Legacy of a tyrant the world ignored

IT is with some incredulity I note that, some 30 years too late, someone is finally being brought to task for the horrific crimes committed in Cambodia during the reign of Pol Pot.

In 1979, the year he was finally ousted, GOAL was one of the first relief agencies to enter the country. I will never forget the devastating sights that awaited us in the refugee camps as we attempted to bring relief to the hapless people.

Thousands upon thousands of emaciated people, young and old, lay dying not because of any natural disaster, but simply because of man’s inhumanity to man.

Never having experienced genocide before, in my naivety I assumed it would only be days or weeks before the international community brought this monster and his henchmen to justice for their heinous crimes that left more than two million people dead.

But due to the lack of commitment on the part of the UN and the international community, Pol Pot escaped justice, dying, still unpunished for his crimes, in 1998.

Now that some bit player in his regime is expected to go on trial, can the world sit back and claim that justice has been done? For the millions who lost loved ones during those horrific years, this is nothing short of a farce and we should hang our heads in shame.

John O’Shea

GOAL

Dun Laoghaire

Co Dublin