Memorial for Khmer Rouge victims unveiled in Cambodia

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

A memorial stupa was officially unveiled on the grounds of a genocide museum in Cambodia’s capital Thursday to commemorate 12,272 people who perished at the site at the hands of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge.

The 5-meter-high non-denominational stupa at a notorious prison used by the regime in the 1970s occupies the center of a square plaza, around which 16 marble plaques are embedded into the ground at Phnom Penh’s Tuol Sleng museum.

Three of the plaques have already been inscribed with the names of victims; the rest will be inscribed over the coming weeks.

"This is resolution," Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said before unveiling the memorial. "It mitigates the suffering of the victims by recognition of the crimes and cruelty that took place here."

The S-21 prison where the memorial was erected was among the most notorious of the murderous regime, under whose rule an estimated 1.5 million people -- including Buddhists and Cham Muslims -- perished.

It was where victims were held, tortured and killed -- if they were not dispatched at the so-called "killing fields" a few kilometers outside the city.

The prison was also where low-, mid- and high-ranking Khmer Rouge cadre themselves were interrogated and put to death.

Its chief jailer, Kaing Gaek Eav -- alias Duch -- was imprisoned for life in 2012 by the Khmer Rouge tribunal, established to try senior regime members for violations of international law and crimes against humanity.

German Ambassador Joachim Baron von Marshall said all had fallen victim to "stone-age communism," which saw Phnom Penh emptied out and millions forced into labor around the country.

Bou Meng and Chum Mey, two of the most well-known survivors of S-21, appeared visibly moved at the inauguration ceremony. They were joined by Norng Chan Phal, who was just a boy when he was liberated from the prison.

"We made this stupa request, so that it can provide a learning ground for younger generations," 85-year-old Mey said in a speech to government officials, diplomats, media and visitors.

"Today, as well as other victims, we are very pleased, happy to see that justice really exists… Today, my suggestion to have a memorial stupa here has been realized. I am Chum Mey, and Bou Meng along with Norng Chan Phal, we can die with closed eyes."

He said the soul of fellow survivor Vann Nath -- who went on to gain plaudits for his haunting paintings of life at S-21 before passing away in 2011 -- "for sure is very delighted" with the new stupa.

Chhuch Phoeurn, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture, said the end result was due to collaboration between the ministry, the victims support section at the tribunal, and donors -- particularly Germany, which provided 68,000 euros (around $74,000) for its construction.

"It has global features -- it doesn’t represent any religion because we know the victims who passed away in this place have various religions, and visitors also follow different religions," he said.