The first three days of Case 002 of the Khmer Rouge trial have seen both a total lack of penance, and a dogged determination to deflect blame for the death of millions of Cambodians from defendants “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, former foreign minister Ieng Sary, and former Head of State Khieu Samran.
Instead of looking to themselves and their own choices, the three former Khmer Rouge leaders have thus far preferred blame US carpet bombings, Vietnamese incursions into Cambodia, poor conditions created by French imperialists and previous Cambodian governments, and other outside forces for the miserable conditions their people suffered.