By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh
ECCC Cases 003 and 004 Series
Is civil party applicant Ms. Theary C. Seng correct in saying that Meas Muth and Sou Met are in Case 003 and Im Chaem and two other district chiefs are in Case 004? See ECCC Timeline by Theary C. Seng. Are Cambodian scholar Steve Heder and international lawyer Brian Tittemore correct in naming Meas Muth and Sou Met as senior leaders to be prosecuted? See http://www.wcl.american.edu/warcrimes/khmerrouge.pdf?rd=1. This series will provide in full the section on Meas Muth and Sou Met from the report Seven Candidates for Prosecution: Accountability for the Crimes of the Khmer Rouge.
a) Evidentiary Analysis
i. Positions and Roles in the CPK
Sou Met and Meah Mut are two surviving CPK cadre who held predominantly military ranks within the CPK just below the senior level, which positioned them to implement Party policies and influence the conduct of lower-level cadre.
Sou Met was Secretary of Central Committee Division 502, which incorporated the DK air force, and Meah Mut was Secretary of Central Committee Division 164, which incorporated the DK navy. Both had risen through the military ranks of the Southwest Zone and had family connections to its leadership.
Met was the son of the late Ma Mâng alias Pang, who until his death in 1968 had been Secretary of the Southwest Zone.
Meah Mut was the son-in-law of Mâng's successor, Ta Mok.
Sou Met may have joined the Central Committee in November 1978, when he became a Standing Member of the General Staff Committee chaired by Son Sen. Of the seven officials who are the subject of this report, Met and Mut occupied positions which most clearly fell within the military hierarchy of the CPK, through the General Staff under Son Sen. As indicated in Part III, Son Sen, who was killed in 1997, was a member of the Central, Standing and Military Committees and was deeply implicated in CPK atrocities.
Sou Met and Meah Mut
Documents pertaining to CPK Military Division Chairmen Sou Met and Meah Mut provide compelling evidence of their direct involvement in the arrest and transfer to S-21 for execution of cadre from their Divisions. The evidence similarly suggests that both officials may be responsible for arrests and executions perpetrated by subordinates in their respective Divisions.a) Evidentiary Analysis
i. Positions and Roles in the CPK
Sou Met and Meah Mut are two surviving CPK cadre who held predominantly military ranks within the CPK just below the senior level, which positioned them to implement Party policies and influence the conduct of lower-level cadre.
Sou Met was Secretary of Central Committee Division 502, which incorporated the DK air force, and Meah Mut was Secretary of Central Committee Division 164, which incorporated the DK navy. Both had risen through the military ranks of the Southwest Zone and had family connections to its leadership.
Met was the son of the late Ma Mâng alias Pang, who until his death in 1968 had been Secretary of the Southwest Zone.
Meah Mut was the son-in-law of Mâng's successor, Ta Mok.
Sou Met may have joined the Central Committee in November 1978, when he became a Standing Member of the General Staff Committee chaired by Son Sen. Of the seven officials who are the subject of this report, Met and Mut occupied positions which most clearly fell within the military hierarchy of the CPK, through the General Staff under Son Sen. As indicated in Part III, Son Sen, who was killed in 1997, was a member of the Central, Standing and Military Committees and was deeply implicated in CPK atrocities.
