Fifty Years On, Cambodia’s Wounds Still Bleed for Justice
Fifty years ago, on April 17th, 1975, the gates of Phnom Penh fell, ushering in a nightmare that would consume my homeland, Cambodia, in unimaginable brutality. The Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror, lasting three years, eight months, and twenty days, ripped through the fabric of our society, leaving an estimated two million souls lost to organization, classification, dehumanization, persecution, extermination, and denial – the chilling stages of genocide. Among those murdered were my own mother, two brothers, and two sisters, their lives extinguished in a mass grave in Cheu Til Phlous Village, Kompong Cham Province. Even now, decades later, the unearthed silence of that unmarked earth screams their anguish in my memory.
No one in Cambodia was spared by the war of deception waged by the Khmer Rouge – either directly through violence and cruelty, or indirectly through fear, loss, displacement, and trauma – by this horrific and incomprehensible tragedy. For survivors like myself, the intrusive thoughts, the nightmares, the vivid flashbacks are a constant torment. Inner peace feels like a distant shore, forever out of reach. Whispers of my lost loved ones urge me onward in a desperate quest for justice, a quest made heavier by the crushing weight of survivor’s guilt. A part of me, too, perished that day in 1977.
The deep-rooted Buddhist principles of Khmer culture - grounded in metta (loving-kindness, karuna (compassion),mudita (sympathetic joy) , and uppeka (equanimity) - and the strong Cambodian family values make the Khmer Rouge's brutality incomprehensible. The regime’s violence stirs a flood of haunting questions that continue to haunt us.
Why did Cambodians turn on their own?
What fed such hatred, such indifference to human life?
What roles did international players – the U.S., China, and Vietnam – play in this tragic chapter?
Who was the true architect of this devastation?
Where was the world as Cambodia bled?
Why did global silence last nearly four years?
How can anyone truly explain or understand the nature of such a brutal and repressive regime? What are the lasting effects of these mass atrocities?
These are the questions that claw at our healing and remain largely unanswered.
The promise of justice remains unfulfilled. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), meant to reckon with this horrific legacy, delivered a version of justice that was both significantly delayed and deeply compromised. Despite sixteen years and $337 million, only three senior Khmer Rouge leaders were convicted. This limited accountability leaves the quest for justice for two million victims far from complete, especially as other Khmer Rouge torturers, rapists, and murderers have reintegrated into Cambodian society under Hun Sen’s "Win-Win" policy – aimed at achieving national reconciliation and ending the civil war – without facing legal consequences.
The Cambodian government, dominated and led by former Khmer Rouge defectors, actively obstructed further prosecutions, fearing that deeper investigations might implicate current officials. This political interference betrayed the very spirit of the tribunal. The focus narrowed, conveniently reinforcing a narrative that frames Vietnam and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) as national saviors, while conveniently overlooking their own complex histories and the broader geopolitical context.
The well-intentioned establishment of the ECCC became, in many ways, a political compromise. It served the interests of those in power, both domestically and internationally, far more than it served the need of the victims. The late King Norodom Sihanouk’s past questioning of the tribunal's efficacy and his suggestion to direct resources towards survivors resonate even more powerfully today.
The ECCC, in its limited scope, resembled an attempt to understand a crocodile by only examining its body, leaving the head and tail – the deeper political roots and the full spectrum of crimes – shrouded in darkness. The pursuit of truth and justice for the estimated two million victims cannot conclude with a mere three convictions. Yet, without international involvement, even these limited charges against Khmer Rouge leaders might never have materialized.
The recent enactment of a law criminalizing the denial of Khmer Rouge crimes, while seemingly aimed at preserving historical truth, risks being weaponized for political gain, silencing dissenting voices and reinforcing the CPP’s carefully constructed narrative.
True reconciliation demands an honest and inclusive reckoning with history, one that centers the voices and lived experiences of survivors. It requires a full acknowledgment of past crimes and an unwavering commitment to accountability that extends beyond a handful of aging leaders.
The incomplete justice delivered by the ECCC and the Cambodian government leave a deep, unhealed wound, a stark reminder that even after five decades, true closure remains elusive. The survivors are growing older and still carrying the weight of an unresolved past. We cannot simply "bury the past" or "let bygones be bygones." As the world remembers April 17, 1975, survivors want more than remembrance. We want justice – a justice that speaks truth to power, acknowledges our suffering, and paves the way for real healing. Only then can Cambodia move forward.
