What happens to the Khmer who come back to Cambodia after growing up abroad? Do they feel at home in the land of smiles? How are they received by the local population? After meeting with a dozen Khmer from the diaspora who decided to renew with their roots, one thing seems clear: it is not an easy return. Some had never set foot on the land of their ancestors. Others, who spent part of their childhood here, do not recognise anything anymore. Cambodia has changed and so have they. Most of them hit against a reality sometimes hard to accept: they are immediately perceived by the locals as “foreigners.” The situation is experienced in various ways: some find peace by considering themselves as foreigners from the outset; others do everything they can to “become Khmer”; others still seek a balance between their different identities.

For nearly thirty years, Cambodians have fled their country. But a reverse trend seems to have started in the last few years. The children of those exiled have grown. Now adults, some have decided to return to Cambodia to work here, launch a project or create their company. Who are these Khmer from elsewhere and what are they looking for in the land of their ancestors? Ka-set met with them. First article in a two-part investigation.

Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 31/08/2009: Emotional prayer during a “pilgrimage” by civil parties to S-21
©John Vink/ Magnum

The judges’ decision on Thursday August 27th not to allow civil party lawyers to have a say in the last topic in the trial regarding the character of the accused was a pill hard to swallow for the victims and relatives of victims, who openly said so from Monday August 31st. Why question their participation as civil parties, only a few days from the end of Duch’s trial? The turnaround bitterly tasted of betrayal and it was twofold: in addition to being an insult to the victims, who have fought for years to have a full role in an international criminal law in construction, it brought into the courtroom an ideologically-tainted clash between common law and civil law and sowed division among the international judges. On the eve of the plenary session, the common law proponents, patently hostile to any opening, successfully won over their Cambodian colleagues, despite their civil law background.

Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 31/08/2009: Civil parties organised a press conference in front of the court building to announce their boycott of the hearings, following the limitations they were imposed by the ECCC  
©John Vink/Magnum

Exceptionally, Ka-set was unable last week to publish its daily report on the hearings in Duch’s trial for reasons beyond our control. Please accept our apologies. These reports will be published at a later date on Ka-set’s website. But for now, please enjoy a selection of captured moments from the August 31st to September 2nd week with these photographs by John Vink.

Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 27/08/2009: The hands of François Roux, Alain Werner, Ty Srinna, Nil Nonn, Jean-Marc Lavergne, Hong Kim Suon, Vincent de Wilde and Kar Savuth during the debate on the admission of civil parties on Day 66 in Duch’s trial at the ECCC 
© John Vink/ Magnum

The role of civil parties is one of the main issues at stake in Duch’s trial, which enshrines their first participation in a jurisdiction with international support established to judge crimes against humanity. However, this characteristic of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal – often presented as an important progress – was severely curbed on Thursday August 27th, following a debate abruptly opened by the Trial Chamber and which it quickly ruled on by taking a brutal decision that partially closes the victims’ participation to the trial. The Chamber’s move occurred ten days before the plenary session – when judges revise and amend, if necessary, the directions and Internal Rules – and may hint at the possible adoption then of potentially critical changes regarding the place of victims in the next trials before the ECCC. Often criticised for failing to measure up to their mission and frequently overstepping their role, the civil party lawyers appeared to try and make up for a failing prosecution office. For its part, the Chamber rarely sought to channel these abuses or drifts and did not use its full authority to ensure a strict direction of the hearings. Thursday, while there was likely only a few days of hearings left, the Chamber allowed itself to invent a new rule of the game. On the substance, this turning point stirred consternation, not only among civil parties, but also the prosecution and the defence, whilst among the judges, judge Lavergne registered a dissenting opinion for the first time.