Former Khmer Rouge photographer to open museum of his work

Jan 25, 2007, 9:50 GMT

Phnom Penh - The former chief photographer of the S-21 Khmer Rouge torture centre announced plans Thursday to open a museum in a remote former Khmer Rouge stronghold to display his work.

Nhem Em, a photographer turned local politician, asked forgiveness for not acting on what he saw during his years photographing victims before and after execution at the centre, where more than 10,000 people were tortured and killed.

Although he himself once faced execution - after being blamed for a blemish on a photograph of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot - Nhem Em was redeemed by the movement and continued to photograph its leaders until 1995.

'I am the former chief photographer of a group of six at S-21,' said Nhem Em, now a deputy governor of the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng on the country's northern border with Thailand. 'Today I solemnly ask forgiveness from the families of all S-21 victims.

'I have more than 1,000 photographs in my possession from between 1975 and 1995. I am very happy to tell you that I am going to start a museum in Anlong Veng.'

He said he hoped the museum would contribute to reconciliation and education, so the atrocities of the past would not be forgotten and could be better understood by the younger generation.

He did not set an opening date, but said he was receiving significant technical assistance from the Documentation Center of Cambodia, the main body collating evidence from the Khmer Rouge period.

Nhem Em has said he was an unwilling witness to the inner workings of the Khmer Rouge, unable to resist because he feared for his own life. He is not among those considered for prosecution at the upcoming trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders.

Besides grim collections of executed prisoners from S-21, now the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum in the capital, his photo collection includes rare candid snaps of Pol Pot at home in Anlong Veng with his daughter, and group photos of former Khmer Rouge leaders during visits to China, Thailand and North Korea.

Anlong Veng was the last home for Pol Pot until his death in 1998 and also refuge to several former leaders including military commander Ta Mok.

US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli commended Nhem Em for his gesture and public apology, noting that none of the regime's former leaders had yet done so.

'We have all heard the old cliche that a picture is worth a thousand words. Each of these pictures is worth a thousand tears,' Mussomeli said. 'This is an important contribution to preserving records of Khmer Rouge atrocities.'

Currently stalled amid wrangling over internal rules, the 56-million dollar trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders is expected to get underway sometime this year.

Up to 2 million Cambodians are believed to have died during the ultra-Maoist's 1975 to 1979 regime.