Between 1975 and 1978,aabout 17,000 men, women, children and
infants (including nine westerners), detained and tortured at S-21 prison (now
Tuol Sleng Museum), were transported to the extermination to death to avoid
wasting precious bullets.The remains of 8985 people, many of whom were bound
and blindfolded, were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves in this one-time long an
orchard; 43 of the 129 communal graves here have been left untouched. Fragment
of Human bone and bits of cloth are scattered around the disinterred pits. Over
8000 skulls, arranged by sex, are visible behind the clear glass panels of the
Memoral Stupa, which was erected in 1988.The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek are 15
km from Central Phnom Penh . To get there, take
Monireth Blvd south-westward out of the city from the Dang Kor Market bus depot.
The site is 8.5 km from the bridge near 271 St.
A memorial ceremony is held annually at Choeung Ek on 9 May.
Killing Fields of Cheung Ek is situated 15 kilometers south-west
of Phnom Penh
and made famous by the film of the same name "Killing Field". it was
a place where more than 17,000 civilians were killed and buried in mass graves;
many of them transported here after detention and torture in Toul Sleng. This
place is a chilling reminder of the brutalities of the genocidal Khmer Rouge
regime. In the center of the area is a 17 story glass stupa which houses 8000
skulls exhumed from mass graves. Open daily.Note: Both Tuol Sleng Museum and
the Killing Fields exhibits may be disturbing for some and aren't suitable for
younger children and adults who are easily shocked.
The Cheung Ek genocide museum is located in Cheung Ek
commune, Dankoar district, about 15 km from the centre of Phnom Penh . This is the location where the
Khmer Rouge took their prisoners for execution. The prisoners were made to wait
here for 24 hours before they were killed by a blow to the head after which
their throats were slit. Babies were killed by bashing their heads against a
tree. There were separate graves for men, for women and for children. Former
friends of Pol Pot who were executed here had separate graves too.Visitors can
walk along 86 mass graves from which the remainders of 8,985 men, women and
children were unearthed after the liberation of the Khmers Rouges. Some of
those skulls, bones and pieces of clothing are now kept in the nearby massive
stupa.
There were killing fields all over the country, but Cheung
Ek was believed to be the largest every year on the 20th of May a ceremony is
held around the stupa to bring peace to the spirits of the deceased.Sightseeing
in Phnom Penh
gives the tourists ample opportunity to visit the numerous places in and around
the city. Cheung Ek Killing Field in Phnom
Penh is a very important place in the city as it has a
long history attached to it. The place is really fascinating for all those
coming to visit the city. The place has a long history behind it and reminds
one of the horrifying times that the people of Cambodia have gone through during
the reign of Khmer and after.
The Cheung Ek Killing Field at Phnom
Penh is one of the most prolific and historic place in Phnom Penh and stands a cruel reminder of the atrocities
inflicted upon the masses of Cambodia .
The place has become very popular now as it is the center of all killings which
took place in the city and later got christened as the famous Killing Field. The
place is really popular as tourists from all over the world come here. The
place has really direct links with the horrific past of Cambodia and Phnom Penh .
There are many things to see while visiting the Cheung Ek
Killing Field in Phnom Penh .
The place has been most aptly been named as the Killing Field in Phnom Penh . The place is
actually a mass grave where almost 17,000 innocents were slaughtered mercilessly
for no fault of theirs. The place is really frightening and sends a shiver down
the spine as one recalls how the place had been transformed into a grave. There
is actually a stupa which stands in the middle of the area and it is this stupa
which has become the place for housing the 8,000 skulls taken out from the mass
graves. Cheung Ek Killing Field of Phnom Penh is open daily. All are welcome
though it is advised by the authorities that children should be advised and
properly guided before they come here. Cheung Ek Killing Field in Phnom Penh is located at a distance of 15 kilometers away
from the south -western frontiers of Phnom
Penh .
The Democratic of Kampuchea was led by Pol Pot, a former
schoolteacher. The killing machine of S-21 was a secret prison for torturing, interrogating,
and depriving those who were accused of illegal activities and accused of being
traitors. The Khmer Rouge acted like savage animals with no conscience as they
preyed upon the innocent and naive citizens. The Khmer Rouge had turned the
peaceful and beautiful Cheung Ek village into the infamous and miserable
killing fields. The Pol Pot regime slaughtered people in the thousands without
mercy and buried them in mass graves. No matter how much visitors have read or
been told about the Khmer Rouge brutality and the number of people killed all
visitors shall understand the full process of how the tens of thousands
prisoners were executed here. More importantly, visitors can learn about the
chain of command established by Pol Pot.
Given the way that the Ultra Khmer Rouge Regime was
organized, a decision for murder was most likely ordered by ?Brother Number 01
himself, Pol Pot. Everything had to meet with his approval, even thoughthere is
no written proof. However, Son Sen, who was responsible for National Security
and Defense and Ducha commandant at S-21, were directly responsible for killing
the prisoners at S-21 and Cheung Ek Killing Field and written proof is
available. At S-21 there were many documents routed to the party center and
they all passed through Son Sen?s hands. Dozens of memoranda addressed to him
by Duch have survived. Duch?s queries and annotations have appeared on the
prisoners? confessions, often in red ink. More often, Duch denigrated what the
prisoners confessed and suggested beatings and tortures to unearth truth that
he thought the prisoners were hiding. These documents display how the Upper
Brothers, Son Sen and Duch, were responsible for the thousands of prisoners' murders
at S-21 and Cheung Ek.
After getting an instruction to kill from the Central
Committee of the regime through Son Sen, Duch ordered his deputy, Hor, to
produce a "must smash" list .Taking orders from Hor, and Suon Thy who
were in charge of the documentary unit, the list was prepared. The list was
submitted to Duch for his signature. Then, the signed list was sent to Peng, the
head of Defense unit, who seems to have been demoted in 1978 when his duties
were taken by Hyu. Peng had the keys to all of the cells in the S-21 prison. Based
on the list, Peng ordered the guards to remove the "must smash" prisoners
to be killed.
The Important and special prisoners like Keo Meas ( a
veteran revolutionary), Ney Saran ( Secretary of Agriculture), Hu Nim ( Minister
of Information), Kuy Thuon ( Secretary of Northern Zone), Cheng An (Deputy
Minister of Industry), Von Veth ( Deputy prime Minister), and foreigners were
killed and buried at the S-21 prison. As for foreigners including Canadians, Americans,
Australians and British, guards were ordered to kill them and to burn their
dead bodies so that no bones were left (Nic Dunlop 2005:275).
The majority of the victims were trucked out to Choeung Ek, at
about 8 or 9 o?clock PM, to be killed. The guards took the prisoners from their
cells to the main gate where a large truck waited and told them that they were
being transferred to another place. This lie was created to prevent the
prisoners from crying, refusing to go or from escaping. In order to be well
prepared for execution, a messenger from the defense unit was sent to the
Choeung Ek Killing Field in advance to inform a permanent team about the number
of the prisoners to be killed that day. Usually, the messenger went to the
Killing Field by motorcycle in the mornings. To ensure that a top secret was
kept and also that the execution was carried out properly, Duch, Peng, and Huy
were requested to attend by Son Sen, the Minister in charge of defense and
security. Often times, Duch sat smoking on a mat near the pit to supervise the
executions and to insure their murderous plans.
The number of prisoners executed at Choeung Ek on a daily
basis varied from a few dozen to over three hundred. The latter figure was
recorded in May, 1978 at the height of the pursuits in the Eastern Zone. On a
monthly basis two or three trucks would go from S-21 to Choeung Ek. Each truck
held three or four guards and twenty to thirty frightened, silent prisoners. When
the trucks arrived at the site, two guards seated with prisoners jumped from
the canvas and took prisoners down, shoved them into a small building. The
building was constructed from wood with a galvanized steel roof and its walls
were built with two layers of flat wood to darken the room and also to prevent
prisoners seeing each other. Then, with the electricity light supplied by a
generator , Peng or Huy the heads of capturers subunit, verified prisoners? names
against a "must-smash" list prepared by the head of documentation
unit, Suos Thy. This list ensured that no one prisoner was missed. Prisoners
were led in small groups to ditches and pits that were dug in advance by
another team stationed permanently at the site.
They were told to kneel down and then they were clubbed on
the neck with tools such as cart axle, hoe, stick, wooden club or whatever else
served as a weapon of death. They were sometimes stabbed with knives or swords
to save using bullets, which were deemed to be too expensive. Duch said: ?We
had instructions from the party on how to kill them, but we didn?t use bullets
and usually, we slit their throats. We killed them like chickens? ( Dunlop 2005:273)Him
Huy, who took the prisoners to be killed at Choeung Ek recalled,?They were
ordered to kneel down at the edge of the hole. Their hands were tied behind
them. They were beaten on the neck with an iron ox-cart axle, sometimes with
one blow, sometimes with two... ? (David Chandler 1999:140).
Soon after prisoners were executed, the head of inspectors
made sure that no one was alive. According to a witness who came to Cheung Ek
just 2 days after liberation day, January 7th, 1979, said that at the site
there was a small hut with chemical substances. He guessed that executioners
scattered these substances over the dead bodies of the victims after execution.
This action might have served two purposes: first, to eliminate the stench from
the dead bodies which could potentially raise suspicion among people working
near the Killing Fields and secondly, the chemicals would have killed off
victims who were buried alive. Unfortunately, these poisonous substances were
lost in 1979.
Kong San, an ex-Khmer Rouge soldier of 703 division, recalled
at that time he had grown rice near Cheung Ek and when the wind blew strongly
sometimes he smelt a stench. He thought the smell was just the stench of
decomposing dead pets. But after the Khmer Rouge regime was toppled, he found
out that Choeung Ek was a Killing Field (From winner to self- destruction 2000:
142).At the end, when the execution was completely finished, the killers washed
their body and killing tools in a ditch near the site. The list at Choeung Ek
was submitted to Suos Thy, to double-check that no prisoners was missed.
