Former S-21 chief Kaing Guek Eav commented on current Prime Minister Hun Sen’s place in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy during yesterday’s hearing for Case 002/02 involving Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan.
Victor Koppe, a co-lawyer for Mr. Chea, ran all of yesterday’s hearing after a week of questions from the prosecution. Mr. Koppe continued to hammer Mr. Guek Eav, also known as Duch, with questions about dates and his memory before eventually moving on to his place in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy.
He started the day by questioning Mr. Guek Eav about when exactly control of the S-21 detention center was handed over to Mr. Chea after his superior Son Sen was transferred to a battle front. Mr. Koppe presented a variety of conflicting dates and testimonies about when the handover happened, but Mr. Guek Eav stuck to his guns and repeatedly said that August 15, 1977, was the exact day it happened.
Mr. Guek Eav’s rank within the Khmer Rouge then came to the fore, with Mr. Koppe asking specific questions about where he stood within the regime.
“I was in charge of an independent regiment. I was not a high level cadre,” he said. Mr. Guek Eav then compared himself to Mr. Hun Sen, claiming that the current premier had much more power and a higher standing within the Khmer Rouge than he ever did.
“He was the secretary of a special unit and a commander of a regiment, but he had combatants on his orders,” he told the court. “His soldiers were fully armed. No one dared to get in his way. I had nothing.”
Mr. Guek Eav said he had never known the prime minister personally, but Mr. Koppe continued to question him about Mr. Hun Sen. Mr. Guek Eav repeated his answer, albeit more dismissively.
“Hun Sen could flee to Vietnam with his fully armed soldiers, but I could not. I had nothing,” he repeated.
The mention of the prime minister comes on the heels of a request released to the public last week by the defense for Mr. Hun Sen and other senior military and government officials to appear in court to testify in the case. The defense has made this request multiple times, but was generally denied access.
Even if it was approved, government officials have told media outlets that no one from the government would testify because of parliamentary immunity – an ironic answer to some analysts who say the government is now disregarding the parliamentary immunity of some opposition party members.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/26336/duch--hun-sen-above-me-in-kr/