 |
|
|
|
Surviving Khmer Rouge leaders have spoken out ahead of a UN vote for a Khmer Rouge trial. Former Prime Minister Khieu Samphan has warned that a trial will incite retaliation.
When pressed for more specific threats, they elaborated that retaliation may take the form of prsion sentences, possibly even directed at themselves.
Mr Samphan called for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to determine how two million people died during the rein of Pol Pot. Apparently this is still a mystery, although old guard Khmer Rouge commanders have sought to implicate the United States or maybe even a giant, hungry lizard. Mattel has already been forced to defend dozens of “Hungry, hungry Hippos” implicated by Mr Samphan.
“At a trial, people wouldn’t understand,” Mr Samphan told the ABC at his jungle hideout near Pailin. He clarified for The Daily Grind: “Some might think we’re guilty!”
However, former Khmer Rouge commanders have rejected the South African model for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Instead, some want the divisive concepts of “truth” and “reconciliation” replaced with a more neutral “whitewash”. Others have pressed for the struggling nation to be “cleansed” in a more culturally sensitive “Rougewash”, reminding reporters of their proven track record.
Support for an investigation, rather than a criminal trial, has emerged from unlikely sources. One eminent historian told The Daily Grind that it’s about time someone figured out how anyone’s human rights record could be so bad that neighbouring dictatorships were felt compelled to intervene.
