Importance of disseminating information on KRT

Open Forum on “Sharing Information on the Khmer Rouge Trial: the Challenge and Prospects” was organized by the Open Forum of Cambodia in cooperation with Center for Social Development on May 18, 2007 at World Vision-Cambodia. More than 80 participants attended the workshop including Canadian embassy, representative of US embassy, German embassy, representatives of local and international NGOs, students, and journalists.

Organizing the forum is to share experiences, lesson leant and information over the Khmer Rouge regime and to give opportunities to participants to disseminate information and to make discussion about the process of the Khmer Rouge trial.

Son Soubert said that the lack of information and the access to information are the cause of destruction and the impact on national economic development. He added that news and information is the compass to point to right ways. Particularly, Soviet Block and Eastern Europe, including Cuba, Vietnam and Lao supported Khmer Rouge Regime at the United Nation and international scene, he added.

The government and civil society play the critical roles in disseminating information on Khmer Rouge Trial to Cambodian people nationwide, especially those living in remote and rural areas where cannot access information, Seng Theary, CSD’s executive director.

Reach Sambath, press officer of Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), said that all information published and broadcasted must have “accuracy, balance and clarity.”

Im Sokthy, Open Forum of Cambodia’s executive director, said that in the modern of ICT era, internet is putting in place to disseminate information and store data. He added that Open Forum of Cambodia have created the Khmer Rouge Trial Web portal (KRT portal) since 2005 in Khmer and English in order to disseminate news and information to Cambodians and non-Cambodians to understand and know the process of Khmer Rouge Trial.

More than three-year period under Kampuchea Democratic (KD) regime, commonly known as “Khmer Rouge Regime”, was ruled by former Khmer Rouge leaders. More than 1.7 millions people were killed by starvation, over-work, execution, torture and so on. Surviving victims and victims’ families and relatives have been suffering from this brutal regime like mental health problems, traumas, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and serious mental health symptoms.

In 1997, the United Nation (UN) and the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) initially began to make discussion over the establishment of Khmer Rouge Tribunal to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. As the result, in January 2001 the Cambodian National Assembly approved the draft law (“the ECCC law”) establishing a tribunal in the form of so-called “Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)” with a mixed judicial with domestic and international features and participation in order to try alleged crimes of the Democratic Kampuchea regime.

All Cambodians wait and see whether the ECCC will bring justices to victims and families and relative of victims or not. Justice is the effective medicine to cure those victims.