Please read and hear
this statement of apology from Kang Kek Iew, a former Khmer Rouge War Criminal
on this date, August 18, 2009:
Kang Kek Iew or Kaing
Kek Iev, also romanized as Kaing Guek Eav (Khmer: កាំង ហ្គេកអ៊ាវ), nom de guerre Comrade Duch
or Deuch (មិត្តឌុច); or
Hang Pin, (born 17 November 1942) is a war criminal and former leader in the
Khmer Rouge communist movement, which ruled Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to
1979. As the head of the government's internal security branch, he oversaw the Tuol Sleng (S-21) prison camp where thousands
were held for interrogation and torture. The first Khmer Rouge leader to be
tried by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the crimes of
the regime, he was convicted of crimes against humanity, murder, and torture
for his role during the Khmer Rouge
rule of Cambodia and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. On February
3, 2012, his sentence was extended to life imprisonment by the Extraordinary
Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Please go
to Force 1109 Blog post to learn more about
him.
Kang Kek Iew A.K.A Comrade Duch (PHOTO
SOURCE: http://www.tomknoxbooks.com/bible-of-the-dead/bible-of-the-dead-comrade-duch/)
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Transcript (KH) of 18 August 2009,
[p. 27 Lines 2-18]
Mr.
President, first of all I seek your permission to express my deepest respect
and gratitude to Chumteav Meas Ket, who is here in the Chamber despite her
advanced years. This is an honour for me. Chumteav Meas Ket is three years
older than my mother. I am thankful for her presence here and I extend my
homage to her from where I stand.
Aside from
that, I had known the story of Tioulong Raingsy since my days as deputy
director of S-21. I recognized her voice which I had heard on the radio when I
had been in prison. That is why, when she came to S-21, I did not go and see
her. When I became the director, I saw her file, and by then everything was
already over. At that time I honestly thought that only Raingsy was detained
and that Lim Kymary had been living in France, but then I saw both of them in
detention. I did not know how long they had been there. This is the extent of
my personal knowledge of the matter. Regarding the testimony of Antonya, this
is a powerful testimony full of living history about the suffering of a family
that lost two members. It is a document of lasting historical value which will
help future researchers to understand how the crimes were committed, what
impact they had on families, and the extent to which each family suffered. I
recognise the authenticity of this testimony. Personally I still maintain my
sense of responsibility for those crimes and this is my frank and sincere
statement to you, Mrs Meas Ket and Mrs Antonya Tioulong.
Transcript (KH) of 18 August 2009,
[p. 41 Lines 14-21; p. 42 Lines 3-10]
Mr. President, if I am able, I would
like to assume full moral responsibility for the crimes committed. First, I am
not betraying the souls of the people who perished at S-21, and I admit that
some people died under torture. I proclaim before the nation and people of
Cambodia that they were indeed barbaric acts. Your Honours, you have seen that the
civil parties, including Mrs. Bou Thon, they can blame and condemn me. I
acknowledge their suffering as historical facts for which I am morally
responsible.
Mr. President,
the victim named Chen Sea was a cadre from Hanoi who was also a former cadre of
K-92. Later on he was detained at Boeng Trabaek before being sent to S-21. I
fully acknowledge that he was detained at S-21, as the document produced here
proves. I would like to also give the Court a brief account of the school
called K-92 that Mentor Son Sen, my former superior, set up when he was
co-chairman of the North Zone. And the reason I’m quoting this fact is to
indicate that Mr. Chen Sea was indeed killed at S-21 and that I carry moral and
legal responsibility for his death and the crimes committed at S-21.
Transcript
(KH) of 18 August 2009,
[p. 85
Lines 2-9]
Mr.
President, I would like to begin by stating once again that I acknowledge that
Comrade Neth Bunthy suffered and died at S-21. He entered S-21 on the 24th of
December 1978 and that is a fact. I have just summarized the historical facts
regarding the CPK and the military forces from the East, so I will not
elaborate on that. The cadres and combatants who were in the operation in the
East Zone suffered on a large scale. And the suffering inflicted upon Neth
Phally alias Chhaet Phally before this Chamber is a portion of the greater
sufferings inflicted on the combatants from the East Zone between 17 April 1975
and 7 January 1979. I have listened to the civil parties’ testimony for that
period and what they say is basically correct.
PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO TO HEAR HIS APOLOGY FOR WAR CRIMES:
Statements
of apology 18 August 2009: Kaing Guek Eav
Published on Jun 29, 2012
In its judgement on appeals in Case
001 against Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch, the Supreme Court Chamber of the
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) affirmed the Trial
Chamber's previous decision to compile and post on the ECCC's official website
all statements of apology and acknowledgements of responsibility made by Kaing
Guek Eav alias Duch during the course of the trial, including the appeal stage.
This video clip is part of the audio and video version of this compilation.
More information: http://www.eccc.gov.kh/en
VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yew8qEvQQJs
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