Brother no 3

Ieng Sary, centre with cap, in 1977, born 24 October 1925; died 14 March 2013. Photograph: Documentation Centre of Cambodia/AFP

Just been reading articles in the Phnom Penh Post and the Guardian about the infamous Ieng Sary who died of heart failure at the age of 87 yesterday........

Known as "Brother No 3" in the hierarchy of the communist Khmer Rouge regime, he was the brother-in-law of Pol Pot, its enigmatic leader, and served as its deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs.

The Khmer Rouge held power in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 and during this time it is estimated that a quarter of the population were murdered, or died from disease or starvation.

As spokesman for the regime, Ieng Sary travelled abroad to conferences boasting that the Cambodian revolution was superior to any that had ever taken place elsewhere. Because of his reputation as a truth-telling intellectual, he drew hundreds of young Cambodians back from overseas. But soon after they arrived, many of them were put to death.

For years later, Ieng Sary lived comfortably in Pailin, north-western Cambodia and in a huge villa in Phnom Penh, but a case built against him and in 2007 he was arrested. He was put on trial in 2011 by the Extraordinary Chambers in the courts of Cambodia, a joint Cambodian-international tribunal, on charges including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.



Since the current case against the regime’s top living leaders began in late 2011, it has moved in fits and starts.

"The fact the court was unable to complete the preliminary investigation, judicial investigation and trial by early 2013 is a travesty,” said Open Society Justice Initiative tribunal monitor Heather Ryan. “Ieng Sary’s death at this point in the trial of Case 002 is certainly a blow to the court. It is an example of ‘justice delayed is justice denied.’”

And as Documentation Center of Cambodia director, Youk Chhang, agrees, “You can imagine that when he was arrested by the court, even the people on the street applauded, they had so much confidence in the court that even people like him who were protected by the government could be arrested, But for many survivors, they also want to see judgment. For them, his death is not a victory, it’s disappointment and it’s anger.”

Tam Khem En, 60, who lost six family members during the Khmer Rouge regime:



"He was an instrumental leader with blood on his hands for his role in the conspiracy to kill all Cambodians during the regime he controlled.

In death, he takes with him the chance for Cambodian people who have waited years for his trial to receive justice".

Ieng Sary dies, Cheang Sokha, Stuart White and Abby Seiff, Phnom Penh Post, 15 March 2013

Ieng Sary obituary, David Chandler, The Guardian, Thursday 14 March 2013