Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
“The regime was “principally good at the beginning,” but that in the end there were “killings without reason.”
A former Khmer Rouge soldier on Wednesday defended the formation of the communist movement before the UN-backed court, saying it was to defend against “foreign aggression.”
Long Norin, 73, a former Khmer Rouge intellectual, said the regime gathered strength from the conflict around it, following a call by then ousted monarch Norodom Sihanouk.
“Everyone joined the party because our country was under aggression,” he told the court, as a trial for three jailed leaders continues. He did not specify which country he refered to, but Khmer Rouge leaders in the past have blamed Vietnam and the US for the rise of the regime.
Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said this “strategy” was aimed at avoiding harsh punishments from the court.
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