Paris Peace Accords 23 Oct. 1991

Thursday, April 26, 2018

[Vietnamization: "Yuon"] "Racism, Marxism, labelling, and genocide in Ben Kiernan's The Pol Pot Regime" by Steve Heder



I don’t know Ben Kiernan personally but have read two of his books on Cambodia which I have always found off on his forced arguments of racism—now, I know why!—even if I appreciated the details of his research and interviews of the Khmer Rouge regime; I do know and really like his ex-wife Nekbong  Chanthou Boua.
Steve Heder, on the other hand, I do know from his on-the-ground work and research and his involvement at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal since I have worked and lived in Cambodia since the mid-1990s. He is THE top expert on the Khmer Rouge. I have always appreciated and learned a lot from his writings and the bit of sporadic conversations I’ve had with him.
This highly academic essay explains for me not only Ben Kiernan’s works but the few disparaging statements made by Johns Hopkins professor Stephen Morris (author of Why Vietnam Invaded Cambodia) of Kiernan for focusing and pounding on the racism motif.



"...not a detached analysis of the political process but Kiernan’s own engagement in it. This is an engagement that aligns him with certain surviving East Zone cadres who became founding members of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea [the current Hun Sen gov’t], which was established in 1979 under Vietnamese tutelage and later renamed the State of Cambodia. It entangles him in their struggles against other Cambodians for political and historical legitimacy, including the battles over the writing of Cambodian history."

"This review also raises questions about selectivity in Kiernan's use of non-confession documentary evidence, and about the accuracy of his translations. It points the need for readers to be cautious not only with regard to Kiernan's arguments and conclusions, but also the data presented to buttress them."


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