Mr. ETCHESON Craig
Professor Craig Etcheson was called as an expert to testify on the implementation of the Communist Party of Kampuchea's (CPK) policy. Expert Craig Etcheson outlined the command structure of the CPK, identifying the Central Committee as its 'most powerful organ' and the Standing Committee as its executive body, exercising 'total control of the government'.
He told the Trial Chamber that Democratic Kampuchea organs were organized with absolute hierarchical authority and that the Party Centre exercised centralized control over communication. He described the CPK ideology as being based upon principles of 'centralism', 'collectivism', and 'independence mastery'. Expert Craig Etcheson then described S-21 as the penultimate node in the power pyramid of DK.
He argued that S-21 was a unique security center for several reasons: it had the authority to arrest individuals from the entire territory, it was designed to smash the highest ranking individuals, it had the greatest number of staff members, confessions and interrogation procedures were far more elaborate, and its Chairman directly reported to the upper echelon on a daily basis. Expert Craig Etcheson described the Accused as an innovator, a creator, a developer and an institutionalizer of the methods of making very detailed confessions that are extracted over long periods of time. He argued that purges were both driven by the paranoia of the CPK Standing Committee and the zeal of the Accused. He further identified the Accused as the principal trainer of torture techniques.
- Witness acronym :
KW-02
- Age at the time of testimony :
- Appeared as :
- Cases : Case 001,
- Date(s) of testimony :