Searching for the truth Issues 28 - Documentation Center of Cambodia

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Searching for the Truth ⎯ HISTORY widespread. I would argue that after demonizing and dehumanizing the “enemies,” routinizing violence and unleashing the interrogators’ hatred, torture was doled out in substantial portions at S-21 with no thought for the pain it caused or, as far as the “truth” was concerned, its value compared to that of “doing politics.” The Interrogators’ Notebook The relation of torture to “doing politics” that the officials at S-21 desired is spelled out in a handwritten, unsigned notebook prepared at the prison between July and September 1976, with doodles dating from 1978 on the closing pages. The notebook may have been initiated by an S-21 cadre, perhaps one of those purged in 1976 or 1977, and lost or abandoned for a couple of years. In the pages that relate to doing torture and doing politics, the notes stress that: “We must take the view that the question of keeping [prisoners] alive or asking for their papers or killing them is decided on for us by the Party. That is, we do whatever we can, so long as we get answers. The use of torture is a supplementary measure. Our past experience with our comrades the interrogators has been that they fell for the most part on the side of torture. They emphasized torture instead of propaganda. This is the wrong way of doing things; we must show them the proper way to do them.” The notes go on to suggest that while torture is inevitable, its use should be delayed in many cases until after a valid confession has been obtained: “The enemies can’t escape from torture; the only difference is whether they receive a little or a lot. While we consider torture to be a necessary measure, we must do politics [with them] so they will confess to us, [but] it’s only when we have forced them via politics to confess that torture can be used. Only when we put maximum political pressure on them, forcing them by using politics to confess, will torture become effective. Furthermore, doing politics makes the prisoners answer clearly, whether or nor the use of torture follows.” The passage suggests that torture should be used and indeed became “effective” after confessions were obtained, seemingly acknowledging that Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) Number 28, April 2002 workers were going to torture prisoners anyway and that perhaps some tortures carried out as medical experiments might best he performed after documentation was complete. The passage also implies that torturing prisoners might be a bonus for S-21 workers after a confession had been obtained. But what is meant by “effective” remains unclear. The notebook goes on to provide hints about tactics that interrogators might employ to propagandize, beguile, and disarm the prisoners without torturing them, and adds: “One objective of doing torture is to seek answers from them, and not to make us happy. It’s not done out of individual anger, out of heat. Beating is done to make them fearful, but certainly not to kill them. Whenever we torture them we must examine their health beforehand, and examine the [condition of the] whip as well. Don’t be greedy and try to hurry up and kill them.” The passage suggests that torturing prisoners made some interrogators “happy,” while others freely acted out of “heat” or were in haste to kill the Party’s “enemies.” Moreover, provided that the whips were in acceptable condition, beating relatively healthy prisoners almost, but not quite, to the point of death was considered fair. None of this violence is surprising, given the wholesale dehumanization of prisoners and the culture of the prison, but it is chilling to see it so dispassionately written down. Almost as if its author were aware of overstepping a limit, the document then backs off and adds sanctimoniously: “You must be aware that doing politics is very important and necessary, whereas doing torture is subsidiary to politics. Politics always takes the lead. Even when doing torture, you must also constantly engage in propaganda.” (Continued in the May 2003 issue) ___________________ David Chandler is Professor Emeritus of History at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of A History of Cambodia (1996), Facing the Cambodian Past: Selected Essays, 1971-1994 (1996), and Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot (1992). 23 100 100 100 100 100 100 50 50 50 50 Black Yellow Magenta Cyan
100 100 100 100 100 100 50 50 50 50 Black Yellow Magenta Cyan Number 28, April 2002 A victim of torture at S-21. Artist: Van Nath, a former S-21 prisoner. 24 Searching for the Truth ⎯ HISTORY Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam)
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Searching for the truth Issues 28 - Documentation Center of Cambodia

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