Truth-Seeking and Knowledge of the Khmer Rouge Regime

It is common to find among individuals affected by mass atrocities a strong desire to know and understand what happened and why it happened. In Cambodia, the desire for truth is high and has been increasing over the last two years, with a large majority supporting the idea that truth-seeking is necessary and that people cannot reconcile or feel better as long as the truth about what happened is not known. For a majority of Cambodians, knowing the truth was necessary for reconciliation and some form of healing. Most further disagreed with the idea that it was too late or unnecessary to discover the truth.

Table 6: Truth Seeking

The strong support for truth-seeking may reflect the overall lack of knowledge about the Khmer Rouge regime, and an overall desire to know more. According to the 2008 survey, knowledge of that period was poor or very poor for four out of five respondents (81%) who did not live under the Khmer Rouge regime and for over one-third (37%) of those who lived under KR regime. Two years later, respondents’ assessment of their knowledge of the regime remained unchanged (80% and 36%, respectively). Nevertheless, a little over half of respondents (57%) indicated knowing more about what happened after the Duch Trial. This suggests that the proceedings at the ECCC have not resulted in a significant increase in knowledge about what happened under the Khmer Rouge regime among the population or that despite a perceived increase in knowledge, respondents still considered their knowledge of the regime as inadequate.

Figure 12: Knowledge about the Khmer rouge Regime

Overall, the source of information about the Khmer Rouge regime and the frequency with which Cambodians talk about the regime did not change between 2008 and 2010. For most respondents who lived under the Khmer Rouge regime, that experience is their main source of information (78%). For those who did not live under the KR, their main source of information is friends and family (88%). Many respondents, however, indicated that people rarely or never speak about that period, especially those who did not live under that regime (76%). The proportion has not changed between 2008 and 2010. Many, however, also indicate wanting to know more about the events that unfolded during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Figure 13: Knowledge about the Khmer Rouge regime