My work has been rather simple at the court so far,
as there haven’t actually been any hearings taking place. This was all
set to change this week, with Friday seeing the first session of case
002/02, with two of the top Khmer Rouge facing charges of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes. The
day didn’t start well, with a group of civil parties – victims of the
Khmer Rouge who have agreed to testify or take part in the trials –
complaining that the 11 reparations agreed by the first trial –
including building a memorial, producing books, having PSTD workshops
and community projects – were not what they wanted, and that they only
pleased NGOs. Instead, they are demanding $13,500 each. The projects
would benefit the wider Cambodian population, and benefit from lots of
research into treating and helping post-conflict societies, while cash
payments rarely work for anything outside the immediate family . It is frustrating to see money
dominating something that should be so positive, especially as such
demands are so unlikely to be met.
(Good morning - the rainy season is still in full force)
The
next bit of excitement was the whole Defense team walking out of the
court in the afternoon, citing an inability to prepare for the appeal to
case 002/01 and this current one (despite the fact the prosecution has
to do the same), and that since they have applied to have all the judges
removed anyway, case 002/02 shouldn’t have even started. So it is
currently unclear when, if ever, the next case will actually start. Oh
the joys of working in an international court!
(White sand)
This
past weekend I went to Kep, a small sea-side town and the former
resort area for Phnom Penh’s rich. With that social group being largely
exterminated by the Khmer Rouge, and with the regime’s anti-money
policy, their opulent villas were ransacked and abandoned. Today, this
means concrete shells surrounded by jungle, providing rather poignant
reminders of the ravages of the war. I tried to visit one of the biggest,
once a royal retreat, on a hill overlooking the beach. However a
family seemed to be squatting in the ruins (a common occurrence, we saw a
policeman living in another one), and their dogs were very aggressive.
What was odd was that the topiary still seemed to be being done on the
large ornamental trees in the garden, despite the main house having no
roof! So I retreated past the pack of wild monkeys, back to the beach
and tourists and my group. A
stripe of white sand about 100m across, pretty clean, and gently lapped
by bath warm water is the main draw of Kep, and it was very relaxing.
No loud music, no hawkers, and no begging kids instantly set this beach
apart from ones I have visited in the past 6 months, and it was really
rather nice.
(Topiary elephant)
(Checking his hair)
We
went for a walk around the local national park, a forested hill jutting
down almost to the water. While we didn’t see any animals, the easy
loop path took us away from all of the noises and pollution of Phnom
Penh, and it was a very peaceful 2 hours.
(Temple and the plains)
Other than the beach, Kep is most famous for its crab, especially when cooked with the famous fresh pepper from neighbouring Kampot (where I was 2 weeks ago). Sitting in a simple wooden hut (next to 20 other identical but competing huts) jutting out over the water, with un-obstructed views of the sea and distant islands, it is a fantastic experience, and $6.50 for crab isn’t bad either!
(Crab and pepper by the sea)
On
the way back to Phnom Penh, we stopped off at a pepper farm to pick up
some fresh sprigs (and to see how the stuff is grown – it turns out I
win an argument while I was studying in Colorado (yes, it was almost 10
years ago, but I remember these things) and yes, as I insisted, pepper
grows on vines, and not trees – but I digress. It was fun to see the
stuff that we take for granted being grown, and managed to get a big bag
of fresh ones to cook with. Prawns, pepper and tofu coming up for
dinner tonight!
(Pepper growing)
We
also managed to visit another cave complex, near the town of Kampong
Trach. Unlike last time, where we had the place to ourselves, as an
active pilgrimage destination this one was rather busier, although with
Cambodians rather than tourists, which somewhat excuses the noise and
chaos….somewhat. Walking through a low subterranean tunnel, it suddenly
opens up into what can only be described as the middle of the mountain!
The roof of the cave must have fallen in many millennia ago, creating a
natural tree lined amphitheater that was really rather impressive.
Surrounded by Buddhist shrines and statues, including a few damaged by
the iconoclastic Khmer Rouge, it was most certainly worth the $1
entrance fee.
(Inside the mountain)
(Both sides)
(The heads from destroyed statues)
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