Lauk Khoar Chev and Pheng Kim Ving I’d like congratulate Lauk Khaor Chev for admitting that he was a Khmer Rouge. It was a brave act indeed.
The fact that Lauk Khoar Chev is blogging here telling us that he was repugnant by then Prime Minister Hun Sen’s behavior toward Vietnam tells us a few things. 1. He is not part of the current government. 2. He is not in danger for being arrested to be tried. The trial as it was stipulated will be limited only to a number of high ranking Khmer Rouges. We pretty much know who they are. 3. If many members of the current government who held various important positions during the Khmer Rouge are not in danger of being tried, Lauk Khoar Chev has nothing to worry. I am not defending Lauk Khoar Chev, but it is important to note this. The Khmer Rouges once saw themselves as liberators. The Khmer Rouge framed its argument rather well. They used this word “rumdos” in almost every opportunity they had. Looking from a campaign point of view, the Khmer Rouge had almost a perfect propaganda. Remember the narrative. I was always intrigued with this story. I was told that the Khmer Rouges were liberators, kind, and disciplined. If a Khmer Rouge happened to pick a pepper (chilly) while an owner was not around, he/she would hang money on the tree as payment. If you contrast the situation with then the Khmer Republic that was also known as corrupted government at the time, the Khmer Rouge looked pretty decent. Further more the Khmer Rouge had His Majesty the former king behind them at the time. It was an unstoppable situation We all now know what the real Khmer Rouge had done to Khmer people. I do not need to go there. My point here is that no one knows the reason why Lauk Khaor Chev joined the Khmer Rouge or what he did during Khmer Rouge. He alone knew why he did what he did. If any lesson can be drawn out of this, it would be this. Many Khmers are vulnerable to the point of gullible when it comes to Vietnam issue. Politicians know this all too well. It is almost a guarantee to get reactions if he/she pushes the Vietnamese button correctly. There are many other buttons out there. If one pays attention, one would surely see that our leaders push their preferred button all the time. Let’s not fall for the false sense of patriotism ever again. Let’s all try to become educators- and not warriors. Let’s reframe our thinking to change the trajectory that will avoid the mistake of the past. Finally, I want to say this. I forgive you, Lauk Khaor Chev. I hope you continue to participate in this forum. Your opinion is as important as anyone else’s in this forum. Please forgive yourself you have harmed someone in the past. Please try to do something that benefits our nation and its people. You cannot change the past, but you can change the future. With Respect, Jay On Aug 17, 2:59 am, Pheng Kim Ving <[email protected]> wrote: > Re:http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc/browse_thread/thread/93f22bff8... > > Dear Khoar Chev, > > It's indeed wonderful that you confess that you're a Khmer Rouge. I > don't know your exact rank in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy, but based on > your last post, it probably wasn't very high. So if you're brought to > justice, you'll be sentenced to probably about 3 months at the most in > jail, or perhaps you'll be pardoned if you didn't murder any innocent > Cambodian during the Khmer Rouge regime or if you can convince the > court that you didn't. > > I wasn't very intelligent when I suspected you're a Khmer Rouge. Even > kids will believe that you're a Khmer Rouge, based on your deep hatred > against Vietnam and the Vietnamese race. > > Now, I'm bewildered by one aspect: the Khmer Rouge's "Angkar Leur" in > Phnom Penh tried to arrest you, you ran for your life. They would most > likely have killed you if they had succeeded in arresting you. Vietnam > destroyed them, thus liberating you from the threat of death. So why > do you hate Vietnam for having destroyed the Khmer Rouge regime?? > > Pheng Kim Ving -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org
