By Helen Jarvis
The
sentencing of former Khmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea to
life in prison for crimes against humanity on Thursday marks a day that
has been long awaited in Cambodia.
It's
a day that many people thought would never come to pass. Considering
all the time that has elapsed since the crimes were committed, it's a
miracle that we have come to today's judgment. Justice has been done at
long last.
Life
imprisonment is the maximum penalty that can be applied by the court
and this has been handed down today to the two surviving leaders of the
Khmer Rouge regime.
The
verdict has been delivered despite the political and financial
difficulties faced by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of
Cambodia. The constant doubts and incessant criticism of the ECCC made
things very difficult.
We
know that the pace of international justice is very slow and that it
has been eight years since the court was established. But the real
difficulty was the time that elapsed before the court was set up.
So
many of the survivors died in the intervening period. So did many
perpetrators including Pol Pot himself and other senior leaders. In the
end, we were left with only two.
The verdict has highlighted the importance of the court as a national court with international participation and assistance.
Other
international courts tend to be distant from the crimes and also far
removed from the victims so they don't have the same resonance and
impact.
Here
in Cambodia, a quarter of a million people came to the court during the
trial of Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea as well as the earlier trial of
Tuol Sleng commandant Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch.
Nothing like this has ever happened anywhere in the world and this is quite unique.
The
other unprecedented aspect has been the direct participation of civil
parties. We had almost 4,000 civil parties in this case. They were able
to tell their stories in court, explain their sufferings and claim
reparations.
The
decision by the court on reparations is most welcome. The different
measures requested by civil parties range from making May 20 a National
Remembrance Day and building memorials including one in Phnom Penh
dedicated to all those evacuated from the city in 1975.
Other
reparations cover areas such as school textbooks, testimonial and
self-help therapy to assist victims who are still suffering extreme
emotional distress along with both permanent and mobile exhibitions
explaining what happened under the Khmer Rouge and the work of the court
itself.
It's a wide range of creative and positive reparations especially requested by the victims.
Many
who doubted the process have questioned the amount of money spent by
Cambodia and the international community on the proceedings.
Equivalent
to around $100 a head for the almost two million people who died under
the Khmer Rouge, it seems a small price to pay for the families of the
victims and the younger generation of Cambodians for which this dark
period in the country's history has until now been obscure.
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THE
AUTHOR, WHO HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT TASK FORCE ON
THE KHMER ROUGE TRIALS SINCE 1999, IS FORMER CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND
HEAD OF THE VICTIMS SUPPORT SECTION AT THE EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERS IN
THE COURTS OF CAMBODIA