November 12, 2007
The Khmer Chronicles / Issue Nr 3: Arrest of Ieng Sary
John Vink
At 5:30 am on 12/11/2007 special police units and representatives of the ECCC arrested KIM Trang, alias Ieng Sary, and his wife Ieng Thirith at their home on street 21 in Phnom Penh and transferred them to the Khmer Rouge tribunal's prison in Kambol in execution of an arrest warrant for Crimes against Humanity.
Cambodia. Phnom Penh. 12/11/2007: Arrest of Ieng Sary. © John Vink/Magnum Photos for ka-set
Ieng Sary, born in 1925 in Kampuchea Krom (a vietnamese province wich once belonged to Cambodia) studies in France in the 50ties, comes back to Cambodia in 57 and in 63, by then a member of the PTK and brother-in law of SALOTH Sar, alias POL Pot, he joins the maquis. He is deputy prime minister during the Khmer Rouge regime from 75 to 79 and flees to Thailand after the vietnamese invasion. He receives the death penalty in absentia during a trial set up by the PRK. After the Paris Peace Accords of 91 he settles in Pailin and in 96 is instrumental in the surrender of the Khmer Rouge controlled area which triggered the subsequent surrender of the other KR areas. King Norodom Sihanouk gratifies him with a Royal Pardon for that fatal blow to the Khmer Rouge movement.
Ieng Sary's house happens to be in my street, so at least I didn't have to get up too early. Unfortunately for us, security was very tight and all the 5 journalists who were present at that time were pushed back 200 meters near a garbage dump by the Anti-Terrorist squad who was in charge. We waited there until 8:30am, trying to spot any movement near the cars parked in front of the house, speculating which road they would leave through, chatting with the policemen or the defence lawyers who were blocked by the police just like us, and chasing away the flies buzzing on the garbage. By then the number of journalists had increased by at least 20 and the big telelenses were readied. My poor 135mm certainly was no match but in fact it didn't really matter because the car going to carry the former Khmer Rouge leaders was driven inside the courtyard, so at 9:00 it became certain we would not see the faces of those being arrested. It also became clear that they would leave through the other street, so most of us rushed over there, mingling with the people from the densely populated street. Many of them did not have a clue of who Ieng Sary is. Around 9:30 the motorcade cut through the little crowd and left some dust behind. None of us journalists has had even a glimpse of Brother Nr 3...
Links:
» The Khmer Chronicles / Issue Nr 1: UNICEF in Cambodia
» The Khmer Chronicles / Issue Nr 2: Can Cultural Identity go private?
» John Vink's website
» John Vink's Magnum portfolio
» John Vink's Magnum In Motion story "Terre Rouge"
» John Vink's feature: Cambodia. 2000 - 2002. The Quest for Land
Published on the Magnum Blog on November 12, 2007
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