Khmer Rouge survivors demand more reparations

Cambodian survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime appealed for clarity in their compensation claims and complained about a general lack of awareness of legal procedures at the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Phnom Penh.
Several survivors gathered at a restaurant in the capital, including Sem Hoeun, 53, who was used as a porter by the regime. She was forced to carry fertilizer made from the remains of the dead to spur agrarian development.
Sem Hoeun said she still lives with the pain and suffering of those days. She called on the country’s current leadership not to treat people “brutally and badly.”
Hoeun said she wants compensation, but is unsure how to apply for assistance.
An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died during the rule of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979.
So far, only the former head of the notorious S-21 security center, Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, has been sentenced for crimes against humanity. The regime’s second-in-command, Nuon Chea, and its head of state, Khieu Samphan, remain on trial.