www.akrvc.org

We, the Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia ("AKRV" or "AKRVC"), are survivors of the Cambodian killing fields (April 1975—January 1979) who are joined in our fellowship of suffering, in our demand for justice, and in our work for a just peace. In coming together, we become stronger and we are shaping our past for our future.
We have each other. We have hope.

CJR National Conference on Victims Participation: Transforming Killing Fields to Healing, Living Fields
(with ECCC officials at Pannasastra University, 11 Dec. 2009.)

Madam OUM Sophany, prolific writer/editor of Nou Hach Literary Journal, enchanting audience with melodic lyrics she wrote about hardships under Khmer Rouge. CJR National Conference on Victims Participation - MOVING FORWARD, TOGETHER: Transforming Killing Fields into Healing, Living Fields (11 Dec. 2009).

We are widows and orphans, former child soldiers and former prisoners; we are hard-working farmers and middle-class city-dwellers; we are well-known actresses, playwrights, journalists, authors; we are teachers, translators, security guards, taxi drivers. Some of us reside in the United States, France, Australia or another country, but the majority of us are from all the provinces, towns and villages of Cambodia. Some of us are recognized civil parties to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia; others are still yet civil party applicants; some may become witnesses. While some of us are neither of these.

President of Victims Association Ms. MORM Sokly consulting Center for Justice & Reconciliation staff at National Conference on Victims Participation, 11 Dec. 2009.

Center for Justice & Reconciliation conducting a personal tutorial on the ECCC for the Officers of the Victims Association, 20 Oct. 2009.

We, the AKRVC, would like to acknowledge the technical assistance provided by the Center for Justice & Reconciliation in registering us as an association and in facilitating our involvement (directly or indirectly) in the ECCC. Until our website is fully functioning (and also in the Khmer language), if you would like to become a AKRVC member or an ECCC civil party, please visit www.cjr-cambodia.org or contact Mr. SOK Leang at sokleang@cjr-cambodia.org or Ms. MORM Sokly (AKRVC president, also playwright and actress in Breaking the Silence; 3 year, 8 months, 20 days; sinter alia) at president@akrvc.org, or Ms. Theary C. SENG at thearyseng@akrvc.org, a member of and founding advisor to the AKRVC and representative of the Civil Party of Orphans Class.

"Justice & Reconciliation" public forum in Takeo, Theary Seng (CJR Board and representative of Civil Party of Orphans Class) comforting a member of Victims Association. 1 Aug. 2008. The dialogue with victims and perpetrators in Takeo is one of 20 public forums on "Justice & Reconciliation" conducted all over Cambodia during 2006-2009 by former staff of the Center for Social Development, now with the Center for Justice & Reconciliation.

Many of us came together as a result of the Justice & Reconciliation public forums facilitated by Ms. Theary beginning in 2006 and Civil Party Seminars facilitated by both Mr. Leang and Ms. Theary beginning in 2007—engaging victims (and perpetrators) from all 24 provinces of Cambodia and generously funded by Diakonia, German Development Service (DED) and The MacArthur Foundation.

Center for Justice & Reconciliation staff met with AKRVC Officers to inform them of the
official MOI recognition of their Victims Association. 28 Dec. 2009.

The Association of Khmer Rouge Victims in Cambodia (AKRVC) is independent of any political or religious affiliation and is officially registered with the Ministry of Interior (No. 2880 SCN, 24 December 2009), the second victims’ association to be registered and the first to be actively functioning in Cambodia.

(We have worked with the only other MOI-registered victims’ association based in France and hope to continue working and coordinating activities with them, as well as with any other groups and associations to be registered. We believe in inclusiveness and the unity of our voices as victims and are deeply distressed and saddened by the ‘competition’ or ‘hierarchy of victims’ and the ‘Super-Victim’ status we have encountered, and work to strongly dissuade this unproductive mentality.)

Member of Victims Association expressing his concerns regarding the Extraordinary Chambers while ECCC officials, includingVictims Unit chief Dr. Helen Jarvis, and president of AKRVC Ms. MORM Sokly, Tuol Sleng survivors Mr. Vann Nath and Mr. Bou Meng listened. 11 Dec. 2009 at CJR National Conference on Victims Participation.

Officers and members of the Victims Association (including Mr. LY Monysak looking on in top left photo, quoted in the Seth Mydans article) from all over Cambodia at the National Conference on Justice & Reconciliation, 20 Nov. 2008.

"Deacon of Death", a documentary by Jan van den Berg, featuring AKRVC member Ms. SOK Chea. View film.

Victims and perpetrators at Justice & Reconciliation public forum in Kampong Thom (home of Pol Pot, whose family members attended this full day of dialogue), 27 July 2007. Member (right) of Victims Association who discovered photo of her nephew (featured in the NHK video below) while touring Tuol Sleng with now CJR staff. Justice & Reconciliation public forum in Koh Kong, 6 June 2008.

Svay Rieng villagers on tour of Tuol Sleng facilitated by current CJR staff in June 2007 (right). Victims and perpetrators at the Justice & Reconciliation public forum in Mondolkiri, 4 May 2007.

Mr. SOK Leang (CJR Civil Party coordinator) and Ms. YIM Sotheary (CJR Psycho-social Support Section) assisting victims at Kampong Cham public forum, Aug. 2008.

Video clips from public forums in Koh Kong, Takeo and Pailin provinces.

AKRVC would like to express our deepest gratitude to the German Development Service (DED), particularly its country director Mr. Wolfgang Mollers, for the use of these video clips from 2008, as well as sounds and images from the other CSD public forums.

Also, if you would like to listen to all the public forums "Justice & Reconciliation" during 2006-2009 on the Voice of Justice & Reconciliation radio program, please visit the Center for Justice & Reconciliation.

First Khmer Rouge Trial to Begin (Al Jazeera, 29 March 2009, featuring AKRVC member Madam DY Ratha).

Photo: Story Production (Sweden)
Premiering this 31 January 2010 in Europe is the feature length documentary FACING GENOCIDE by David Aronowitsch and Staffan Lindberg, featuring Khieu Samphan and Theary Seng as his antagonist and voice of victims (as well as other members of AKRVC).

Thank you for visiting us at akrvc.org. This website is now under construction.
Come visit us again in February 2010. Happy New Year!