Monday, June 14, 2010

Reassuring the Khmer Krom

By James O’toole and May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post


Pursat Province
KHMER Rouge tribunal co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley addressed a group of Khmer Krom residents of Pursat province on Sunday, intent on assuring them that the suffering inflicted upon their community under Democratic Kampuchea will not be overlooked by the court.

In speaking to a group of around 200 in Pursat’s Romlech commune, Bakan district, Cayley made the uncommon move of reaching out and explaining the status of the court’s investigation to survivors who have voiced concern that attacks and alleged genocide against them have yet to be acknowledged.

“I know there is a feeling amongst some of your community that you haven’t been properly considered by the court,” Cayley told the audience, speaking in the dusty courtyard of the Wat Romlech pagoda.

“But I want to say to you today, sincerely, why I’m here is because I do recognise what happened to you as a people.”

“Khmer Krom” is a term for ethnic Khmer with roots in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.

In January, the court’s co-investigating judges ruled that genocide charges and other offences would not be brought against the Khmer Rouge
leaders currently in detention based on the regime’s treatment of the Khmer Krom.

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