PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — On Friday, the Cabinet in Cambodia gave its approval to a proposed legislation aimed at increasing penalties for those who deny the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime during the late 1970s, a period associated with the deaths of approximately 1.7 million individuals due to the regime’s harsh policies.
According to the Cabinet office, the primary objective of this legislation is to avert similar future occurrences and to ensure justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge’s brutal governance.
This draft, containing seven articles, must receive parliamentary approval before it can be enacted into law. Violating its provisions could result in imprisonment for a period ranging from one to five years, accompanied by fines ranging from $2,500 to $125,000. The likelihood of its passage is high, given that the ruling Cambodian People’s Party possesses a majority with 120 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly.
This legislative effort comes ahead of a significant anniversary, marking the 50th year since the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia on April 15, 1975, following a protracted five-year civil conflict.
Under Pol Pot’s leadership, the regime maintained its grip on power until 1979, when it was overthrown by a Vietnamese invasion. By that time, their radical policies are believed to have resulted in nearly 1.7 million deaths as a consequence of starvation, execution, and illnesses.
While there may be a few surviving leaders from the Khmer Rouge and some elderly veterans who might question the historical narrative, the general consensus among Cambodians who lived through that dark period acknowledges the serious human rights violations enacted by the regime.
In 2013, Cambodia passed a similar law targeting the denial of Khmer Rouge atrocities after then-Prime Minister Hun Sen advocated for such a measure, responding to an opposition lawmaker’s claim that some evidence related to the atrocities was fabricated by Vietnam. That earlier law imposed penalties of six months to two years in prison, along with fines ranging from $250 to $1,000.
However, critics argue that this current legislative measure is primarily aimed at undermining political opponents, similar to accusations leveled against the previous law. Hun Sen’s government has been criticized for using the judiciary to intimidate opposition figures, with rights groups often viewing these courts as partisan extensions of the ruling party.
In May of the previous year, Hun Sen, who had previously served as a mid-level officer in the Khmer Rouge before his defection, expressed the need for updates to the 2013 law.
After transitioning the prime ministerial role to his son Hun Manet in 2023, Hun Sen has continued to exercise considerable political influence as the Senate president and head of the Cambodian People’s Party. He has raised concerns regarding potential oppositional tactics that might instigate a “color revolution,” similar to uprisings in Ukraine and other former Soviet countries, suggesting such events could spiral into genocidal conflict in Cambodia.
A U.N.-backed tribunal, active since 2009, has established that the Khmer Rouge regime was responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and severe violations of both Cambodian and international law, systematically breaching multiple international conventions recognized by Cambodia.
