'Enemies of the People' Sheds Light On Cambodian Tribunal
New doc offers testimony from former Khmer Rouge members
WASHINGTON DC, May 25, 2011 — A screening of the documentary Enemies of the People, a collaboration between Cambodian journalist Thet Sambath and British documentarian Rob Lemkin, prompted a lively discussion at Asia Society Washington with Sophie Richardson, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, and Tung Yap, president of Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and Democracy (CAHRAD).
Enemies of the People featured unprecedented access to former members of the Khmer Rouge, one of the 20th century's most brutal regimes led by the radically communist leader Pol Pot, through a decade of work by Thet Sambath. The documentary focused on the testimonies of former foot-soldiers to the party's ideological leader, Nuon Chea.
Sophie Richardson's reactions to the film included great admiration for the composure of Thet Sambath. "I think it is extraordinary that Sambath made it through making this film treating Nuon Chea with the one thing that he denied to so many other people, which was a certain amount of dignity."
Richardson described how the tribunal came about only when the Khmer Rouge ceased to be a potential military threat, but said that the process of bringing former Khmer Rouge leaders to justice has been fraught with political interference. She added, "We have done a tremendous injustice to the ideal of international justice."
Tung Yap, a survivor of Khmer Rouge regime, briefly described his life growing up during that time as well as the reactions to the trial of Kang Kek Lew, a.k.a. Comrade Duch, Nuon Chea, and other leaders of the regime.
In describing the tribunal, Tung said that Cambodians have mixed feelings about the proceedings. "Some believe that the pool of perpetrators brought to justice is very small in comparison with the millions of people killed, but some people are glad that some perpetrators will be brought to justice before they die."
The screening and discussion of the film also prompted a question at the State Department's daily press briefing on the afternoon of May 26, 2011 with Mark Toner, Acting Deputy Spokesman. (http://www.uspolicy.be/headline/state-department-daily-press-briefing-may-26-0)
Reported by Adrian Stover, Asia Society Washington