Ancient temple ruins dot Cambodia (video)

Ancient temple ruins dot Cambodia's countryside

SIEM REAP, Cambodia – Tourists gather every day before dawn to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat, a 12th-century Buddhist temple and the grandest legacy of Cambodia's once mighty Khmer empire. Even at 5:00 a.m., the heat and humidity is enough to make the visitors break into a sweat.

More than 1 million people come annually to see the remains of the Khmer temples that dot the sprawling Angkor region, 145 miles (230 km) northwest of the country's capital, Phnom Penh. For Cambodians, the temples are nothing less than a symbol of their nation; an outline of Angkor Wat adorns the national flag.

A nearby temple, Wat Thmei, also includes a reminder of a dark chapter in recent Cambodian history. A memorial stupa houses bones and skulls from the victims of the "killing fields," who were executed by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime [headed by Duch, a Christian convert who was recently convicted of crimes against humanity] that ruled in the late 1970s.

Today, Angkor is a vital contributor to the poor nation's economy, with almost all visitors to the country traveling to the ruins. After a hot day visiting the temples, tourists head to the bars and Western-style air-conditioned restaurants in the nearby town of Siem Reap. Source

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Khmer Rouge torturer expresses remorse

Khmer Rouge Chief Torturer Expresses "Excruciating Remorse"
Cambodia (Fox News) -- The Khmer Rouge's chief torturer and jailer has expressed "excruciating remorse" for more than 14,000 people killed under his watch, Sky News reported. [Formerly a communist in a Buddhist country, he converted to Christianity.]

Kaing Guek Eav, better known as "Duch," was in charge at a notorious prison during Cambodia's ultra-Maoist revolution of the 1970s. The 67-year-old former math teacher admits being liable for the killings but insists he was serving a mafia-type group "I could not withdraw from," Sky News reported. More>>

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Western tourist visits Toul Sleng Genocide Museum 3/30/09, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The former commander of the torture prison, Kaing Guek Eav, a.k.a. "Duch," is the first of five former Khmer Rouge leaders being tried for crimes against humanity. With no death penalty in Cambodia, the maximum sentence will be life imprisonment (AP/David Longstreath).

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Khmer Rouge executioners threw victims to their deaths, bludgeoned them and then slit their bellies, or had medics draw so much blood that their lives drained away, prosecutors alleged Monday at the opening trial of Cambodia's genocide tribunal.

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Tourists visit the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre built on the site of Cambodia's infamous "Killing Fields." The Khmer Rouge regime's prison chief has finally stood trial for atrocities. The newly born again Christian is accused of overseeing the torture and execution of 15,000 Buddhists three decades ago (AFP/file/Voishmel).

The grisly accounts were part of the indictment read into the record for the regime's chief torturer and prison warden, Kaing Guek Eav, or Duch, the first suspect to face justice a full three decades after the Khmer Rouge 1975-79 reign of terror.

Disabled survivors of the regime joined earnest young law students and other spectators in a modern custom-built courtroom on the outskirts of the Phnom Penh to watch the long-delayed proceedings get under way. More>>