To mark the 31st anniversary of Pol Pot's takeover of power, around 200 people gathered in Choeung Ek, where an estimated 9,000 people were executed. They appealed for the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders to start as soon as possible.
Choeung Ek (AsiaNews/Agencies) Let the trials of the Khmer Rouge begin. The call was made yesterday, the 31st anniversary of Pol Pot's rise to power in Cambodia, by around 200 people who gathered in Choeung Ek, the regime's most notorious killing field, where an estimated 9,000 people were eliminated. Now, human skulls are piled up in this site, where 50 monks pray for victims of the regime.
"We have come here to share the pain and sadness of all those people who suffered because of the genocide. Cambodians can no longer stay quiet," said opposition leader, Sam Rainsy. "These skulls are asking us to find justice for them; we need to respond to them."
The trials of former leaders of the Khmer Rouge are set to start this year, after 10 years of negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations. "I want the trials to start soon," said Min Yoeun, 53, who lost six family members to the regime, including one who was killed at Choeung Ek. "Nowadays, I am almost crazy - I lost my husband, children and brothers to the Pol Pot regime."
Chuon Sem added: "I appeal to the international community to help to try the Khmer Rouge leaders as soon as possible. Cambodian families were very miserable under the regime."
During its four-year rule, the Khmer Rouge government abolished religion, property rights, currency and schools, transforming the country into one big agricultural camp. Around two million people lost their lives under the regime.
So far, only two political leaders of the Khmer Rouge are in prison, awaiting the start of their trial. Observers are concerned that other Khmer Rouge leaders, including Nuon Chea, the deputy of Pol Pot (who died in 1998), or the former Head of State Khieu Samphan, may die before UN-Cambodia joint tribunal convenes.
The Cambodian government remembers victims of the Khmer Rouge on May 20, called the "Day of Anger", which marks the day the regime imposed a collectivized system on the country.