HUMAN RIGHTS CAMBODIA’S DIRTY DOZEN A Long History of Rights Abuses by Hun Sen’s Generals WATCH Cambodia’s Dirty Dozen A Long History of Rights Abuses by Hun Sen’s Generals Copyright © 2018 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-6231-36222 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org JUNE 2018 ISBN: 978-1-6231-36222 Cambodia’s Dirty Dozen A Long History of Rights Abuses by Hun Sen’s Generals Map of Cambodia ............................................................................................................... 7 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Khmer Rouge-era Abuses .......................................................................................................... 5 PRK-era and SOC Period Abuses ................................................................................................ 5 UNTAC-era Abuses ................................................................................................................... 6 Abuses since UNTAC (1993-Present) .......................................................................................... 7 The Impossibility of Democratic Reform with Politicized Security Forces ................................... 8 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 11 Background ...................................................................................................................... 12 Cambodian Armed Forces 1978 to Present ............................................................................... 12 Anti-Pol Pot Insurgencies before January 1979 .................................................................. 12 Foundation of the Revolutionary Peoples Armed Forces of Kampuchea (RPAFK) ................. 15 The RPAFK after Pen Sovan ............................................................................................... 17 The RPAFK under Hun Sen ................................................................................................ 18 Cambodian People’s Armed Forces, State of Cambodia, and the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia ...................................................................................................... 19 Cambodian People’s Armed Forces under Co-Prime Ministers ........................................... 22 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (1993-present) ................................................................ 23 RCAF Today ...................................................................................................................... 27 Further Control by the CPP Over the Armed Forces ............................................................ 28 Royal Khmer Gendarmerie, 1980s to Present ..................................................................... 39 Cambodian Police, 1979 to Present ......................................................................................... 44 PRK Ministry of Interior and Police .................................................................................... 44 UNTAC, the Ministry of Interior, and the Police .................................................................. 47 1993: RGC Ministry of Interior and Police ......................................................................... 49 The RGC Ministry of Interior and Police Now ...................................................................... 53 I. Gen. Pol Saroeun, RCAF Supreme Commander ............................................................... 56 In the Khmer Rouge, 1968-1978 .............................................................................................. 56 In the PRK, 1979-1991 ............................................................................................................. 57 Pol Saroeun and UNTAC, 1991-93 ............................................................................................ 59 Pol Saroeun in the Immediate Post-UNTAC Period, 1993-1996 ................................................ 60 At the Time of Hun Sen’s July 1997 coup ................................................................................. 62 Pol Saroeun as Chief of Staff after the Coup, 1997-2009 ......................................................... 64 Pol Saroeun as RCAF Supreme Commander Since 2009 ........................................................... 65 II. Gen. Kun Kim, RCAF Deputy Supreme Commander, Chief of RCAF Mixed General Staff ... 70 Kun Kim in the Khmer Rouge, 1970-78 ..................................................................................... 70 Kun Kim in the PRK and SOC, 1979-1991 .................................................................................. 70 Kun Kim and the Post-1993 Election Coalition Government ...................................................... 72 Kun Kim, the July 1997 Coup and the 1998 Elections ................................................................ 74 Kun Kim, 1999-2012 ................................................................................................................ 79 In the 2013 Elections and Since ............................................................................................. 80 III. Gen. Sao Sokha, Commander of National Gendarmerie; RCAF Deputy Supreme Commander ...................................................................................................................... 90 Sao Sokha in 1977-1978 ......................................................................................................... 90 Sao Sokha and the PRK/SOC, 1979-1991 ................................................................................ 90 Sao Sokha in the UNTAC and Post-UNTAC Period, 1991-1996 .................................................. 92 Sao Sokha and the Hun Sen Coup of 1997 ............................................................................... 93 Sao Sokha and the 1998 Elections .......................................................................................... 95 Sao Sokha, 1999-2008 .......................................................................................................... 96 Sao Sokha Further Promoted, 2009-2012 .............................................................................. 100 Sao Sokha, the 2013 Elections, Their Aftermath, and Since ................................................... 103 IV. Gen. Neth Savoeun, Supreme Commissioner of National Police ................................... 112 Neth Savoeun in the PRK and SOC, 1979-1991 ....................................................................... 112 Neth Savoeun and UNTAC, 1991-1993 ................................................................................... 114 Neth Savoeun in 1993-1997 .................................................................................................. 114 Neth Savoeun, Hun Sen’s 1997 Coup and the 1998 Elections .................................................. 115 Neth Savoeun, 1999-2008 .................................................................................................... 116 Neth Savoeun as National Police Supreme Commissioner, 2008-present ............................... 117 Neth Savoeun, the Elections of 2013, and Since .................................................................... 118 V. Lt. Gen. Chea Man, Deputy Army Commander, Commander of Military Region 4 ........... 125 Chea Man in the PRK, 1979-1991 ........................................................................................... 125 Chea Man and UNTAC, 1991-1993 .......................................................................................... 126 Chea Man from Coalition to Coup, 1993-1997 ........................................................................ 127 Chea Man after the Coup, 1998-2013 .................................................................................... 129 Chea Man, the 2013 Elections, and Their Aftermath ............................................................... 130 VI. Lt. Gen. Bun Seng, Deputy Army Commander, Commander of Military Region 5 .......... 132 Bun Seng in the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, 1979-1991 ................................................ 132 Bun Seng and UNTAC, 1991-1993 .......................................................................................... 132 Bun Seng, During and Since the 2013 Elections ..................................................................... 135 VII. Lt. Gen. Choeun Sovantha, Deputy Army Commander, Commander of Military Region 2 .....................................................................................................................................