Biographic28,821
Bibliographic93,161
Record No
លេខឯកសារ
|
VPA-KD0015 | |
Name
ឈ្មោះ
|
Men Lay
ម៉ែន ឡាយ
| |
Gender
ភេទ
|
Female
ភេទ: ស្រី
|
|
Date Of Birth
ថ្ងៃ-ខែ-ឆ្នាំកំណើត
|
1930 | |
Nationality
|
Khmer
|
|
Ethnicity
|
Khmer
|
|
Birth Place
|
Trapeang Snay, Bati, Takeo
|
|
Current Address
|
Prek Be Village, Koh Thom Commune, Koh Thom District, Kandal Province
|
|
Mode Participation
|
Civil Party
|
|
Request Protective Measures
|
No;
|
|
Prefer form of Reparation
|
Depend on the judges
|
|
Main Crime Date
កាលបរិច្ឆេទឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មសំខាន់ៗ
|
1975-1976 |
Main Crime Location
|
My name is Men Lay. I currently live in Prek Be Village, Koh Thom Commune, Koh Thom District, Kandal Province. During the Khmer Rouge regime, I also lived in the above-mentioned location. I have nine children, but two of them died during the Pol Pot regime. Only recently did I realize that my son, Min Kan, was detained in Tuol Sleng by Angkar. Today, I am grateful to file this complaint form to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in order to seek justice for all Khmer people, as well as for my son. Arrest and detention at Tuol Sleng: In 1974, my son, Min Kan, was only about 16 years old. He was conscripted into the Khmer Rouge army. After serving in that army for a year, he visited home in his military uniform. We didn’t talk much as he was soon called by the village chief to board a boat. The village chief said that my son had visited home without permission and needed to return. I didn’t know the names of the people in charge. My son also told me that he came with three other friends, but I didn’t know who they were. Since then, I have never received any information from him, but I heard from my neighbor that my son was sent to Office 15 and that his commander came for him However, my neighbor didn’t know where he was taken. Only recently did I discover that my son, Min Kan, was arrested and detained in Tuol Sleng Prison at the end of 1975. He was released on 1 January 1976 and has never been seen since. Part C: My name is Men Lay. I lost two children during the Khmer Rouge regime. I was informed that my son, Min Kan, was incarcerated at Tuol Sleng Prison and was released. I always sense that my son is still alive. The longer I wait for him, the greater my pain. It rekindles memories of the time he was called away. Each time I think of my son, I get a headache and am unable to sleep. This causes me to be sick and weakens my productivity. Whenever someone asks me about my son, I always have hope, but later I get depressed when I realize that my son may not be alive. It’s painful just to remember the story. It saps my strength and ruins my appetite. The doctor used to give me medicine, but I don’t remember the name of the medicine and I no longer have the prescription. |
Date Completion of Form
កាលបរិច្ឆេទនៃការបំពេញបែបបទ
|
20080902 | |
Petitioner
អ្នកដាក់ញ្ញាត់
|
No; | |
Copyright: | © DC-CAM | |
រក្សាសិទ្ធិដោយ: | © មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលឯកសារកម្ពុជា |
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Biographic28,821
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Date
1970 to 197515,209
1975 to 198022,829
1980 to 198511,450
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1995 to 20001,254
2000 to 20104,840
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Credit Line: Documentation Center of Cambodia's Archives.
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This website was funded in part by a grant (Documentation and Democracy) from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development.
Concept by Ean Panharith and Youk Chhang
© 2023 Documentation Center of Cambodia
The Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide
By Youk Chhang
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide stands alongside the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as one of the key pillars of international human rights law, and for this Human Rights Day in 2022, I want to highlight the critical importance of the responsibility to prevent atrocity crimes, which includes genocide. When atrocity crimes occur, there is an immediate need to stop these atrocious acts, followed by the equally urgent tasks of documenting, investigating, and ultimately prosecuting the perpetrators. However, from 1948 to today, we have not given enough attention to true prevention.
Atrocity crimes do not occur in a vacuum. There is a long chain of events and conditions that precede atrocity crimes. Isolation, segregation, and discrimination frequently, if not always, precede the rationalization of atrocity crimes against a group of people. And before people are discriminated against, they must be dehumanized. The process of dehumanization depends upon rationalizing hatred and distrust, and these processes are precipitated by misinformation, fueled by uninformed biases, stereotypes, and exploitative actors. They are also frequently dependent upon the disintegration, corruption, or lack of development of critical institutions, in particular institutions dedicated to dialogue and education. It is here that we must dedicate our greatest attention.
Since 1948, we have made great strides toward taking actions that interrupt, mitigate, and to a very limited extent, punish the chief perpetrators of atrocity crimes; however, these actions are not preventative but reactive in nature. No atrocities crime trial has ever prevented the next genocide, and no sanctions or punishment can bring back the dead or undo the trauma that extends across multiple generations. Indeed, the trauma of atrocity crimes in the distant past are often the forgotten seeds for the next wave of violence and inhumanity of the future.
If we are to truly adopt strategies that are effective, far reaching, and decisive in preventing atrocity crimes, then our priorities must be re-oriented to the opposite end of the spectrum, where the seeds of the next genocide are cultivated. Our responsibility in complying with foundational human rights documents should be measured not solely by our success at responding, investigating, and prosecuting atrocity crimes, but by our efforts in supporting institutions, initiatives, and actions that have a positive influence in preventing all forms of inhumanity. The most effective strategy at preventing the next genocide is centered on actions and policies that interrupt and reduce the risk of escalation at the earliest stages of inhumanity.
Cambodia recently removed human rights days from public calendars. I think we should reconsider this collective decision. Cambodia has achieved extraordinary success in its genocide education programme, which is the essence of atrocity crimes prevention. And so, to capitalize on this success and Cambodia’s regional and even global leadership in this area, we should hold an annual dialogue on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. As the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) closes its doors, there is no better time than now to preserve Cambodia’s leadership and momentum in realizing the core objectives of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) is proud of the support it has given to the ECCC’s work, which was fundamental to giving victims an opportunity to participate in the justice process and realize some sense of closure from the Khmer Rouge genocide. DC-Cam is also eager to support an annual conference on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. As we commemorate this Human Rights Day, we would be mindful to recognize our fundamental human rights documents are not only universal commitments, but also standards for evaluating the kind of world we are leaving for the next generation.
—————
Youk Chhang is Executive Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia. The Center dedicating to Justice, Memory, and Healing for survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide.
Photo above: Children at Angkor Wat, 1979. After the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime on 7 January 1979, hundreds of thousands of children were left orphaned. From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge led Cambodia into tragedy causing the deaths of over 2 million people. Although two millions were killed, five millions more survived to tell their story. The perpetrators of these crimes also survived. Photo: Documentation Center of Cambodia Archives.
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