Letter to the editor of the Phnom Penh Post on Dr. Jarvis' appointment

Dear Editor, I read with horror about Dr. Jarvis' appointment to head the Victims Unit. Youk Chhang, the head of DCCAM is by far the most experienced professional insofar as outreach to the Cambodian people and the outside world about the genocide and the Tribunal. I receive emails from him almost daily, and he was the Cambodian head of the Yale Cambodian Genocide Program, which, with Ben Kiernan, has produced almost all the scholarly work related to the genocide. The fact that Chhang was not offered the position, or even asked about the appointment, speaks volumes about the ineptitude and corruption which has marked the Tribunal from the outset. The fact that Dr. Jarvis is neither a Cambodian nor is she a victim of the regime is offensive, but not shocking. The appointment of overpaid foreigners in NGOs and UN agencies is nothing new in Cambodia. The glaring offence is not her ethnicity, however, but her political ties and alliances. In a letter from just three years ago she signed to the following:

"We too are Marxists and believe that 'the ends justify the means.' In time of
revolution and civil war, the most extreme measures will sometimes become
necessary and justified. Against the bourgeoisie and their state agencies we
don't respect their laws and their fake moral principles."

This kind of speech is something that the Khmer Rouge themselves subscribed to, and it is Marxist ideology that led to the deaths of roughly two million people in Cambodia, which created the necessity for a Khmer Rouge Tribunal and a Victims Unit in the first place. The philosphy that the "ends justify the means" in the persuit of creating a Communist nation is something that Pol Pot himself was a champion of. Having Dr. Jarvis head the Victims Unit of the KRT and ECCC is akin to having a Nazi Party member running victim relations for the Nuremburg Trial for Josef Mengele, the "Doctor" and head of torture at Aushwitz, the largest Nazi concentration camp.

Bethany Murphy
Washington, DC

Marxist to head the Khmer Rouge Victims Unit

The Phnom Penh Post has a blog running to keep track of news coming from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT). Today, I caught up on weeks of news. It's been extremely frustrating watching the Tribunal from the outset. It's a joint UN/Cambodian venture, which, from the outset spells a recipe for disaster. The only body I know less equipped to deal with such a venture besides the Cambodian government is the United Nations. Yet, over thirty years later, here we are, trying almost senile old men for genocide. The Cambodian people are barely aware of the tribunal, and the reaction is mixed among those who do. Some want the entire Khmer Rouge era to pass without delay, some want justice for the hardships they endured, for torture, for the deaths of their loved ones. One bit of news stuck out, however, in the never-ending parade of embarrassments for the ECCC. In an effort to become more connected to the Cambodian People, the KRT decided to open a Victim's Unit to collect testimony. There's already a wonderful organisation in place, DC-CAM, which, run by Cambodian Youk Chhang, has collected thousands of victim's testimonials. The Court, in its infinite wisdom, however, decided to appoint a Westerner, Dr. Jarvis, to run the office. Many Cambodians, rightfully, have apprehensions about a woman who never experienced the horrors of Khmer Rouge regime running the office. Most involved believe Mr. Chhang is far better equipped, who is in addition to being a well recognised scholar of the regime, is also a victim of it. The greater, issue, however, is that Dr. Jarvis is also an avowed Marxist. That's right. She is a subscriber to the same ideology as the Khmer Rouge. And she is supposed to be the advocat of the victims of her own philosophy? Just three years ago she was the co-signer of a letter which stated the following:

"We too are Marxists and believe that 'the ends justify the means.' In time of
revolution and civil war, the most extreme measures will sometimes become
necessary and justified. Against the bourgeoisie and their state agencies we
don't respect their laws and their fake moral principles."

I'm not sure what else I can say. I really don't have any idea. If we do not learn from the evils of Leftism and Marxism, history is going to continue to repeat itself. The legacy of this ideology is strewn with the bodies of millions upon millions of its victims. The partially UN-run tribunal is the same UN which continued to recognise the Khmer Rouge as the government of Cambodia for years the Vietnamese ended their rule, at which time the true nature of their crimes become apparent to the world.