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Reconciliation in Cambodia: Thirty Years After the Terror of the Khmer Rouge Regime

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Reconciliation in Cambodia: Thirty Years After the Terror of the Khmer Rouge Regime 71 SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE Reconciliation in Cambodia: thirty years after the terror of the Khmer Rouge regime Estelle Bockers, MA*, ** Nadine Stammel, MA*, *** & Christine Knaevelsrud, PhD*, ** Abstract order (PTSD), depression, and feelings of During the Khmer Rouge regime one quarter of anger and revenge are highly prevalent in the Cambodian population was killed as a result postconflict societies such as Cambodia.1 of malnutrition, overwork and mass killings. Al- In villages throughout the country, victims though the regime ended 30 years ago, its legacy and perpetrators of the atrocities committed continues to affect Cambodians. Mental health during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 problems as well as feelings of anger and revenge to 1979 live side by side. How can social resulting from traumatic events experienced dur- ing the Khmer Rouge regime are still common in reintegration be fostered under such condi- Cambodia. These conditions continue to impede tions? social coexistence and the peace-building process Desire for revenge is a common psycho- in society. logical response to violent events causing Thirty years after the Khmer Rouge regime harm and loss.2 Feelings of anger and the this article gives an overview on the status of the desire for revenge can have the important country’s current reconciliation process and rec- adaptive function of helping people to cope ommends potential future steps. with their anxiety.3 However, these feelings can also have a negative impact on mental Key Words: trauma, reconciliation, Cambodia, war, health and interpersonal relationships, thus Khmer Rouge regime promoting cycles of violence among indi- viduals and between groups.4 Introduction The purpose of this article is to analyze The psychological aftermath of civil wars the current status of Cambodia’s reconcili- and violent political conflicts can pose im- ation process, 30 years after the end of the T mense challenges for social coexistence in ORTURE Khmer Rouge regime. We first define the the population. Posttraumatic Stress Dis- term “reconciliation” and outline psycho- Volume 21, Number 2, 2011 Volume logical, sociological, and educational meas- ures that may contribute to it. After briefly summarizing the history of the Khmer Rouge era, we then evaluate approaches that *) Treatment Center for Torture Victims, Germany, es- [email protected] have been implemented to promote recon- **) Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychother- ciliation in Cambodia to date and make rec- apy, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany ommendations for the future. ***) Department of Clinical Psychology and Psycho- therapy, University of Bielefeld, Germany 72 SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE Reconciliation intrapersonal process, reconciliation is Reconciliation and the related concept of understood as an interpersonal process. forgiveness were originally religious notions. The definition of reconciliation that In the wake of the civil wars and human has become widely accepted in literature right violations that have recently taken and that is used in this article has five key place in countries such as South Africa, components: a) a reduction of feelings of Rwanda, former Yugoslavia, and Cambodia, anger and revenge, b) the ability to take the interest in reconciliation as a political, jurid- opponent’s perspective, c) reduced personal ical, and psychological construct is growing. avoidance of the opponent, d) openness to From a psychological perspective, the positive relationships with the opponent, and process of healing traumas and bringing clos- e) renunciation of violence.12 ure to the relationship between victims and Several approaches and methods to perpetrators is essential for reconciliation.5 promote reconciliation are expounded in lit- A psychological change has to be effected in erature.13 In the following, we introduce and the former opponents’ beliefs, attitudes, and discuss the most widespread, appropriate, motivations, namely “a transition to beliefs and target-oriented approaches. and attitudes that support peaceful relations between former enemies”.6 Approaches and methods Most definitions describe reconciliation to promote reconciliation as a reciprocal and gradual process. Crocker7 Retributive justice defined three consecutive stages of the rec- The notions of merit and desert are central onciliation process: “simple co-existence”, to retributive justice. This approach focuses developing to “democratic reci procity,” on individual accountability and punish- and finally a third stage in which the social ment of perpetrators; it can contribute to bonds between former victims and perpetra- reconciliation in various ways. First, the fact tors are reconstructed.7 Pham, Weinstein that perpetrators sentenced to imprisonment and Longman defined reconciliation as a after a criminal trial can no longer commit process aiming at community, interdepend- crimes increases the sense of security in ence, social justice, and nonviolence.8 The society, which is an important condition for ultimate goal of reconciliation appears to be reconciliation.14 Second, retributive justice that people learn to live peacefully together.9 responds to people’s “profound sense of This can be achieved only within a relatively moral equilibrium” and satisfies their need stable social and political order that is robust for perpetrators to pay for the harm they enough to provide physical security for both have done, thus helping to rebuild an indi- former victims and perpetrators.10 vidual sense of justice.15 Reciprocity is a crucial aspect in the process of reconciliation, which cannot Restorative justice take place without the perpetrators’ cooper- Restorative justice emphasizes the interests ation.11 This is in contrast to the similar of the victims and is less concerned with construct of forgiveness, which is under imposing punishments on the offender. It in- the victims’ control. The establishment of cludes non-criminal measures such as truth Volume 21, Number 2, 2011 Volume relationships between the victim and the and reconciliation commissions, which are perpetrator is therefore necessary for rec- tasked with revealing all wrongdoings and ORTURE onciliation. In contrast to forgiveness as an T human rights abuses in the context of a civil 73 SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE war or dictatorship. The aim is to establish Educational measures the truth, to encourage the perpetrator to The way a state educates its young people accept responsibility and express remorse, about its own history reflects how the gov- and to stress reconciliation without the in- ernment and its institutions appraise and tention of prosecuting or sentencing the per- reappraise their history. According to Cole, petrators. This approach has been popularly the reform of history education can be un- implemented in South Africa, for example. derstood as a sign of changed identity on the part of the state.18 The fact that a new Reparations regime does not deny past atrocities demon- Reparations to individuals or communities strates that the state is not an accomplice to who have suffered injustice include monetary past crimes and that atrocities are unlikely to compensation for material damage or physical be repeated.19 injury. Reparations may also be made in the Educating the next generation about his- form of resources for economic development tory can also contribute to reconciliation by (e.g. building schools or supplying water serving as an instrument of remembrance. wells) or community service by the wrong- The younger generation’s recognition of doer. Although reparations cannot compen- victims’ suffering through this form of com- sate all of the victim’s losses, they show that memoration may help the victims to recon- the wrongdoer feels remorse, which can pro- cile. mote forgiveness and reconciliation and help to restore victims’ sense of justice.16 Therapeutic measures Many people in postconflict settings suffer Sites and practices of remembrance mental trauma as a result of their experi- Museums and memorials document and ences.1 In Cambodia, many are still strongly acknowledge the crimes and human rights affected by the aftermath of the genocides.20 violations of former regimes. Typical exam- As Staub has described, reconcili ation, for- ples are the Holocaust memorials and mu- giveness, and healing mutually support each seums built in Germany and other countries other and an advance in each aspect can to remind current and future generations of facilitate advances in the others.21 Therapies the crimes committed during the Nazi re- aimed at healing traumas in individuals or gime. Days of remembrance serve a similar groups include traditional, medical, and purpose. Etcheson14 suggests that, if these public health approaches, as well as coun- days are properly designed, “they can bring seling, self-help groups, and (trauma-fo- cused) psychotherapy. a nation together as one in remembering T shared trauma and loss.”14 Forgiveness and Table 1 (next page) summarizes the ap- ORTURE forgetting are often perceived to be simi- proaches to promote reconciliation outlined Volume 21, Number 2, 2011 Volume lar concepts, and resistance to forgetting above. past atrocities may lower the readiness to forgive.17 Therefore, it seems important to A brief history of offer alternative ways of remembering past the Khmer Rouge regime atro cities. Both symbolic measures and days At the end of the 1960s, Cambodia was torn of remembrance can contribute to reconcili- by civil war. Bombings by U.S. planes dur- ation by marking,
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