Elizabeth BECKER

Pseudonym: 2-TCE-97

Cases: Case 002/02

Category: Expert

Background and roles

Elizabeth Becker is a former journalist for the Washington Post and New York Times. Ms Becker worked as a journalist in Cambodia during the conflict between Vietnam and Cambodia from 1972 until the end of 1974, first for the Far Eastern Economic Review and then the Washington Post. She was one of only two western journalists who were allowed to visit Democratic Kampuchea. She authored books on the Khmer Rouge Regime, including "When The War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution" and "Bophana". Ms Becker testified as an expert before the Case 002/02 Trial Chamber on her methods of research, the historical background of Democratic Kampuchea, the CPK’s treatment against specific groups, her visits to Democratic Kampuchea and interviews with Senior Leaders of the Regime.

Methods of research

Ms Becker began her research on the book "When the War Was Over" after her visit to Cambodia in 1978. The book was based on primary research, including the reporting she undertook during the war from January 1973, and interviews with CPK’s Senior Leaders, including Ieng Sary, Pol Pot and Ieng Thirith. She also relied on documentation and refugee reports that came through Washington and the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). Ms Becker explained that she followed the events unfolding in Cambodia from 1975 through DK’s radio station (using the government translation service), as well as through her attendance at the United Nations General Assembly when the DK delegation was present. After 1979, she returned to Cambodia to work through the archives that became available and interviewed foreign diplomats.

Historical background

Ms Becker described in her book “When the War Was Over” the establishment of the Indochinese Communist Party (founded by Vietnam) in Cambodia through the Khmer Issarak resistance movement, and the Khmer Rouge’s desire to be independent from the communist Vietnamese. In 1970, while the US supported the coup against Norodom Sihanouk, communist Vietnamese troops from the north and south, who had been confined to Cambodian eastern zones, began to spread across the country to fight against the Khmer Republic. The relationship between the CPK and North Vietnam deteriorated following the Paris Peace Agreement, and that led the CPK to believe the Vietnamese intention to impose an Indochinese Federation. The US bombing campaign on Cambodian territory pushed rural populations into urban areas to seek food and refuge. Appeals by Sihanouk to the Cambodian population urging people, particularly in the rural areas, to rise up against the Khmer Republic were initially effective. This led the liberation armed forces to gradually converge upon the capital. Ms Becker explained that the “three ghosts” referred to Khieu Samphan, Hu Yun and Hou Nim, all of whom were considered to be brilliant intellectuals under Sihanouk’s regime. Rumours emerged that they had been executed after being denounced by Sihanouk as rebellion leaders.

Visit to Cambodia in 1978

In response to Ieng Sary’s invitation to the UN’s Secretary General, Kurt Waldheim, to visit Cambodia, he declined on the advice from the Soviet Union, and instead invited Ms Becker and two others - Richard Dudman and Malcolm Caldwell. The delegation from Yugoslavia who came to visit Cambodia before her provided the most “eye-opening” of all the reports, as it consisted of photos and films of DK. Ms Becker described her visit as similar to being under the equivalent of house arrest, as she was unable to move around without an escort or freely choose where she wanted to go. Thiounn Prasith was in charge of accompanying, translating and providing the delegation with Cambodia’s history and its current context. The delegation visited many places including the Training Institute near Phnom Penh, Kampong Som, Kampong Thom, and Takeo. They visited a military headquarters to observe an exchange of artillery with Vietnam with the intention of showing that DK was in full control of the country and that foreign broadcasts were wrong. The Trial Chamber relied on her testimony and others to find that the DK government maintained communications with some states; and journalists from many countries including Yugoslavia and the Unites States visited Cambodia during the DK period, where they interviewed state officials and visited the countryside under the escort of state or Party officials. Ms Becker recalled visiting the “model cooperative” in Leay Bour commune, Tram Kak District, where all the delegations passed by for visit. She expressed that “[e]verything was immaculate”. The Trial Chamber relied on her evidence to find that the model cooperative generally shown to foreign visitors was primarily for Base People and known as K-1, whereas another cooperative known as K-3 was for New People. Ms Becker also visited the 1st January Dam worksite that was in the process of being repaired, and where she saw armed soldiers. The Trial Chamber relied on her evidence to find that the presence of armed soldiers and militiamen monitoring the workers heightened the fearful atmosphere at the dam worksite.

Meetings with Senior Leaders

On the last day of the visit, they were granted permission to meet with Pol Pot who “lectured” them about the “impending war with Vietnam”. Pol Pot imagined that NATO would support Cambodia while the Vietnamese was supported by the Warsaw Pact. To him, it would be the biggest crisis in the world if Cambodia became a satellite of Vietnam. Ms Becker talked to Ieng Sary many times during and after the regime at press conferences or receptions at the UN General Assembly in 1978 and later, in 1981. She interviewed Ieng Thirith in 1980 in New York when they spoke about Khieu Samphan’s background pre-DK and her reports to the authorities after visiting worksites and/or accompanying foreign delegations. The Trial Chamber relied on her evidence to find that DK authorities were aware of persistent issues concerning malaria and made some efforts to prevent it, and of the living and working conditions at the worksite through dignitaries’ visits.

CPK’s treatment against specific groups

The Cham in Cambodia are a Muslim minority whose history can be traced back to Hindu people from the Kingdom of Champa located in the central and southern regions of present-day Vietnam. The Cham are recognized by their clothing with women wearing head scarves and men having beards. The Trial Chamber relied on her testimony and other evidence to find that since their arrival and settlement in Cambodia, the Cham retained their distinct ethnic, cultural and religious identity. Ms Becker explained that Buddhism was said “to have survived through the centuries of upheaval” in Cambodia. Its complete erasure gave her the feeling that “Cambodia had lost what [she] considered before as its soul”. The Trial Chamber accepted her evidence that Pol Pot, Ta Mok, and others pursued various degrees of monastic learnings prior to joining the Cambodian revolutionary movement. During her visit to Tram Kak District, Ms Becker saw that pagodas were empty, and some were used as granaries. She did not see a single monk, any example of worship or the ability to worship. Prasith told her that Buddhism was a reactionary faith which people had to abandon. Based on her testimony and other evidence, the Trial Chamber found that the practice of Buddhism was banned in Tram Kak District, which revealed its complete abolition. On appeal, the Supreme Court Chamber upheld the Trial Chamber’s finding that Buddhism was prohibited in DK, and there were consequences for any followers of Buddhism and their places of education and worship. The Trial Chamber accepted that the good relations between the Khmer Rouge forces and Cham people changed in 1972 and 1973, when some Cham religious leaders were arrested and detained, mosques were shut down, and followers were pressured to stop practising Islam. During her trip to Cambodia in 1978, Ms Becker did not see any mosques. After the fall of the regime, Ms Becker read and heard about the CPK’s goal for ethnic purity, which envisioned “one Cambodian nation, one Cambodian people”. The Trial Chamber cited her testimony and other evidence to find that DK leadership advocated a notion of ethnic purity, which involved the purging and killing of minorities in the hope of achieving a pure Khmer race.

Videos

Testimony
Date	Written record of proceedings	Transcript number
09/February/2015	E1/259	E1/259.1
10/February/2015	E1/260	E1/260.1
11/February/2015	E1/261	E1/261.1

Relevant documents
Document title Khmer	Document title English	Document title French	Document D number	Document E3 number
សៀវភៅនិពន្ធដោយ អេលីហ្សា បេត បេកឃ័រ មានចំណងជើង ថា៖ “នៅពេលដែលសង្គ្រាមរលត់ទៅ”	Book by Elizabeth Becker entitled “When the War Was Over”	Ouvrage par Elizabeth Becker intitulé « Lorsque la guerre était finie »