Hanuman

Kulikar Sotho (right) waiting to hear the verdict outside the Tribunal courtroom (pic Dave McKee)

Kulikar Sotho, the Executive Director of Hanuman, attended the verdict reading in the judgement day of the first trial, that of former S-21 commander Comrade Duch, under the auspices of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh Monday. This historic event, taking place more than thirty years after the Khmer Rouge regime came to an end, was personal for so many Cambodians, including Kulikar, who lost her uncle at Tuol Sleng prison.

The outcome of the verdict has shocked many people here in Cambodia. Comrade Duch (pronounced Doik) admitted responsibility for the prison activities which tortured and murdered more than 13,000 people in the late 1970s. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, with time already served and another period taken off for illegal imprisonment, he will now serve just another 19 years behind bars. This has been greeted with dismay by many Cambodians, who recoil at the thought of Comrade Duch ever being able to walk free from his prison cell.

Kulikar too found the sentencing hard to stomach. “I can understand the reasoning of the judges but in my view it doesn’t bring any justice to the justice system and to Cambodians affected by the Khmer Rouge regime. There was a lot of anger when the sentence was announced. 90% of the Cambodians at the court were crying. One lady fainted on my shoulder. Others were wailing and screaming and very distraught. The whole process has reopened up the past for many and the fact that Duch may walk free in the future, it’s just not justified in the eyes of Cambodians.”

She continued. “99% of Cambodians will not accept this sentence. It’s too little. And I agree, it’s not justice for what he did. The people will lose belief in the justice system of the tribunal. For crimes against humanity, 19 years is simply not enough.” In addition, she said that the verdict was not explained clearly at the court which just made the situation a lot worse. “I think the court has made a mistake in not educating the Cambodian people properly, before the verdict and sentence were given. They don’t really understand the idea of reconciliation or mitigating factors and now no-one understands why Duch, a confessed architect of so many deaths, may one day walk free, when so many Cambodians will never be able to be free.”

“I’m not even talking about fairness, because being fair would be to treat him as he treated so many others, imprisoned them, tortured them and killed them. I can’t expect that to happen or want it to happen, as we would be just the same as him and history would repeat itself. What I am talking about is acceptance and the level of acceptance. Duch sent more than 13,000 people to their deaths, that’s 13,000 life sentences he imposed on them. So only a life sentence for Duch is acceptable for me,” she said.

Also at the court was a documentary team following former Olympian rower Rob Hamill, from New Zealand, as he uncovers the truth about his brother Kerry, one of the handful of westerners killed at the notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Last year Rob Hamill gave testimony at the trial of the S-21 chief Comrade Duch and was back in Phnom Penh this week, to attend the trial verdict. Find out more about the documentary, Brother Number One, at http://www.brothernumberone.co.nz/index.htm.