Civil Party Impact Statements: 1st January Dam
At today’s hearing in front of the ECCC, two Civil Parties gave their testimony. Moreover, President Nil Nonn announced that the Chamber upheld that Mr. Victor Koppe’s objection concerning Written Records of Interviews in key document presentation hearings was overruled. This decision was subject to heated discussion on Wednesday and was one of the factors that lead to the withdrawal of both defense teams that day (for a detailed account, see blog posts of the 26th and 27th of August).
Today, the two Civil Parties provided their impact statements related to their suffering at the 1st of January Dam.
First Civil Party: Nuon Narom
After President Nil Nonn announced that in today’s and tomorrow’s hearing, the Civil Parties TCCP-991, TCCP-992, TCCP-993 and TCCP-994 would give their statements on harms and sufferings related to Trapeang Thma Dam and 1st January Dam, the presence of all parties was confirmed by the Trial Chamber Greffier, with Nuon Chea following the hearings from the holding cell.
After a brief discussion about document E319/25.3.24, to which Khieu Samphan Defense team had objected, but which was not relevant anymore, because the respective Civil Party could not appear before the court, the Civil Party testimonies began.
At this point, the President ordered to usher Civil Party TCCP-992[1] in. NUON Narom, born in 1956 in Chamkar Leu, Kampong Cham Province is currently living in Phnom Penh. Ms. Narom used to work for the CPK Ministry in the 1980s, but is now staying at home.
At this point, Ms. Guiraud sought the President’s leave to put questions to the Civil Party in order to guide the testimony. The President replied that the Civil Party is given the floor to make a statement on harm and suffering, but that the Lead Co-Lawyers could ask questions if the statement required guidance. Thus, if the Civil Party was incapable of giving her own statement on harm and suffering, questions could be put towards her as a second option. If Ms. Guiraud wanted to follow the second option, she could put questions forward now.
Ms. Guiraud replied that questions would be necessary, since they had been requested to focus on the worksites. The President interrupted her, stating that he had already given the floor to Ms. Guiraud to ask questions.
Ms. Guiraud started her questions by inquiring about her Civil Party Application[2], where the Civil Party had indicated a different name: Uy Samna. Ms. Narom explained that this was her native name. In 1979, while living with her relatives, she continued using two names. When Ms. Naron was not present at the day of registration, her relatives put down the name Nuon.
Ms. Narom was evacuated to live in Phnom Penh in 1975. On 17th April 1975, she and her relatives were evacuated from Phnom Penh via Monivong Boulevard to Kien Svay. They crossed the bridge and rested at Kdey Takoy Pagoda over night. They stayed there for four to five days before continuing to Kien Svay. At Kien Svay, they were ordered to take a boat to Prek Po, after which she was brought to Tapao Village in Suong District, Kampong Cham Province. There, her family was separated and sent to various villages. Ms. Narom was allowed to stay with her mother. A few days later, her sisters’ husbands and one of her nephews were taken away for re-education. After two months, Ms. Narom herself was then sent to Trapeang Phlong, where she stayed four to five months. Subsequently, she was sent to Bey Village in Chamkar Leu, Kampong Cham Province. Two to three months later, was then sent to work at a mobile unit at L’vea Leu Pagoda, L’vea Commune, Chamkar Leu District, before being assigned to build the 1st January Dam in January 1977.
When she arrived at the 1st January Dam, a long shelter to host the workers had been built already. The roof was made of hay. They were required to work “day and night without any rest.” They also had to work at night, in order to complete the dam before the start of the rainy season. They did not have enough food to eat. There was no proper sanitation for women. According to Ms. Narom, they were not allowed to rest, even when being sick. Only “if you fall on the ground at the worksite, you would be allowed to rest.” If a person was considered lazy, this person would disappear, which happened to “a lot of people.” This was the reason why Ms. Narom did not dare to rest even when she was sick. There was no proper water to drink. During the time that she worked there, they were allowed to rest for a “brief period of time”, before a whistle was blown to send them work.
The shelter where they slept was around three kilometers from the worksite. As regards sanitation, “there were so many flies.” Some base people could receive salt from the kitchen, which they shared. “The soup was terrible. It was cooked in a very large pot with only very little gruel.” They returned to the kitchen in late afternoon for a quick dinner, after which they had to work again.
Working and Living Conditions
At that time, she was around 18-19 years old. “The skin on my shoulder peeled” due to heavy workload. Moreover, they had to attend meetings every second night, after which they could sleep for a few hours. A stream near the worksite was used to drink water. They also took baths there and washed their clothes. There was no sanitation. She further stated that “we rarely took baths, because we only had the clothes that we put on.” They had to drink the water, even though it was not clean. During the meetings, they were told that if “they were inactive”, they would “obstruct the wheel of the history”.
Four or five of her colleagues had night-blindness. Ms. Narom led them to the work site at night. Later, there was a plan that they could rest once in every ten days. One day, she and her colleagues went into the forest to catch frogs and ants to cook them. When the worksite was moved close to a stream, they put the bamboo sticks over the stream so they could cross it. According to Ms. Narom’s testimony, the workers did not have necessary tools for their work.
Furthermore, they had to “pick up t’nang leaves and put in their mouths to feed their stomach”. Ms. Narom witnessed that some of her colleagues were mistreated: despite being very sick, they were not able to take a rest. These workers “verbally challenged the assignments” after which they were beaten. The work conditions were very severe. She stated: “It was painful in my heart”.
Moreover, women had abdominal cramps, but did not have any sanitation. “We were treated as animals.” At night times, “we starved”. Many of her colleagues “were deceased.”
The Civil Party further stated: “I missed my mother. I had no information about my mother and siblings.” She was living in an open field with no villages around. She did not know the name of the location at the time.
As a sleeping mat, she had to use whatever clothes she could find. She would use her scarf to cover her ears so that “insects would not go into my ear” and had to wake up very quickly after she heard the whistle. She worked until the rainy season. The roof was leaking. In July, while there was heavy rain, they could hardly work. At the time, she fell sick and had fever and was trembling. She could not walk to L’vea village. She asked for a ride on a cart. She met her mother. Her mother requested that her daughter could live with her. Ms. Narom was not allowed to stay in her mother’s village but was transferred to a hospital in the pagoda. She had abdominal cramps. Two weeks later, she was being hospitalized, where Ms. Narom’s health condition improved. Her mother was with her at the hospital. When she had recovered, Ms. Narom asked for permission to live with her mother. She lived there for two months, before which she was sent to another mobile unit where she was requested to grow vegetables and farm rice.
Collection of Biographies and Death of her Parents
One time, she saw the chief of the Bey village. At this time, the biographies were collected. Her mother was asked whether some of her family members went to the East Zone. Her mother and she answered honestly that they had been sent to Phlong village in Kampong Cham. In July or August 1978, she was sent to work at a plantation to pick up corn.
One day, she was assigned to collect rice at a pagoda. When she was standing in the kitchen, a person called Mom (who was also in the mobile unit) told her that their parents had been taken away to be killed. “I lost my spirits and I almost dropped the container from my hands.” She asked Mom when their parents had been taken away, to which Mom answered that this had happened in the morning. She could not eat, but stayed “in a very quiet place, crying and weeping” instead. She stayed there four to five days. Later, the children of those parents who had been taken away were also taken away. Some of them were told to pick up the beans. “Everyone was thinking that it would be our time to be taken away.”
When returning to work, she saw the village chief who held a long knife. Thus, she told a person at the plantation that “it was my time.” This person told her that they could not escape to anywhere else.
She spent some time during her work to go to her relatives’ place. Ms. Narom met her relative that she had permission to visit for one day. When she met her at the house, she went to cook food for Ms. Narom. She saw the unit chiefs there. The Civil Party knew “that they were looking for me”. A few minutes later she went to her relatives’ house. At the back of the house, there was a pig farm, where she hid herself until sunset. Because she was afraid, she could not go anywhere else. When it was almost dark, she decided to go back to her mobile unit. On her way back to the corn plantation, she met one of her colleagues, who asked her where she had been in the morning: everyone had been looking for her. She told her colleague that she had gone to her relative’s house. When it was dark, Ms. Narom went into a pagoda. She met Ming, who had permission to visit her house for one night. When being asked where she was heading, she told Ming that she was going back to her mobile unit. Ming answered that she should not go back; some people in the mobile unit had been taken away. Thus, Ms. Narom decided to go to one of her colleagues’ house, where she met her aunt. Her aunt offered her a stay at night time and asked her where her mother was. Ms. Narom replied that her “mother was fine”. She was offered dinner, and although she had not had dinner for a few days, she did not feel hungry.
In the morning, she left the house and tried to go back to the mobile unit. She was “looking around to make sure” that no one saw her. When she reached the corn field, she stepped on spikes and fell down. The spikes tore her clothes. Upon her arrival at the field, she went to Cheng’s house. She asked Cheng to pick up some morning glory to boil it. “I really wanted to die at that time.” While boiling the morning glory, the village and military chief asked for her cousin. She told them that the cousin was not at the house. The village and unit chief asked where she was going and why she was staying at that house. She told them that she had just left the hospital and that she was now just visiting her cousin’s house. After discussing, they told her that they would see the Sangkat (district) chief. In the afternoon, the Sangkat chief together with the other two chiefs asked her whether she had come from the East Zone. She told them that she was from the Bey village. They then announced that they would call someone from there to bring her back. A few minutes later, she drank the morning glory water.
Later, the village chiefs came back and gave her a meal. They told her to be loyal to Angkar in order “to avoid any incident happening to [her]”. The Sangkat chief came by sometimes to ask questions. By this time, she was poisoned by the morning glory water. The Sangkat chief told her “please, do not feel worried.” He confirmed that she “would be safe and sound.” He told her to stay in that house and rest.
According to Ms. Narom, “the Sangkat chief was related to [her] aunt.” Later, her aunt arrived at the house. She was allowed to stay at her cousin’s house for five to six months. However, one day, they attempted to arrest her. Thus, she tried to jump of the house.
In 1979, she was told that there were no longer killings and arrests. “So I was lucky then to survive.” Although she survived the period, she was “very lonely.” She further stated: “I endured hardship. And I have no goal in my life after the regime. I have no relatives. I am alone. I am very lonely.” In 1982, her relatives who went to work in Phnom Penh asked her to come and live with them. Hence, she registered her name in the CPK Ministry. “My life was bitter in the regime.” In 1986, her husband, who worked in the Agricultural Ministry, married her. They remain married until now and have one son and one daughter.
At this point, Ms. Guiraud took the floor and asked what the Civil Party felt when thinking about the period. Ms. Narom replied that “I feel pain.” She then said that she would like to ask put forward questions to the accused through the president.
First, what was the purpose of the evacuation from cities and later the overwork of people?
“As you knew, there was war before that. Then, you evacuated them back into their home towns. You accused them of being enemies. What was the purpose of that?”
Second, she had seven to eight nephews who were very young and innocent; “their lives were lost.” She went on saying: “and you, you killed so many people. Again and again. You killed your own people. What was the purpose of that? Did you want to replace the Khmer people by another group of people?”
In her region where she lived before the Khmer Rouge took power, there was serial bombardment, so they went to Phnom Penh to seek refuge. When they subsequently returned to their home village, they were accused of being enemies. “We had no chance.” Further, they were being mistreated and being spied upon.
Mr. President asked whether she had finished her questions, which the Civil Party confirmed. The president then informed her that the chamber had not been informed of a waiver of their right to remain silent from either accused. Thus, the President could not order the accused to answer.
The President then turned to Ms. Guiraud to ask whether she had any further questions, to which Ms. Guiraud replied “not to the accused, no.”, and neither to the Civil Party.
Back to Working Conditions
After Ms. Narom’s statement on her harm and suffering, the President gave the floor to the Co-Prosecution to ask questions.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Vincent de Wilde thanked the Civil Party for sharing her experiences. He then stated that he would ask questions about the 1st January Dam.
Mr. de Wilde asked what kind of people worked at the 1st January Dam. She replied that there were New People and Base People. Asked who held the positions of unit chiefs and the like and whether there were any new people in these positions, she replied that no new people held such a position. Mr. de Wilde then inquired about her day-to-day work. The Civil Party answered that she was tasked with “carrying dirt.” She was not assigned to dig soil, since only male workers did this. When she arrived, at first 1.5 cubic meters of soil were assigned to female workers, and two cubic meters for men. At other worksites, no work quota existed. If she could not meet the quota, her work colleagues would help her to complete the compulsory quota. Asked about details of hardship at work, Ms. Narom replied that the skin on her shoulders was peeling. She was “on the offences for the daily work” and had to do her best to survive. The distance for carrying soil depended on the work: sometimes she had to carry the dirt 20-30 meters, “but it depended”. She estimated that the weight of one basket was around 20 kilograms.
After a few months, her physical appearance was “in bad shape” and she became weaker. Other workers experienced the same.
When Mr. de Wilde inquired about night blindness, Ms. Narom stated that she did not know the reasons for this disease. She was tasked to lead the way for people with night blindness when they were assigned to work at night sometimes. There were many people with night blindness. There were light posts on the dam, so there was enough light to work. However, on the road, there were no lights, and the people who had night blindness had to follow her to reach the worksite. She confirmed that there were guards to monitor them. Thus, there were unit chiefs to watch whether people were inactive or active.
Meetings were held every second day to “warn those who were lazy. The lazy ones were the considered the enemies of the regime. Those lazy people were considered those who obstructed the wheels of the history. Everyone had to catch up with the speed of the wheel”. When Mr. de Wilde asked who beat “those who were lazy” and how they were beaten, Khieu Samphan Defense Counsel Kong Sam Onn objected to the question, stating that he heard the Civil Party only say that “lazy people had to catch up with the wheel”, but not that they were beaten.
Mr. de Wilde insisted that according to notes, Ms. Narom had mentioned people were beaten and asked his question again. The Civil Party clarified that she had referred to sick people who were beaten. She gave the example of one person who requested to rest because she was sick. The request was denied, and that person was beaten with her shoulder poles. Her name was Eyng. Then this person was given the quota of two cubic meters of soil, and if she could not finish this, she was told that “there was no meal for her”. The female group chief who monitored them beat the person.
Within the Civil Party’s unit, some people fainted and collapsed. Hammocks were used to carry those who fainted to carry them back to the sleeping quarter. During the six to seven months that she was working at 1st January Dam, no person died. However, some of her colleagues “whispered to [her]” that three or four co-workers disappeared. Moreover, a New Person named Dannayk disappeared. “She looked very pretty.” It was said that she was a daughter of a former regime servant. “She disappeared after the work at the place was completed.”
Asked whether there were any Cham at her worksite, Ms. Narom stated that this was not the case in her mobile unit. However, in Bey Village there were Cham people. At the 1st January Dam, “workers had no rights at all.” One day, Ms. Narom fell sick, and sought the permission to rest, but the request was rejected. Another colleague of hers was also sick. That person was separated from her for quite long and she met her accidently at the worksite and asked her where she had been working. She told her that she had been working at Kampong Thma. This woman asked her to go together to the woman’s hall. When they returned to the worksite, they were asked where they had been. This person called Uoan said to the chief that they went to “our hall.” Uoan was then beaten while her hands were tied to her back. Ms. Narom did not say anything at that time and did not reply to the question. Her colleague was warned that she was not allowed to go anywhere beside the worksite. With this, Mr. de Wilde concluded his line of questioning. The President then gave the floor to the defense team for Nuon Chea.
Nuon Chea Defense Counsel Victor Koppe took the floor and asked how many women had been in the Civil Party’s unit. She stated that she could not remember this. People from her whole Sangkat had to work there. She knew her neighbors well who had been living in Sangkat district. She could not give the estimate how many people were from “her Sangkat”. She confirmed that she was in a female mobile unit. Asked whether she could give an estimate, whether for example a hundred women were in her unit, Ms. Narom stated that when walking to work, the two female chiefs Comrade Vat and Comrade Ri were leading around 20 people in her unit. Mr. Koppe then asked whether all 20 women were from the same village, to which Ms. Narom replied that more than 20 were from the same district, but from different villages, since there were a few villages in L’vea district. Perhaps five or six female workers were from her village.
Neither Vat nor Ri were responsible for the distribution of food. However, they were monitoring workers at the worksite. Food was under the responsibility of the chef. The Civil Party further stated that the “unit chief blew the whistle” to wake them up. Asked whether this person was Eyng, the person she had mentioned before, Ms. Narom clarified that Eyng was simply a New Person. It was the unit chief who woke them up and “inflicted torture” upon them.
When being sick, they would seek permission of the group chief, who would send them to the makeshift hospital at the pagoda. The name of the person who would give the permission to go to the hospital was female Comrade Cheung, who was the group chief.
Mr. Koppe inquired about the specific procedure when Ms. Narom was sick, the Civil Party replied that she sought permission to stay with her mother, after which she was sent to the hospital by her group chief. Mr. Koppe asked whether Cheung[3] immediately granted the request, to which Ms. Narom replied that in case that someone was sick, this request would be forwarded to the unit chief. Pressed on her individual case, Ms. Narom stated that when she returned from the 1st January Dam, she was sent to the makeshift hospital, where she stayed around ten days. When her conditions did not improve, she was sent to the district hospital.
Mr. Koppe then inquired about the person who also fell sick whose request to go to the hospital was rejected. Ms. Narom replied by restating her account. Pressed on about a the issue of the person who was sick and whose request to go to a hospital was denied, Ms. Narom replied that Comrade Eyng was not sick but had abdominal pain and requested to rest, which was denied. She was beaten and forced to overwork.
Ms. Narom was never beaten. During the six months period, she only rested two to three times due to sickness. She did not dare to ask for permission when she did not feel well. Only when she also looked sick, she could rest. Mr. Koppe then inquired about the reason for the difference in treatment between her and Eyng[4], who was beaten, and her, who was not beaten. She answered that she could not tell the difference and could only speak for herself.
Mr. Koppe then asked whether Eyng was the only person who was beaten at her worksite, to which Ms. Narom replied that there were many workers and she did not remember for the other workers. She only knew the people sleeping next to her, since they were not allowed to talk to others.
Mr. Koppe asked whether, after having felt better at the hospital, she was sent to do light work at a farm. Ms. Narom replied that she was still feeling tired when returning from the hospital and asked for permission to stay with her mother. She stayed with her mother for a few weeks. Her mother cooked water for her to drink, since Ms. Narom had an infection in her stomach at that time. After around 20 days, the group chief told her that she had to return to the mobile unit. Subsequently, she had to work at a plantation a few kilometers away. When asked whether this was the light work she had referred to, Ms. Narom replied that by that time her mobile unit was not sent to work at the 1st January Dam anymore. They worked in rice fields at the time.
Mr. Koppe asked whether she observed anyone being injured by an accident, which the Civil Party confirmed. She gave an example: “The youths were digging the ground”, and were making a hole when the soil collapsed.
Targeting of East Zone People
Mr. Koppe, referring to her Civil Party Application, stated that it seemed that she had submitted that she was targeted, because she “was an Easterner” and asked her to explain this. Ms. Narom recounted that when she returned from the 1st January worksite, she was in a mobile unit for a few months. One day when she returned to the village, she saw the unit chief taking names from the New People. This unit chief asked her mother whether when being evacuated from Phnom Penh, they had crossed the East Zone. She recalled that they replied that this was not the case . They said that they were brought by the Khmer Rouge to Chamkar Leu in Kampong Cham. Some four to five months later, people from the East Zone were taken away and killed. At that time, Ms. Narom did not know anything about any rebellious attempts – she only learned about this afterwards. Some members of her family were only three to twelve years old; they did not know anything about the nature of the East Zone people. Mr. Koppe then inquired whether she heard about this later. Ms. Narom replied that after “an attempt to kill was made”, she fled to her cousin’s village seven to eight km away, where she stayed for around a month. There, she saw people being evacuated from the East Zone. She “heard people whisper” that these people were taken away and killed. This is when she heard that people who had been evacuated from the East Zone were subsequently taken away and killed. She heard that this was why they attempted to kill her family.
Mr. Koppe asked whether her brothers in law, having been former Lon Nol soldiers, were involved in the East Zone rebellion. Ms. Narom replied that when they were in Suon, they had to tell them the truth about their past employments, which they did. At that time “you did not see any male youths walking on the street […] as those male youths were arrested to join the army”. Her bother-in-law was a former soldier, and her other was a previous medic – they told them the truth about their employment.
At this point, the president gave the floor to Khieu Samphan Defense Counsel Anta Guissé. She started her questioning by asking about Ms. Narom’s female group leaders Vat and Ri,[5] which Ms. Narom confirmed. Ms. Guissé then asked whether Ms Narom met unit leaders who were higher than Vat and Ri, so who Vat and Ri’s direct supervisors were. Ms. Narom replied that she knew there were higher unit leaders, but she never met them.
Ms. Guissé then inquired about the person who was beaten up and the person who beat her. Ms. Narom replied that there were two chiefs at the worksite: Vat and Ri. Yoeun[6] was the unit chief who was not at the worksite. Vat was the one who beat the worker. Ms. Narom confirmed that Vat beat Eyng[7]. Ms. Guissé then asked whether it was correct that Vat was alone when beating Eyng, which Ms. Narom confirmed, stating that Vat and Ri were the decision-makers.
Turning to her last point, Ms. Guissé asked about the transport of sick people and who those people were. Ms. Narom replied that it were the male youths who carried those workers. Ms. Guissé then asked whether these people were also digging soil or whether they were only assigned to transport people in hammocks. Ms. Narom replied that no specific group of people was assigned to transport people – they were normal workers. “No one was allowed to stand idle.” However, they were sometimes asked to transport people.
At this point, the President thanked the Ms. Narom for her statement and dismissed her. He stated that this afternoon, the statement of Civil Party TCCP-992 would be heard. Subsequently, the testimony of the two other parties would be heard. He then adjourned the hearing.
Decision on Last Week’s Disagreements
After the morning adjournment, the President announcement that the chamber would continue hear victim impact statements in the afternoon, including TCCP-992.
Before inviting the Civil Party, however, the chamber issued a decision on the issue last week. The President first summarized last week’s key document presentation hearing of Wednesday and Thursday (for a detailed account, see blog posts from August 26th and 27th) where both defense teams withdrew. He stated that the purpose of these key document hearings was to provide the parties opportunity to present documents that are particularly relevant to a particular issue.[8]
The President further stated that neither of the defense teams was able to provide any legal basis for this conduct. The International Counsel for Nuon Chea had admitted last Thursday that his departure was indeed without any legal basis. He justified his behavior by his objection to the documents, stating that these should not be considered documents for the purpose of the chamber.[9] The President reiterated that the parties may present any documents of case 002/002. While they might rely more heavily to contemporaneous documents, the President stated that the chamber had never excluded reference to Written Records of Interviews. “These hearings are intended to assist chamber and parties to identify those documents that are particularly relevant to the trial” and facilitate the understanding of the public.[10] The president further stated that the position by parties, including on key documents, would be taken into account by the chamber when assessing all evidence admitted to the trial in accordance with relevant jurisprudence.
With regards to Written Records of Interviews and Civil Party applications, as the chamber had indicated earlier, the absence of oral testimonies are relevant in assessing which value should be accorded to these testimonies[11] Thus, the Chamber reiterated its previous ruling that Nuon Chea Defense Counsel’s objection to Written Records of Interviews during said hearing was unfounded.
As a separate issue, the Khieu Samphan Defense Counsel’s oral submission raised other objection relating to disclosures from documents from 003 and 004, which had been admitted to the Court already.[12] Some of the issues mentioned in this document had already been discussed already in its guidelines for disclosures of 003 and 004 documents in case 002.
Moreover, the Khieu Samphan defense also objected to presentation of eighteen Written Records of Interviews during key document hearing on 26th August 2015: The Chamber had granted in a written motion for these Written Records of Interviews to be admitted as new evidence, pursuant to rules 87(3) and 87(4). The Chamber had noted that the Khieu Samphan Defense Team had remained silent regarding this motion. Thus, the Co-Prosecution would be permitted to use the documents during the key document hearings. As regards the two other documents[13], the Co-Prosecution had indicated that they would not use the latter one. As for the first one, they would not be permitted to use this, since it had not been admitted in case 002.
Furthermore, the Chamber had and would continue to hear all parties “in an appropriate manner”; the President noticed that some comments were made by Mr. Koppe that were directed to the trial panel. While the Chamber respected his right to free speech and his right to make comments, some of his comments seemed to overstep his boundaries. The Chamber is in the process of deciding on appropriate steps, but wished to give Mr. Koppe the opportunity to correct his behavior. Based assurances of court attendances, the Chamber did not consider it necessary to take further steps relating to Co-Prosecutor’s request to take steps relating to the presence of the Defense Counsels.[14]
Second Civil Party: Chao Lang
At this point, Civil Party TCCP-992 was ushered in. Civil Party Chao Lang was born on the 1st January 1952 in Phnom Penh and is currently living in Sihanouk City. She had been divorced for almost thirty years.
The President gave the floor to the Civil Party Lead Co-Lawyers to put questions to Ms. Lang in relation to harms she had suffered. Mr. Pich Ang gave the floor to Civil Party lawyer Lor Chunthy, who asked Ms. Lang about the period shortly before April 1975. Ms. Lang stated that she was working in the hospital 404 in Siem Reap. Before working at 1st January Dam, she met a Filipino, who was responsible for explosives at a warehouse. This person also instructed her to hide her biography. She had been told that after the Khmer Rouge had defeated the former regime, they would search for those having worked for the previous regime and kill these. To her understanding at the time, she did not believe that the Khmer Rouge would kill these, so she went to Phnom Penh to her parents. 15 days later, she was asked to go to Kieng Svay to play traditional games. She arrived shortly before the Khmer Rouge took over power on the 17th of April 1975. After the Civil Party recounted how she escaped from on the 17th of April 1975, Mr. Chunthy asked what she observed until the time that she worked at the 1st January Dam Site. She told the court that she spent time in the Chamkar Pagoda, where she spent two months, living in the village. Because she could not bear the situation, she decided to travel alone to Svay Rieng province.
When Ms. Lang recounted in detail how she tried reaching her parents in Svay Rieng, Mr. Chunthy intervened and asked her whether she met her parents once she arrived in Svay Rieng.
Again, Mr. Chunthy interrupted, asking where they dropped her off when she was put on the oxcart. She stated that they arrived at Ou Kang Seang village, after which she was placed to the Sector 42 mobile unit, where she was sent to the 1st Jan Dam worksite. She did not know which village she was placed in. They were forced to carry earth day and night.
Working Conditions
Mr. Chunthy then requested leave of the President to present a video clip,[15] which showed people carrying earth at a dam site. Mr. Chunthy then asked whether she recognized that this was the worksite she worked at. She confirmed this. When being instructed to carry dirt at the worksite, the working conditions were “extremely difficult […]. Sometimes I overworked. It was beyond my physical strength.” She had to work in order to avoid being killed.
After returning from the daily work routine, the workers would usually attend meetings where they reflected on self-criticisms and achievements of the day. She stated that she had not expected that the non-active workers would disappear.
She recounted: “One day, I criticized the group chief.” In reply, they stated that “so far, no 17th April person had criticized a group chief”. In her case, despite having criticized the group chief she did not disappear “for some reason.” She stressed that she worked “extremely hard” at the worksite.
Later, she was given permission to visit Ou Kang Saeng village. She could not recall the date of this visit. Upon her arrival, the base people asked her why she came, because her “relatives had been sent away and killed.” They told her that her other siblings had been taken away and killed. They told her that they were accused them of being White Khmer, because they had salt to eat. As far as she understood, her relatives obtained salt in exchange of a wrist watch. She was told that her sister, her sister’s husband and their three year old child were chained to an oxcart and dragged through the forest.
“How terrible it was for a three year child. If they were to kill them, why did they have to torture them by chaining them and dragging them behind an oxcart?” Ms. Lang stated that “All my hopes and expectations disappeared. My knees trembled and became weak.” Out of fear of being implicated if someone saw her weeping, she returned to her worksite before the day was over. She tried to work as hard as she could and did not dare to do any activity that might raise suspicion.
One day, she had high fever and became unconscious. When she woke up, she was in a small room in a hospital. There was no food. When the work finished at 5 pm, Comrade Pho requested to come and visit her, because Pho was afraid that Ms. Lang would die. Pho, who now lives in Canada, requested to stay overnight with her, which was authorized. She picked some leaves from a tree and asked her to drink it. However, the high fever remained. In the morning, Comrade Pho had to return to work but begged the staff for better medicine. They gave Ms. Lang one pill, which Ms. Lang could identify as aspirin due to her medical background. When having taken the pill, the high temperature went down. Although her fever had not completely subsided, she had to return to work.
Later on, almost during the harvest season, certain members of the mobile units, including Ms. Lang, were reassigned to the “area of the 100 rice fields”. The temperature was extremely high, and there was not enough water and food. They had to search for drinking water, but it was extremely difficult to find any water they could drink.
While they were still working at the rice field, they had to pick the morning glory, including its roots, to use it as their food.
Visit to a Cooperative
Once the harvest was completed, they were allowed to visit the cooperatives. When she arrived at the cooperatives, they were given rice, green beans and sugar, so that they could boil it. She thought “they were grateful”, and for this reason she decided not to return. However, they instructed them to return. They refused to return and stated that they would remain with the villagers, even if they were taken to be killed. Although they told them that “Angkar urged them to return”, they insisted to stay. Despite the warning, they decided not to return. They were asked to attend a meeting with the cooperative chiefs. When they arrived at the meeting, they put chains on the workers. Then, they walked them back to the 100 rice field area. They warned them not to flee, since they would be shot dead; thus, no one dared to flee. By around midnight, they arrived at the rice fields. By the time they arrived there, they “lost all their hopes” and thought it was “[their] turn this time”. When they instructed someone to cook rice, they thought this would be their last meal. They were re-educated, and it was stated that they should be grateful to Angkar for the rice. That they were not taken anywhere was because of their hard work.
After this, they were sent to other canals. While working at Bos Khnaor, she sometimes fell asleep and fell down.
Mr. Chunthy then asked her what she could remember of the time at the 1st January Dam. Ms. Lang replied that she remembered some events “that were painful”. When she was sick, she was by herself, there was no relative. “I did not expect that I could survive. Not at all.” Another painful memory was the lack of food. She became emaciated.
She had to work until ten or eleven at night. The workers returned to the sleeping quarters, while only Comrade Po rand her remained. She had to accompany Kim Pho who had the night blindness, which meant that she could sleep less every night. When they met three leaders, she let them know that Kim Po had night-blindness by letting her walk on her own. Thus, Kim Po stumbled over the three men. The three men told her to inform the unit chief not to allow Kim Po to work at night time.
Meetings were held every three days or every week, where they had to commit themselves to the work. In the meetings, they were warned that the “wheel of the history is moving forward”. Any comrade who dared to block the wheel “would be in trouble.” Everyone was committed to complete and accomplish the work quota set out by Angkar.
Mr. Chunthy inquired whether she observed or witnessed any incidents where one of her colleagues was arrested. She replied that they had to focus on their work to avoid being arrested. While working, someone would disappear sometimes.
At this time, Mr. Chunthy interrupted the Civil Party, redirecting the question to her time at the 1st January worksite. He asked her whether she was married at the worksite. She was forced to marry her husband who she did not love. A person said that the marriage was arranged for her. She asked this person how she got married, since she did not have any new clothes. That person warned her not to refuse to get married, or else she would experience trouble.
She was given a new set of clothes and was asked to get ready to get married. During the wedding was asked to hold hands with her husband. The candidate and her did not know each other. After having held hands, they were allowed to stay with each other for three nights, after which they were sent back to work. During the first night, she did not say anything, because a militiaman was eavesdropping. Thus, her husband and she decided to keep silent. After three nights, they were separated. “Married women and married men had to stay in different places”. They were not allowed to see each other.
At this point, the president interrupted the questioning, and adjourned the meeting for a short break.
The Death of the Civil Party’s Relatives
The last session was opened by the President who gave the floor back to the Civil Party Lead Co-Lawyers.
Mr. Chunthy turned to the family members of the Civil Party, asking whether she had lost any of hers. She replied that wanted to add some information regarding the 1st January Dam: a truck full of cement bags arrived at the worksite. There were two female workers and three male ones. She hurt her back badly before being able to finish the unloading the truck.
Then, Ms. Lang returned to the topic of her father and mother. Her father arrived in Kampong Chhnang and arrested and subsequently killed. She was living with her siblings in Pursat province, when her mother became sick. Before her mother died, she begged for the washing water of the rice grains so that she could drink it in order to regain strength. However, not even this water was given to her. “How disgraceful was this for my mother.” Even when she begged, she was not allowed the rice water. “What was the Khmer Rouge leadership thinking about? Did they give well due at all to my mother’s life and other Cambodians lives?” “She begged for that water until her last breath.”
She stated that when she was in Bos Khnaor, she met a person who escaped. He now lives in France.
The President gave the floor to the Co-Prosecution. Senior Assistant Prosecutor Mr. de Wilde asked about her younger brothers. She replied that her two younger brothers died from illness. Her mother died from starvation in combination with her illness. Mr. de Wilde then asked whether it was correct that after her marriage she did not return to the 1st Jan Dam, which the Civil Party confirmed.
Mr. de Wilde then asked her who warned her not to refuse to get married. She replied that it was the unit and group chief. Asked who presided over the ceremony and whether any speech was delivered, she replied that the Sector committee made a speech: he referred to Sector 42 committee, where he encouraged them to work hard. After this, they made the “so-called solemn declaration to abide by the will of Angkar.” She then corrected herself, stating that the she had to make the solemn commitment to recognize each other as husband and wife.
Referring to her supplementary submission,[16] Mr. de Wilde asked her whether she confirmed that they were instructed to “make babies”, which she denied. “I don’t think I made such a statement.”
He then asked her about the structure at the worksite. Ms. Lang clarified tht she did not know whether the mobile unit belonged to the army or not. However ,there was an announcement tht they were part of the Sector 42 mobile unit. 3 sectors were involved: 41, 42 and 43. She only knew two people: Comrade Kim and Comrade Sreng. Comrade Sreng was her unit chief, but that person died because of the accusation of a mobile affair. She was not certain about the role of comrade Kim, but thought that Comrade Kim was responsible for Sector 42 mobile unit.
Mr. de Wilde then asked whether she also had to transport earth during the evening or at night. She replied that she had to guide Comrade Pho to the sleeping quarters after having finished carrying earth. This was almost midnight. She could not recall how many cubic meters the workers in her unit had to carry, since it varied from location to location. Usually, it was around two cubic meters.
Health Care
Turning to the topic of health care, Mr. de Wilde inquired about the quality of this, since she had been working as a medic under Lon nol. Ms. Lang answered that she saved one person’s life who was “so emaciated”. She injected a needle into this person, since the medical staff was unable to do so. She then begged the medical staff not to report this to the superior. This person survived and is selling jewelry at Toul Tom Poung market.
To her knowledge, there was no medicine that was effective for treatment. She did not know the medical conditions of that woman. The medical staff was trying her best to insert the needle in, but she failed to do so. Thus, from her observation, the medical staff did not receive proper training, since she did not even manage to insert a needle into a patient’s vein.
Mr. Wilde then asked whether she observed any disappearances while sleeping or while working. Ms. Lang replied that people disappeared after the criticism and self-critisicm meetings. “People disappeared continuously.” They heard that these workers were sent to re-education because they were “not so active.” However, they did not know what happened to these workers, since they never appeared again.
Regarding the issue of monitoring, this did not only occur at the 1st January Dam, but also at other worksites. Even siblings did not dare speaking one to another. As for the topic of fleeing, Ms. Lang stated that she made an attempt to flee the worksite by making a fake letter with the signature of Comrade Kim to go to the cooperative. There, she was given food.
Her absecnce was noticed. She left the worksite once in a while, because she knew she would die “sooner or later”. She knew that she might die, but she had to fake the letter to present it to the military at he cooperative to receive some rice. She did not dare to stay longer at the cooperative, since she would be criticized when going back to the worksite.
Turning back to Forced Marriage
Nuon Chea Defense Lawyer Liv Sovanna started his line of questioning by asking when her three children were born. She stated that her first child was born in 1980, her second in 1983, and the last in 1985. She divorced her husband in 1988 or 1989, because she was forced to marry under the Khmer Rouge and their parents were not satisfied with the marriage. Her parents in law “were not satisfied” with her and wanted “a better daughter-in-law”. Mr. Sovanna inquired whether the divorce resulted from family problems and not the relationship itself. She replied that in her opinion, the divorce was caused by their forced marriage in the Khmer Rouge time. “I do not know whether my opinion is right or wrong, Mr. Lawyer.” When pressed on the causes, Ms. Lang insisted that the reason for her divorce was the forced marriage. Another cause was the family trouble, since the family considered her an offence, since she was seen as a person without a clear goal.
When asked why she did not divorce her husband immediately in 1979, she stated that she did not know whether she would meet her family members. When she found the family members of her husband’s side, they went back to his home village and built his house. However, the in-law-family wanted a wealthier wife for their son.
Mr. Sovanna then asked whether the Victim Information form reflected what she had stated, which she affirmed: “Why not?” Mr. Sovanna stated that she had not mentioned the forced marriage in her first application form and inquired why this was the case. She explained that there was no question about the forced marriage. Later, she was asked and replied that she was forced to marry under the Khmer Rouge.
Mr. Sovanna then asked about her statement before the break that she was a medical staff in Battambang province; he referred to her information sheet,[17] where she had stated that she had been a medic. He asked her to explain this, since this stood in contradiction with her earlier statement. She replied that she never stated that she was a medical staff at a military barrack. She worked in Siem Reap at the 404 hospital.
He insisted that she was not consistent in her Civil Party Application with today’s testimony when stating that she had been separated from her family during the evacuation. At this point, Mr. Pich Ang asked for references. Mr. Sovanna gave the respective references, quoting Ms. Lang’s statement that she stayed with her family, whereas she had stated today that she was separated from her family members during the evacuation. She clarified that it was not true what he had quoted. She visited Kieng Svay a few days before Khmer New Year. Her parents were staying together in Phnom Penh.
At this point, Khieu Samphan Defense Counsel Anta Guissé started her line of questioning. She turned to the issue about her night-blind colleague, who was instructed by three leaders not to work anymore. Asked whether Ms. Lang could recall the name of these three people who intervened, Ms. Lang stated that these three individuals “were the three senior leaders.” She concluded this from the “beautiful scarves” they were wearing, but she could not remember their names.
Visits of Senior Leaders
Ms. Guissé then asked whether Ms. Lang knew Pol Pot at the time she was working at the 1st January Dam site. Ms. Lang stated that she did not know, but heard people say that he came to visit the worksite. This prompted to Ms. Guissé to refer to her application,[18] where it was stated that Pol Pot would visit the worksite one to two times per month. Ms. Lang answered that she did not know him personally or his appearance. She did not know how many times he came to visit the worksite. Her unit chief would tell her to work hard.
Ms. Guissé asked to clarify, since she had stated in her application that Pol Pot came to the worksite every month. Ms. Lang replied that Pol Pot came to the worksite maybe three times in total. “I only knew that there were people from the Center Office coming to the site”. If she was not mistaken, meetings were convened very frequently at the district level. “As for Pol Pot, he may have visited the site” several times.
Ms. Guissé insisted that based on her application it seemed that she saw Pol Pot visiting, whereas now she spoke about the possibility of Pol Pot visiting the site. Ms. Lang replied that group and unit chiefs told her that Pol Pot came to visit that site and that he was in a senior position. However, she did not know him personally. She heard unit chiefs telling her about his visits.
Ms. Guissé asked why it was written in her application that he came once or twice to the worksite per month and whether Ms. Lang had not provided this information. The Civil Party replied that she did not work at the 1st Jan dam on a permanent basis. Someone told her about Pol Pot’s visit.
Turning to the issue of having worked with a Filipino woman mentioned earlier, Ms. Guissé asked to confirm that this person had been working with explosives. Ms. Lang stated that this person was a colonel in charge of restring explosives in the warehouse and monitoring their transport from the aircraft into the warehouse. Asked to clarify the gender, Ms. Lang stated that it was a man, 51 or 52 years old. She heard that this person was responsible for the warehouse from Yaing, who was her adoptive father.
Reacting to this, Ms. Guissé read out an excerpt[19] and asked whether this person who came from the Philippines in charge of explosives, or only a medic.
Ms. Guissé then asked whether this occurred during the first quarter of 1975, which the Civil Party confirmed.
Returning to the time that she suffered from fever, and Kim Pho suffered from night-blindness, Ms. Guissé asked whether the medicine of taking leaves was common in Cambodia at the time. Ms. Lang answered that they had no choice but to resort to those traditional hearings. Whether she trusted the traditional medicine or not, she had to drink it. Asked who gave her aspirin, Ms. Lang replied that the medic was on stand-by at the worksite. Pho begged for the aspirin tablet.
Turning to her last point, Ms. Guissé referred to a statement[20] where the Civil Party had stated that she had left her post for three days and that when she returned, she was called to be re-educated. Ms. Guissé asked whether she was called for re-education several times, ones when she refused to leave the cooperative and once when she went to her mother’s village without leave. Ms. Lang replied that they took her back to work. She was chained and was reprimanded from the morning until the evening. When they came to collect her, they lied to her that they wanted her to a meeting. Asked again whether she was subject to re-education when returning from her mother’s village, she stated that she was reprimanded and was “refashioned.”
With this, the President adjourned the hearing.
Mr. Pich Ang interjected, stating that the Civil Party had not had the opportunity to put a question to the accused through the President.
Ms. Lang stated that she had two questions: First, “Khieu Samphan stated that he did not wish to evacuate and kill people. Who made the decision to kill all of them?” Second, she asked whether he referred to the victims when stating that he wished not to talk to anyone about what happened.
The President informed the Civil Party that the two accused upheld their right to remain silent. Then the President adjourned the hearings. The hearings will continue tomorrow, September 02 with the statements of TCCP-993 and TCCP-994. He thanked Ms. Lang and dismissed her.
[1] This should have been TCCP-991] [2] E3/4909 [3] Mr. Koppe pronounced this as Yeung or Yoeung. [4] Mr. Koppe pronounced this name Ying or Yeng. [5] In the English version, this was first translated as Vat and Ery. At a later point in time, this was mispronounced in the English version as one person: Vatery. [6] This name was pronounced earlier as Choeung. [7] Pronounced ‘Yeng’ at this point. [8] The president referred to E315/1. See also E361 [9] See draft transcript, p. 51 and 52. [10] See also Case 002/01 Judgment, paragraph 67 and 68. [11]See E96/7 and E299. [12]See E363 [13] D195.7 [14]See E360 [15] E3/33014R. [16] D22/339A, at 00586027(FR) , 01098624 (ENG). [17] D22/339 and D22/339.1 at 00846972 (FR) 00484949 (KH) [18] E3/5965 , 00846972 (FR) 00484836 (KH) ) (but content can be found in Eng: E319/27.4.13 01098616 . [19]E3/5695, 00484834 (KH) translation E319/27.4.13 01098615 (ENG) [20] E3/5965, and Eng in E319/27.4.13 at 01098616