Digging up evidence of torture

Despite threats of expulsion by Prime Minister Hun Sen, United Nations investigators say they have verified "systematic torture", 41 executions and secret cremations of additional corpses by soldiers at Buddhist temples.

The UN'S official report titled "Evidence of Summary Executions, Torture, and Missing Persons Since July 2" is about 30 pages long.

It was scheduled for discussion by the UN secretary-general's special human rights representative for Cambodia, Thomas Hammarberg, and Hun Sen during the next few days.

Mr Hammarberg arrived in Phnom Penh the evening of August 30, and left yesterday.

The report has been sent to Hun Sen in an effort to halt the abuses, said David Hawk, the Phnom Penh-based American director of the UN Centre for Human Rights in Cambodia (UNCHRC).

"It is not the end of the list," Mr Hawk told Bangkok Post.

"But at some point you have to say there are some more allegations which are made, but there are only so many of us" to investigate abuses, because the small staff also requires time to write its reports.

"We don't actually make allegations. We verify allegations."

UNCHRC officials dug a few of the victims out of shallow graves. Amid flies and the smell of decaying bodies, they recently exhumed two blindfolded corpses near Pich Nil village, in Koh Kong province, 100 km southwest of Phnom Penh.

Both victims appeared to have been shot in the head after being pushed into a gully. One wore a handcuff around a wrist.

"It's not like we are in the business of digging up bodies," said Mr Hawk. "Most of it is interviewing people."

He said the torture, executions, cremations and abductions occurred before, during and after rival prime ministers Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh battled with tanks in Phnom Penh on July 5 and 6.

Those clashes resulted in Prince Ranariddh's ouster and self-exile as an international fugitive.

"There was one barrack where arrested (Ranariddh) Funcinpec military were taken - they were taken to six places - where there was a problem of systematic torture," said Mr Hawk.

Referring to extra-judicial executions, he said the UN verified at least "41 and possibly 60 mostly (Ranariddh) Funcinpec military".

"These deaths, the 41, are not, by and large, people who were killed in the fighting itself. They are people who died in custody after being captured or surrendered.

"One person that we were able to identify is (Hun Sen) CPP military, and one is in the 'innocent bystander' category."

In addition to those 60 cases, Mr Hawk said a "number of creations have taken place without the usual certification required for cremation and the deeply embedded cultural practice of allowing the family to identify the body and perform Buddhist rites".

"Soldiers were bringing bodies to several wats and ordering they be cremated immediately," he said.

In recent years, Cambodia's human rights violators have enjoyed a "climate of impunity that has come into being by virtue of the fact that the government has not been successful in prosecuting perpetrators of human rights crimes.

"We hope they will curb abuses, such as beating prisoners, torture and executing people in custody, which are all illegal acts under Cambodian law," said Mr Hawk.

Hun Sen has condemned UNCHRC staff, and said: "We are not going to shut down human rights offices, but we are requesting to replace some rights workers who have intimidated people and frightened them.

"I'm criticising the human rights organisation of the UN.

"They told the assembly (parliament) members that they had to leave or they would be arrested and killed by Hun Sen," he said. "I have witnesses."

Hun Sen described the UN report as containing "some points, political and vague", but he promised: "I will take strong measures... to upgrade the protection of human rights in Cambodia."

Mr Hawk said: "We hope that the government will take it seriously and respond appropriately, including using the detailed information we have provided, in order for the government to undertake its own official criminal investigations that will lead to the identification of suspects and the prosecution of those who are responsible for the criminal acts that our report describes.

"We don't do criminal investigations. That is the role of the Cambodian government, and the police and Ministry of Interior.

"The investigative units of the armed services" should also deal with crimes committed by the "armed forces", he added.

"But the police won't go out and arrest people of the armed forces," lamented Mr Hawk. "It's an old problem."

When the UNCHRC verified mostly Prince Ranariddh's supporters were tortured, summarily executed or abducted, relations between the investigators and Hun Sen deteriorated.

"Hun Sen has made various comments, public criticism, of our office over the past two weeks, some of which had to do with the staff of this office," said Mr Hawk.

"He has not agreed to meet me to discuss his criticism of the staff of this office."

"We would not respond publicly to some of his public criticisms until we had a chance to discuss this with him privately.

"This may be discussed along with the substance of the report" by Hun Sen and Mr Hammarberg.

Mr Hammarberg earlier condemned Hun Sen's role in battling Prince Ranariddh.

Mr Hammarberg stated on July 11: "The overthrow of First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, by armed force, violates the Cambodian constitution and international law, and overturns the will of the Cambodian people in the 1993 UN-sponsored elections."

Mr Hawk said: "The role of this office is to assist the Cambodian government and people in its transition to democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights.

"Part of our mandate is to ensure the protection of the human rights of all persons in Cambodia. We document violations."

Hun Sen assigned one of his top senior advisers, Om Yentieng, "to work with our office on a daily basis", said Mr Hawk. The UNCHRC reported its findings to them each day throughout the verification process.

"We were conducting our investigations with the active cooperation of the government to assist the government to get the situation back under control," he said.

Mr Hawk, meanwhile, declined to identify the 41 verified victims, estimate the number of secret cremations or identify the temples where the bodies were burned, saying the report should first be released to the press and public by Mr Hammarberg.

* Richard Ehrlich is a former correspondent for United Press International.