17 April 1975 - 17 April 2025: half a century later, what has history taught us?

Reflection on the complex and changing roles of victims and executioners and on a hero of the History of the time.

Change of position in history

This month, April 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge's conquest of Cambodia and their seizure of political power, which plunged the Cambodians into a brutal and devastating regime that almost destroyed the country. When the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh, the normally bustling city fell into an ominous silence. Just before their entry, the city was in a state of chaos with floods of refugees, bullets flying, bombs and grenades exploding. But on 17 April 1975, the intense cacophony of the Khmer Rouge war of aggression fell silent. The Khmer Rouge then ordered the immediate evacuation of the entire capital.

Separated from my siblings, parents and relatives at that time, I was forced to leave the house and join the crowds in the streets during the evacuation.

Some two million inhabitants crowded the city streets, making it difficult for me as I desperately searched for my family members, other relatives and friends, without being able to find anyone. At sunset, the inhabitants, traumatised by the bombings, cooked rice and ate together, uncertain of their future. I was 14 and hoping to find help, but people tended to turn away from me. I began to realise that they were driven by primal instincts such as fear of the unknown, avoiding strangers and keeping food for their family and friends.

Too young to fully understand my situation, I asked the Khmer Rouge soldiers, many of whom were young and inexperienced, for help. They kindly provided me with food and told me how to walk to my grandparents' home village of Takeo, about 80 kilometres from the city of Phnom Penh.

Today, 50 years later, I suspect that those I met in the street at the time, who refused my calls for help and turned away from me, became victims of the Khmer Rouge. Over the past 30 years, I have dedicated my professional life to supporting these victims and seeking justice for them.

Ironically, the Khmer Rouge who helped me and enabled me to find my family became the suspects in my criminal investigation work. I prepared and submitted evidence files about them to the prosecutors of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) so that they could be tried and punished for the crimes committed against the Cambodian people. These days, I reflect on the complex and changing roles of victims and perpetrators.

Discussion on Prince Sirik Matak's letter

Over the past 46 years, I have seen many accounts citing Prince Sirik Matak's letter sent to US Ambassador John Gunther Dean before the US fled Cambodia on 12 April 1975. The letter became very well known and was quoted thousands and thousands of times, documenting the way in which the United States abandoned Cambodia in a period of intense need and crisis; and how Prince Sirik Matak, one of the figures who led the coup d'état against Prince Norodom Sihanouk, became a hero of the history of this period.

But today, some 46 years later, I discovered footage by a foreign filmmaker who followed the officials of the Khmer Republic who rushed to the French embassy in the hope of being protected from the Khmer Rouge. And among them was Prince Sirik Matak. He wrote a letter that was widely quoted and sent to the then US ambassador, expressing his disappointment towards his own allies, the US government.

However, Prince Sirik Matak was refused entry to the French embassy because he was not a French citizen. With no other choice, he asked the US embassy for help to be evacuated, but it was too late. The US ambassador left by military helicopter, leaving him behind. A week later, he was executed by the Khmer Rouge.

This effort by the prince has never been made public or discussed until now. We prefer to stick to what we have learnt rather than examine and research the enigmas that occurred during this period. When this enigma showed that he was not such a hero, it was concealed and omitted from the public domain for the last 46 years. Now that we know that he returned to the US embassy to ask for help, would we still consider the letter he wrote in the same way?

Youk Chhang is the executive director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam) and a survivor of the Khmer Rouge ‘killing fields’ genocide. He escaped the Khmer Rouge killing fields and took refuge in the United States, but his experience of the Khmer Rouge terror and the loss of loved ones led him to a lifelong commitment to promoting memory and justice in Cambodia. In 2018, Chhang received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as the ‘Nobel Prize of Asia’, for his work in preserving the memory of the genocide and seeking justice in the Cambodian nation and around the world.