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LETTER FROM KHIEU SAMPHAN:
APPEALING TO ALL MY COMPATRIOTS
Note: This letter was sent to all Cambodian
newspapers
Pailin: August 16, 2001
During the past two years, many
of my fellow countrymen have expressed their sympathy towards me. You already
understand that by my nature, I have never committed any improper act, let alone
crimes. You also know that during “Democratic Kampuchea” I did not have any
authority to order anybody to harm or execute anyone, not even one person. There
is only one thing that you still wonder about: how could a sincere man like me
have agreed to take a nominal position, called “the President of Democratic
Kampuchea’s State Presidium”?
However, I have tried to avoid anything that might fit the notion of “If
the wound doesn’t hurt, there is no need to take a stick and scratch it,” and
thus will not give a lengthy answer to your question. Now the war, which has
torn our country apart for decades, has died out. I do not see any importance in
bringing up this tragic past. We would be better off to let everyone be at peace
so that all of us can carry on our daily tasks, as we have been doing with the
support of the international community in order to reinforce the fundamental
principles of democracy and overcome obstacles on a step-by-step basis.
Consequently, our country may heal its wounds and be ready to face and resolve
other, more complicated issues, which mostly are life-and-death problems of our
increasingly poor, tiny country...which are the results of this long civil war.
It is for the above-mentioned reasons that I have managed to avoid rejecting or
making corrections to some articles that were written inappropriately about me.
But, because a special tribunal is being organized to prosecute top Khmer Rouge
leaders for their genocidal crimes, I can no longer be silent on these ambiguous
or confusing views toward me. That is why I am writing to clarify my political
stance and activities, as follows:
1. What were the aims of Observateur newspaper?
This newspaper attempted to reflect the opinions of scholars, teachers,
and a majority of royal government officials, who strongly supported the
neutrality policy of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. At the same time, people thought
that democratic measures should be taken to promote social balance in order to
amplify the basis of a policy of neutrality.
2. Either as a Secretary of State for Commerce or as a people’s
representative, I fulfilled my obligations with all my heart and soul. With the
same consideration, I participated in supporting the neutrality policy of Prince
Norodom Sihanouk, the head of state.
3. The reason for my escape from Phnom Penh in 1967 is that I was forced.
It was not because I decided to abandon my activities under the framework of the
National Assembly and choose revolutionary struggle as a solution. The whole
story began with farmers in Samlot, Battambang Province, who revolted. Today,
most Cambodian historians admit that the farmers initiated the revolt by
themselves because area authorities had rudely confiscated their land.
Unfortunately, this uprising was brutally oppressed. Most people called
scholars, including me, “leftists.” We were accused of being insurgents and had
to be brought to trial in a military court. In fact, it was not the only time
that we were intimidated. However, after the “right wing” assembly was formed
after the 1966 election and after this assembly appointed Lon Nol to control
government affairs, all these accusations and intimidation could no longer be
ignored.
I would like to say that since I left Phnom Penh, my active role in
politics came to an end. In the countryside (Kampong Speu), I did nothing other
than hide in fear in farmers’ huts or rice barns. I did not show up for two
years because I was afraid that the commune chief or his assistants, or some
secret agents of the police or the military might spot me, and that would bring
trouble to the whole village. I did not assign communist forces, masses or
troops. All of these forces were considered to be strategic by the Communist
Party of Kampuchea (CPK). I did not have the right to partake in this task. Nor
was I aware of the assembly creating the CPK in 1960 in Phnom Penh. Please be
informed that during that time, the CPK leaders were in Rattanakiri Province.
Thus, I did not know who the leaders of the CPK were, let alone meeting and
discussing serious business with them.
4. After that, a coup was waged in 1970. Immediately, the Vietnam War
climaxed in our country. The neutrality policy of Prince Norodom Sihanouk had
warded off this war for 15 years. Although this saved many lives, no matter how
hard he tried, our country could only delay this disaster. The storm caused by
the Cold War and the Vietnam War had effects far beyond the control of the
Prince and our nation. Then the superpowers, who were our enemies, fought each
other all at once on our tiny land; nothing could stop it. Could our pathetic
country bear this destruction? This was an immediate question. In the face of
this dangerous situation, almost all Cambodians living both in the rural areas
and the cities, scholars, dignitaries, and overseas university students
bolstered their cooperation to save the country. There were two prominent forces
at that time:
1. The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), which consisted of stationary
forces.
2. Prince Norodom Sihanouk, who was influential both inside the country
and in the international arena.
These two forces influenced each other, so they had to work together.
The question arose: How could we integrate these two powers? Could Prince
Norodom Sihanouk cooperate with the leaders of the CPK? Certainly, he could not.
This was why I was needed to serve as a bridge. My social class and my
experience with senior political leaders in the country determined my role here.
To act as a link, I had to be a recognizable leader of the country’s struggle
forces. In reality, I did not have an obligation as such a leader. This made me
feel very uneasy. But, with circumstance being what they were, I was required to
overcome my temptation. So, I made a “sacrifice” and took on this obligation in
order to participate in saving our country as much as I could and according to
my circumstances. Therefore, you, my compatriots, can see the circumstances in
which I was entangled (a symbolic position) in our country’s struggle. In short,
the circumstances were a consequence of the 1970 coup and the superpowers’ fight
in our land during the Vietnam War. With these realities, I would like to prove
that I had not intended to conspire in the murderous acts that would occur
during 1975-1978, as I had not been aware of the plan at all.
In addition, once I took the position as one of the country’s top
struggle leaders, even though the war had ended in 1975, people will never
forget it. However, being labeled as a leader of the struggle in the country
qualified me to be able to continue to take the title of “the President of the
State Presidium of Democratic Kampuchea,” although I had yet to have any
authority. If I denied this title, what would happen to me? I would be counted
as a traitor, and this was also correct because DK was a legitimate state of
Kampuchea born from the struggle of Kampuchean citizens against foreign
interference, and it was also a member of the United Nations. All of the points
mentioned above are critical factors relevant to my past activities that I want
to tell all of you about. In the following explanation, I would like to inform,
you, my compatriots, about my rank and roles in the CPK.
As you already know, my social class and good relationship with the
senior leaders of our country helped me to assume the tasks of “front” and
“foreign affairs,” jobs that dealt with the upper social class and international
affairs. For the same reason, they never gave me serious tasks, even tasks in
the CPK, which included such things as recruiting people and military tasks, or
tasks with any real authority. Only cadres who came from the peasant class and
those who the CPK thought were well informed about class attitudes and who had
passed a series of tests, were allowed to undertake these tasks. My rank in the
CPK and in DK was not equivalent to the ranks of a zone or regional cadre, and
nothing compared with those responsible for cooperatives.
It is true to say that I became a “candidate” of the Party Center in 1970
and a “full-rights member” in mid-1976. However, based on the principles of
“democratic centralism,” all important tasks were decided within the framework
of the Standing Committee or by a separate meeting between organizations and
cadres responsible for the regions and zones. The Party Center’s meeting was
actually a way of instilling a new philosophy and stances into cadres, in order
to carry out decisions made by organizational committees about political lines
or various policies, to discuss past mistakes, do some criticism and
self-criticism, or check the results of previous missions. Therefore, I did not
have the right to participate in decisions on important matters. For example,
until now, I did not know when the evacuation of people from the cities was
discussed and approved.
I also had not been apprised of the mass murders. In about mid-1978, I
accidentally learnt of a case of arrests and barbarous acts taking place in
Preah Vihear Province. My wife, who was in tears, told me about it. Her siblings
and relatives, along with many other people, were shackled on both their hands
and legs for over a year, causing nasty wound on their bodies. However, when the
captives were released and the regional party secretaries were arrested, I knew
that this was an act of individuals. The rules prohibited me from travelling
without permission. At the same time, the secret and strict discipline of “you
know only what you do; you do not know, hear, or see other people’s tasks”
prevented other people from telling me about this tragedy. This also stopped me
from knowing about anything that was happening in the country. I only knew what
the leaders of the CPK allowed me to. Only when the movement failed did my
relatives, victims, and witnesses tell me about this massacre, which would cause
one’s head to tingle upon hearing. In the end, I definitely deny the third point
mentioned in the report written by a group of U.S. researchers working for the
so-called “Organization for International Justice.” It stated that in 1977 after
the chief of Office 870, formerly named Doeun, had been arrested, I was
“promoted” to replace him. This was not true. I have never been the chief of
Office 870. I had not known any decision made by the Standing Committee of the
CPK to capture or execute anyone; how could I possibly examine the practice of
these decisions? For truth and justice, I request that the writers of this
report examine it again completely; I want to know where they got this
information relating to me. In fact, I was only an ordinary member of this
office. My obligations in this office are stated below:
1. Keeping in contact with Prince Norodom Sihanouk and the Queen, who
were staying in the Royal Palace during that time.
2. Setting prices of produce harvested by various cooperatives. But, I
could not meet this obligation, since there was no bartering among cooperatives
or between cooperatives and the state.
3. Carrying out the decision of the Standing Committee on distributing
equipment collected from Phnom Penh to the zones and regions.
4. Contacting foreign ministries of commerce in order to import equipment
as ordered by the Standing Committee.
I would like to make it clear that the office chief, Doeun, was
responsible for “political tasks.” His tasks were highly secretive; no one knew
about them. I did not remember who was chosen to replace Doeun. Nobody said a
thing about this replacement or dared to talk about it. What I remember is the
period from the end of 1976 to the beginning of 1977, when top leaders of the
CPK, as I observed, looked worried, even though they tried to control their
emotions. Then, I thought that the military situation along the eastern border
was probably unfavorable, as I saw that hospitals in Phnom Penh were full of
wounded youths and lines of trucks transported wounded soldiers from the
battlefields almost every day. It was in this circumstance that I was given more
autonomous rights to make decisions within the framework of my tasks described
above, especially on importing medical supplies, including antibiotics to meet
the demands of the Ministry of Social Affairs and various hospitals.
I have told you enough. As you can see, in the beginning I was only a
scholar who did not have any goal, except trying carefully to fulfill my
obligations to the nation. During these few decades of transformation and
complication, I am well aware of my shortcomings. I think that I cannot escape
an obligation that was destined for me. Never have I had the ambition to be a
famous leader, or thought of killing someone.
I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to express my deepest
respect to the souls of our innocent countrymen, who were victims of the
killings and heinous acts during the Democratic Kampuchea regime. To those who
lost their loved ones to the regime, I am sorry. It was my fault to be too
foolish, and failed to keep up with the real situation. I tried my best for the
sake of our nation’s survival, so that we might enjoy development and prosperity
like other nations. I am so surprised that this turned out to be mass
murder.
Respect and profound love, |
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