have any freedom. He described it as a ‘prison without walls’, as they were not allowed to move around. He explained that people were accused of being spies for the CIA and KGB, and seen as avoiding the revolution. He described insufficient work conditions, killings, and witnessing Khieu Samphan at the Kampong Chhnang Airport. While a part of the regime during the overthrow of Phnom Penh, Mr. Sem Hoeurn was sent to work as an ordinary citizen at Kampong Chhnang as a result of being defective. He was questioned on his witness statements, which differed from ones given in previous years to DC-CAM, a fault the witness blamed on the passing of time.

Mr. Yean Lon, 73, was assigned by the village chief to work at the 1st January Dam in a mobile unit. He described the working and living conditions at the worksite. As a daily quota they were assigned four cubic meters of earth to be achieved only by using a hoe. According to the witness, he worked very hard, sometimes until 10pm. He stated that food was not sufficient and that there was no drinking water provided. He also said that the workers had to continue working even if they got sick and that there was not sufficient medicine to treat them. The witness acknowledged having been a village militiaman after his work at the dam but he did not agree with a former witness’ claim that he was a chief executioner.

KEO Loeur, age 64, started his testimony under the questions of the Co-Prosecutors. According to the witness, he was wounded in battle at the end of 1974 and taken to K4 unit. KEO stated that in 1977 there was a purge of deputies from the North Zone in Division 310. Later on, he was accused of being an enemy and sent to the Kampong Chhnang Airport Construction Worksite on 15 January 1978, where he stayed till 7 January 1979. The witness said that workers were not allowed to move freely, they did not get paid, they did not have enough food (barely a bowl of rice) and that they worked every day of the month. Due to the hard conditions of work, KEO stated that people died. He did not see any guards dying of overwork and of starvation. Only when people got really sick, they were allowed to go to the medical unit, where traditional medicine was used to treat the patients. The witness also stated that he saw approximately 30 cases of people being tortured for being considered traitors. When asked about his arrival to the worksite on 15 January 1978, KEO said that he attended several meetings, during which they were told to work hard otherwise they would be arrested and tortured. According to the witness, workers would be brought to these meetings and then taken away. He claimed not to know the name of the superiors who were chairing these meetings.

Mr. Keo Kin, age 49 or 50, said that he joined the Khmer Rouge in 1972. He was stationed at Pochentong Airport after the fall of Phnom Penh until early 1976  when his supervisor learned his father had been part of the previous regime. He was no longer trusted and was sent to Kampong Chhnang Airport Worksite. Construction on Kampong Chhnang began in late 1975 by a group of 10 people and in 1976 many new waves of soldiers arrived, the witness guessing that the site increased to around 1,000 workers. The witness’s job was to work building garages for parking vehicles, and when he wasn’t building a garage, he had to transport rice seedling and grow vegetables. The witness stated that the airfield was a secret project, and that there were guards to look over the worksite because ordinary civilians could not enter. When asked about living and working conditions at the worksite, the witness stated that workers would work until late at night, the local water was not good for drinking, people had to relieve themselves in the nearby forest, people would get malaria, there were no medical staff on the worksite, there were no beds or mosquito nets in his sleeping quarters, worker’s bodies would swell and they would have diarrhea, and he also saw workers who were hit by rock fragments from trucks going by.

Mr Chan Morn, 59, stated that he was called to join the revolution in March of 1970 when he was studying. He was assigned as a commune messenger and also to transport food supply, and in 1972 he became a messenger for the military. After the Khmer Rouge revolution in 1975, he was assigned to a transportation unit to carry cargo at the Kampong Chhnang Airport Construction site. The witness was there for three months in order to accompany the Chinese delegation who was drilling the land and making measurements. He described different accidents that happened in the different units, and also discussed overwork, malnutrition and suicides at the worksite. The witness stated that people were taken away at night time and transported to Phnom Penh in trucks coming from the city. The witness was accused of transporting rice to the enemy and the next day he was taken to detention at Toul Sleng Security Centre. Chan Morn described how he fled the detention centre with the help of his former colleague in the messenger unit.

The witness Ms. Sou Soeurn, 79, was the wife of Central Zone Secretary Ke Pauk and member of the Prek Prosab District Committee. She personally visited the 1st January Dam worksite on a number of occasions. She stated that the living conditions of the workers were proper, since they were provided with bamboo mats and blankets to sleep, two meals per day and water from the streams. She described the reasons why the workers were rotated every three months and said that the Zone provided better food rations at the worksite compared to what was available at the cooperatives. On the arrangement of marriages in her district, the witness stated that it was the district chief who would decide whether to agree or not on the proposed couples.

The witness Mr. Uth Seng, 59, was a worker at the 1st January Dam worksite assigned to dig earth in the youth unit. He talked about the insufficient food rations, the lack of standard sanitation and the low levels of hygiene at the dam worksite. He described the special unit for lazy workers, where people had to work longer hours and were beaten with whips by the chiefs of the unit. He also talked about the criticism meetings that were held at the end of working hours. Mr. Uth recalled that one night he witnessed the arrest of a few workers who were taken away by militiamen and then killed.