15 February 2007
Cham Muslim Religious Teachers Learn About the ECCC
By: Dacil Q. Keo
On February 13-14, 2007 Cham Muslim religious teachers from
10 provinces and the city of
The 40 participants included 19 women and 21 men. For many of them, this is the first time that
they have been to the genocide museum, the killing field memorial, and the ECCC
courtroom. The majority of participants are tuans and hakems
(religious teachers and judges) and a few are common villagers.[1][1] The few villagers who do not hold leadership
positions in the community are nevertheless well educated about Islam and
devout followers. They requested DC-Cam
to attend the tour because they were extremely interested and personally
motivated to learn more about the tribunal and DK history. All of the tour participants are survivors of
the genocide and as such visiting these places can stir up powerful
emotions. The most important thing about
this tour, and other ECCC tours, is that they allow victims to have a role in
the ECCC process. Activities such as
visiting the ECCC courtroom and speaking with officials, and in the future
attending trial hearings, are very significant to victims of the genocide who
have waited over a generation for justice.
This tribunal is a tribunal for the nation of
The group of Cham religious teachers, tuans and hakems,
are a special group because they are educated and well-respected in the Cham
Muslim community. Tuans hold
daily classes inside the mosques for Cham Muslim children and teach from the Mukaddam
(for beginning levels) and the Koran (for intermediate and upper levels). The children are also taught the Rumi language
(Malay in Roman characters). Hakems
are “judges” of the community who settle disputes and perform tasks similar to
those carried out by village chiefs.
Through their positions, both tuans and hakems teach the
community about Islam and how to live life in harmony with one another. They are ideal persons to pass on tribunal-related
information and news. This is
information and news that they personally receive, question, and verify from
the source itself: ECCC officials including the Co-Prosecutor, Principal
Defender, and press officers. Meeting
these officials gives participants the strong message that the ECCC is a real
and functioning tribunal created for the purpose of finding justice for the
people of
The first day of the tour was a busy day. For some, the entire morning was spent
traveling from their home village to
After leading a tour with Cham Muslim community leaders last
month, Ms. So was well prepared to facilitate the programs of this tour. At
approximately 2:00pm, the group of 40 arrived at the
The four buildings of the museum complex, labeled A-D, was
once an educational institution called
As she studied the prisoner photographs in Building B, Ms.
Sin Kha could not hold back her tears. A
DC-Cam staff member spotted her crying and went to comfort her. She began to talk to about her experiences
during the genocide. When asked by
project leader Farina So if she would do a formal interview, she agreed without
hesitation. Sitting on a wooden bench underneath one of the many fragrant
plumeria trees at the museum, Ms. Sin revealed to the interviewer her darkest
moments in life.
After losing her younger brother and several other family
members and herself on the verge of death during those three years, eight
months, and twenty days of Democratic Kampuchea, Ms. Sin told Farina So that
coming to the museum has made the past come alive for her. The arduous physical labor, meager rationed
food, climate of fear, and the prohibition of so many things which make life
meaningful such as social interaction, were the experiences that Ms. Sin
relived in her mind. She recalled all
details such as hiding her Cham ethnicity, eating watery rice soup, and even
holding the newspaper upside down so that she would not be suspected of knowing
how to read and consequently labeled an intellect. Intellectuals were one of the first groups
targeted for immediate extermination when Khmer Rouge soldiers entered
Another dramatic event for her was hearing news that someone
she knew was killed. During a village
meeting, KR soldiers suddenly stormed into the village and began interrogating
and shooting people. Everyone at the
meeting quickly fled. Ms. Sin was caught while running by a KR soldier who
accused her of betrayal. Fearing for her
life, she quickly responded that she was not running away out of guilt and kept
repeating to the soldier that she was loyal to Angkar. Her mind quickly flashed back to the time she
was caught praying and was questioned by one of the KR spies in the
village. The KR soldier who had chased
after her decided to release her. A
fellow villager who also attended the meeting and fled was not so fortunate however. Mith Chan (“Friend Chan”)[3][3],
who was in her early twenties, was killed by one of the soldiers who had
disrupted the meeting. Her body was mounted against two wooden poles and left
for display in the open fields.
The final escape from death for Ms. Sin proved to be the
most dramatic. In early 1979, just
before Vietnamese soldiers entered
Ms. Sin was also emotional when talking about the Khmer
Rouge tribunal. She had known about the tribunal
before coming on the tour through the radio and her neighbor. She hopes that the Cambodian government, with
the help of the UN, can deliver justice to victims of the genocide. For her, the Khmer Rouge must be put to trail
because they hurt all Cambodians, everyone suffered. Ms. Sin asserts that, “what happened to
At the Choeung Ek Genocide Memorial Center, the second
program on the tour, the group of Cham Muslim religious teachers walked along
the grounds of the former killing field.
A Cambodian style memorial is built there. On the ground floor of the memorial are the
tattered clothes found there in 1979.
The rest of nine rows above are stacked skulls which were also found at
the site. On that day, the sleng trees bore ripe deep-orange fruit. The sleng trees, which had no leaves except
for a few dead ones that lingered on some of the branches, supported several
dozen of these round dark orange fruits.
The sleng tree is what the
On Monday late afternoon the group of 40 stood side by side
with arms raised in the air, eyes closed, and prayed. Led by a chosen elderly hakem, the
group prayed out loud in the Cham language.
They prayed for the souls of those who died at Choeung Ek to rest in
peace. A feeling of calmness filled the
air. The words of the elderly man seemed
to be carried by the wind which traveled passed the sleng trees and other trees
at the site towards the memorial where the skulls of those who died rest in
rows. After the prayer, the first day of
the tour came to an end.
The second day of the tour took place at the ECCC courtroom
at 8:30am. This portion of the tour was
well-organized by the ECCC Public Affairs Office and the ECCC officials they
worked with. All levels involved seemed to come together in making the Cham
Muslim group feel welcomed and comfortable.
A Cambodian security officer spent a few minutes welcoming the group and
chitchatted with them before the program started. The ECCC Public Affairs Assistant, Mr. Chin
Hemuichet, passed out ECCC booklets which explain various aspects of the
tribunal. He had also prepared ECCC
posters to pass out later on.
ECCC Public Affairs Officer Mr. Reach Sambath began the
program in his usual gracious and affable manner. He started by asking where everyone was from
and if they had been to the courtroom before.
Only a few people responded that they had, the rest said that it was
their first time. Mr. Sambath then
presented general information on the tribunal including the physical courtroom,
the composition of judges and other units of the ECCC, the detention center,
and a brief update of ECCC developments.
Chief of Public Affairs, Ms. Helen Jarvis later entered the courtroom
and greeted the crowd in Cham. Together,
Ms. Jarvis and Mr. Sambath answered questions.
Many questions were asked, some of which were similar to those asked on
past ECCC tours. They include what
levels of the Khmer Rouge regime will be tried, the issue of pardons, if former
KR village leaders who directly carried out killings will be tried, if
countries which supported the KR regime will be tried, the matter of different
numbers used for the genocide death toll, if other countries knew about the
genocide while it was occurring, why the Khmer Rouge were given the seat
representing Cambodia in the UN General Assembly, and what kinds of evidences
and witnesses are needed in the trial.
Passing out the ECCC booklets prior to the start of the program was
beneficial. A few people asked a
question by beginning, “In this book it says that…” and both Mr. Sambath and
Ms. Jarvis used the booklet as well to answer certain questions. During this
time Mr. Sambath also spent a moment to explain the messages on the ECCC
posters.
In answering questions, Mr. Sambath talked about his
personal experiences during the genocide. He talked the terror and fear that
many felt then. He recalled how
terrified he was to cross over from one village into another even though all it
took was a single step. The issue of why
the majority of people did not fight back against the Khmer Rouge was also
mentioned. This is a question that one
of Mr. Sambath’s kids had asked him before.
And in explaining why there are different figures for the overall death
toll he brought up the death of his uncle.
Because families were physically broken up during the genocide and did
not reunite until much later, or never reunited at all, this created
over-counting since some missing relatives were counted twice or even
trice. Mr. Sambath said that his uncle
whom he and other family members had presumed dead for 20 years was actually
still alive.
The second segment of the program was two presentations by
Principal Defendant, Mr. Rupert Skilbeck and international Co-Prosecutor, Mr.
Robert Petit. The first discussed the
necessity of having a defense counsel and the role of the defense. The latter talked about the role of the
co-prosecutors and gave a general update on his work and the work of Cambodian
Co-Prosecutor, Ms. Chea Leang. Many
questions were also asked after both ECCC officials spoke. Some of the questions were specific to the
information given and some were general.
They include how many defense lawyers are there for each defendant, the
issue of Ta Mok’s death, what sentences are possible, how can Cambodians keep
informed about the trials, why have the trials taken so long, and when will the
trials begin. In answering one of the questions, Mr. Petit told the group that
while transparency is essential for the tribunal, certain information cannot be
given out immediately due to confidentially concerns or other reasons. This is important for Cambodians to
understand because while undoubtedly they are eager to receive information on
the tribunal and eager for the trials to begin, the tribunal must operate
according to just and standard rules which protect the independence of each
unit and must give out information only once it is finalized.
One question, or rather statement, was brought up several
times by Ms. Sin. In a calm and clear voice, she asked whether or not it was
appropriate for lawyers who did not live through the genocide to be on the
defense counsel. Her question seemed to
apply to all units of the ECCC and not just the defense, and in particular,
international lawyers. Mr. Skilbeck
responded that Cambodian and international lawyers can benefit from one
another. Cambodian lawyers can learn
about international procedures from the international lawyers while
international lawyers can learn about the facts of the genocide from Cambodian
lawyers. Unsatisfied, she went on to say
that she preferred lawyers who had been through the genocide because they are
more qualified since they know personally the true suffering of the Cambodian
people. The Principal Defender responded
by expanding on his first reason. Not
yet persuaded, she added that she does not trust a lawyer who is not a survivor
of the genocide. Mr. Skilbeck then explained that lawyers are trained to deal with
events that happen to other people and thus do not need to be part of the event
itself to understand what happened. This
response seemed to satisfy Ms. Sin and she thanked Mr. Skilbeck for his
answer. The program ended with Mr.
Sambath giving the group a tour of the courtroom and its outside surroundings.
Afterward, the group visited the Documentation Center of
Cambodia and spoke with Director Mr. Youk Chhang. Excited to receive the group, the charismatic
Mr. Chhang quickly came downstairs from his office to meet the Cham Muslim
religious teachers. He asked them about
their session at the ECCC and about visiting the
This tour is the second tour led by Ms. Farina So that is
especially for Cham Muslims. Both tours
were conducted without any major complications.
This tour in particular went very well due to the hard work of the staff
and volunteers at DC-Cam. The ECCC part
of the tour was well coordinated by the ECCC Public Affairs Office and had an
unexpected welcomed addition to the original program: a presentation by
Principal Defender Rupert Skilbeck.
Several news media sources covered the event including Reaksmei
Kampuchea and Somne Thmey.
DC-Cam’s magazine, Searching for the Truth, was passed out to all
participants. Logistical successes
aside, the tour’s real success is both educational and personal for the
survivors of the genocide who participate in the tour. It serves to educate them on the Khmer Rouge
tribunal and Democratic Kampuchea that they will share will others once they
return to their home village. Education
on DK and the ECCC hopefully also serves to prevent a genocide from ever
occurring again in
[5][1]
In past ECCC tours in which 500 people attend each month from February 2006 to January
2007, the majority of participants are ordinary villagers, including ordinary
Cham villagers.
[6][2]
Ysa, Osman. Oukoubah: Justice for the Cham Muslims under the Democratic
[7][3]
During Democratic Kampuchea, met or friend, became a prefix added to
someone’s name and thus everyone was referred to as “Mith + (name).”
[8][4] “Far Eastern Relations:
[1][1] In past ECCC tours in which 500 people attend each month from February 2006 to January 2007, the majority of participants are ordinary villagers, including ordinary Cham villagers.
[2][2] Ysa, Osman. Oukoubah: Justice for the Cham Muslims
under the Democratic
[3][3] During Democratic Kampuchea, met or friend, became a prefix added to someone’s name and thus everyone was referred to as “Mith + (name).”
[4][4] “Far Eastern
Relations: