By Ker Munthit
Associated Press
Saturday, February 9, 2008; Page A09
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Feb. 8 -- A Cambodian genocide victim confronted
a former Khmer Rouge leader in a courtroom here Friday, demanding to
know who was responsible for the "hellish regime" that killed about
1.7 million people, including her parents.
"It's the first time a victim is able to stand up and confront a
defendant. It's extremely symbolic," said Peter Foster, a spokesman
for Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal. "We made history
today."
The encounter came when Theary Seng took the stand on the second day
of a hearing of former leader Nuon Chea's appeal for release from
pretrial detention.
Nuon Chea, who was the main ideologue of the now-defunct communist
movement and second-in-command to despotic leader Pol Pot, has been
held since Sept. 19 on charges of war crimes and crimes against
humanity for his involvement in the Khmer Rouge's ruthless 1975-79
rule. He has denied any guilt.
Nuon Chea sat stoically across from Theary Seng in the courtroom as
she testified. When she was 7 years old, she and her 4-year-old
brother were "shackled and held under inhumane conditions in a Khmer
Rouge prison," she said.
"If Nuon Chea claimed he was not responsible, who was then for the
loss of my parents and other victims' loved ones?" she asked. Theary
Seng is a Cambodian American who heads the Center for Social
Development, a nonprofit Cambodian group monitoring the country's
judicial system.
No Khmer Rouge leaders have ever stood trial for their government's
activities, and there are fears the aging and infirm defendants could
die before facing justice. Pol Pot died in 1998.
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