The Banality Of Evil

The man who took the photographs of those who were destined to die at the infamous Tuol Sleng prison in Cambodia will testify against the man who commanded that slice of hell on earth. When Kaing Geuk Eav, also known as Duch, goes on trial for crimes against humanity, prison photographer Nhem En will take the stand against him. Nhem En photographed each of the estimated 14,000 people who either died at the prison or were sent from there to the Killing Fields.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Oct. 25 — He had a job to do, and he did it supremely well, under threat of death, within earshot of screams of torture: methodically photographing Khmer Rouge prisoners and producing a haunting collection of mug shots that has become the visual symbol of Cambodia’s mass killings.

“I’m just a photographer; I don’t know anything,” he said he told the newly arrived prisoners as he removed their blindfolds and adjusted the angles of their heads. But he knew, as they did not, that every one of them would be killed.

“I had my job, and I had to take care of my job,” he said in a recent interview. “Each of us had our own responsibilities. I wasn’t allowed to speak with prisoners.”

That was three decades ago, when the photographer, Nhem En, now 47, was on the staff of Tuol Sleng prison, the most notorious torture house of the Khmer Rouge regime, which caused the deaths of 1.7 million people from 1975 to 1979.

This week he was called to be a witness at a coming trial of Khmer Rouge leaders, including his commandant at the prison, Kaing Geuk Eav, known as Duch, who has been arrested and charged with crimes against humanity.

The trial is still months away, but prosecutors are interviewing witnesses, reviewing tens of thousands of pages of documents and making arrests.

Not long ago, John Kerry denied that there had been any genocide when America abandoned South Vietnam to its fate. That was his way of arguing that the US could precipitously withdraw from Iraq. Perhaps he was just parsing the words. After all, the killing wasn't just about one particular racial group. Duch simply killed everyone sent to him. Nhem En has gone on to prosper as a government functionary under the new regime, his days of photgraphing the soon-to-be-dead of Tuol Sleng prison long over. Those now waiting trial after all these years, meanwhile, will have new toilets installed in their cells.

Three more leaders were expected to be arrested in the coming weeks: the urbane former Khmer Rouge head of state, Khieu Samphan, along with the former foreign minister, Ieng Sary, and his wife and fellow central committee member, Ieng Thirith.

All will benefit from the caprice of Mr. Nuon Chea, who complained that the squat toilet in his cell was hurting his ailing knees and was given a sit-down toilet.

Similar toilets are being installed in the other cells, said a tribunal spokesman, Reach Sambath, “So they will all enjoy high-standard toilets when they come.”

How very nice. Earlier posts here, here and here.)