ASIJ Essay Contest- Kara Huang " After the Khmer Rouge: the Continuing Struggle for Justice" ― 2014/05/01 17:20
After the Khmer Rouge: the Continuing Struggle for Justice
By Kara Huang
When Joseph Mussomeli was the US ambassador to Cambodia, he would develop a melodramatic tone as he told American visitors: "Be careful because Cambodia is the most dangerous place you will ever visit. You will fall in love with it, and eventually, it will break your heart."
Growing up and to this day, I have been lucky to be surrounded and influenced by family with Cambodian culture and language. In July of 1979, my dad and his family escaped the Khmer Rouge, a short but horrifying upbringing of Communism in Cambodia, where the leaders took advantage of their guiltless people. My family, both traumatized and strengthened by it, reminds me everyday of the battle that my people unfortunately still face.
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Over 3 million people visit the tropical land every year; most of these tourists come for the radiant sunrises at Angkor Wat and timeless tuk-tuk rides in the capital, Phnom Penh. Many travelers, like myself, associate Cambodia with the disastrous and bloody genocide that has continued to deeply affect its people and my own family. When I visited for the first time, I smiled as Cambodians went about their lives in relative peace. I subconsciously ignored the unstableness around me: elders begging for change, endless, unpaved dirt roads, and children's faces that appeared as though they had matured double their age. What I didn't realize was that the battle for justice was far from over.
The so-called demise of the Khmer Rouge in 1979 did not necessarily bring peace, equality, or a stable economy; the Khmer Rouge still remained in control in some parts of Cambodia for several years after. In an effort to aid what was left of the Cambodian people, nearly 20 countries signed the Paris Peace Agreements, including leading nations such as the US, Japan, France and China; these agreements aimed to end the tragic conflict and obvious aftermath in Cambodia, and sought to monitor the human rights situation when needed. It also outlined what the United Nations could do for "rehabilitation and reconstruction at the appropriate time" ("1991 Paris Peace"). Despite this promise, the signatories have failed to recognize the severity and importance of these crimes against humanity; it is not only their right to intervene, but their legal obligation as well.
2014 marked the 35th anniversary of the bittersweet end of the Khmer Rouge, a devastating time of genocide, torture, and the upbringing of Communism, a period that essentially defines Cambodia as a country and as a culture today. Within four years, the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, managed to isolate the country from foreign influence, close schools, factories, banks and hospitals, outlaw all religions, and confiscate all private properties. Aside from the successful attempt of establishing agricultural communism, he contributed to the torturous deaths and murders of almost two million --one-fourth of Cambodia's population-- half from executions, and the other half from starvation and disease.
Pol Pot established the Killing Fields, a massive gravesite where the Khmer Rouge regime executed and buried almost anyone non-Cambodian and those with association to the former government; in effort to save ammunition, executions were carried out with "highly toxic defoliants" and "sharpened bamboo sticks" ("Weapons of Vietnam"). In some cases they would have their heads bashed against the trunks of Chankiri trees and some even dug their own graves. Truly, Pol Pot's mentality is similar to that of Hitler's: barbarous and unforgiving. Nearly every educated person died, and much of the infrastructure was destroyed or fell into disrepair. Of the five million survivors, the majority were too poor and too attached to Cambodia, and only a few were lucky enough to escape to nearby countries like China and Japan, even the US, leaving the rest to tackle the future crusade. The five million survivors were left with a dry and barren land, economic fallout, political chaos, and ultimately the nation returned to "year zero."
By nature, Cambodia is within an extremely poverty-stricken region. In every aspect, it is the poorest in Asia. The average salary per day is about $1. Even North Koreans are more prosperous. By tenth grade, 87 percent of students will have dropped out of school in order to maintain income for food and necessities, allowing the adult literacy rate to drop to 74%.
The United Nations invested years of effort and $3 billion in which they gave the Cambodians a proper Constitution and set up proper elections. The first election gained a lot of support, with almost 90% of the population participating. This was interpreted as a victory and it gave the UN a signal to suddenly give up the matter, and it continues to brag about the election's success. After the UN left Cambodia, the situation began to spiral downward.
Totalitarian Cambodian leaders are falling back into "old patterns of self-interested turpitude" (Brinkley xix). The current Prime Minister, Hun Sen, who has been in office for nearly 30 years, is wrongfully taking advantage of the his own people, controlling their lives everyday, and seizing their natural rights as human beings. Arguably the most important right Hun Sen has wrongfully seized is the right to vote, embodying the definition of democracy and equality, the main way Cambodians can truly have a say in their country's future. Every election year, their dictator "shamelessly manipulates the result of an already rigged election" (Ou, Personal Interview). Cambodian citizens have no choice but to remain at mercy to their improper and unjust government.
Because of Cambodia's economic gap, the government turns a blind eye to the abundance of abuse, land grabbing, and violence against its own people. The majority of human rights violations involve political opposition to the CPP, peaceful protestors, and workers; these occurrences have become more frequent since the elections in July 2013 and are continuing to happen without the proper democratic justice as the UN established in 1997. On January 3, 2014, garment workers protested for their wages to be brought up to the legal minimum of $160 per month from $80; the government has offered them just $100 per month. They had been blocking a road in Phnom Penh and peacefully protesting when the police opened fire, killing at least three and injuring several more. The protesters improvised and used slingshots and threw rocks, but could not compare to the rifles of the Cambodian police. Just after this incident, the Cambodian government banned all public gatherings and protests, justifying the violence against human rights defenders until "security and public order has been restored" ("Cambodia Cracks Down"). More recently on January 27, Cambodia's police fired smoke grenades and used electric batons to disperse an anti-government demonstration; the only way the current government has responded to its people attempting to ask for change is with force and violence.
Most of these protesters actively advocate the Cambodian National Rescue Party, working to lead rallies and strikes to petition for better and humane treatment. Human rights defenders are becoming less and less safe for demonstrating in seemingly vicious environments as the government attempts to shut down their entire operation. The security situation in Cambodia has been deteriorating since 2013 as the government crackdown on human rights intensified after July's elections. There cannot be any attempt at restoring proper human rights to Cambodian citizens until the current dictator is replaced with an elected democratic leader.
Not only have none of the signatory countries done anything direct to address the ongoing human rights violations, but they also have not upheld the obligation to intervene. It is inexcusable for the signatories to the Paris Peace Agreements to turn back on commitments made to monitor the possible case of increasing undemocratic actions by the current Cambodian government and serious human rights violations. Fortunately, Human Rights Watch has taken steps to bring this to the UN's attention by urging them to "press the country's leadership to abide by previous commitments and fulfill new rights pledges" ("Cambodia police use force," 2014). De Rivero, Geneva director at HRW describes Hun Sen's government as one that "violates human rights on a daily basis by violently preventing the opposition, trade unions, activists, and others from gathering to demand political change" ("Cambodia: UN Should Condemn"). It is a gross and blatant failure on the part of the signatory countries to allow the dehumanization and forcible violence onto innocent people.
I stand by the views of my great uncle, a leader of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, and an active member of the Khmer People Network for Cambodia; the only thing we, as non-powerful civilians can do is create awareness. In 2013, he organized and spoke at a rally in Washington DC with 500 Cambodian-Americans present, advocating for involvement in Cambodia. We must to "ease" the US administration in its decision making on policy regarding Cambodia and make sure that they know that the people care about it. The US doesn't have economic interest or resources in Cambodia like it does in Iraq and Syria. It is extremely disappointing to see that the free world powers time and time again endorsed the results of many fake elections for their own "selfish convenience and expediency" (Ou, Personal Interview). He aims high, bringing together afflicted Cambodian-Americans, to devise a movement for bettering their home country.
Cambodia is still stuck as a third world country because its corrupt and ruthless government prevents the Cambodians from truly developing and growing. Cambodiaís serious past caused pain, loss, and sadness to uninvolved people who do not deserve to relive it. Without proper rights and committed involvement of participating countries, it is impossible for them move forward and for those outside the country to live with dignity and pride. The lack of considerate intervention is a disappointment of the international signatories who legally committed to keeping Cambodia alive and confirm that its people have and can maintain the essential rights that should have been granted years before.
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