Ton Sa Im, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Education of Cambodia, addresses participants at a leadership conference sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation in Phnom Penh, March 31, 2009. (UPI Photo/Robert Kittel) By Robert Kittel
UPI Correspondent
Published: April 01, 2009
Phnom Penh, Cambodia — This year marked the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of the Pol Pot dictatorship that brutally slaughtered as many as 2 million Cambodians – one-third of the population. And just this month in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, the trial began for “Duch,” the former prison chief of the notorious Teol Sleng prison.
Human rights activists have called for justice through prosecution, while Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked for reconciliation and healing. Against this background the Universal Peace Federation held a Global Peace Tour, March 30-31, under the banner, “A New Paradigm for Peace in the 21st Century.”
The theme struck a somber cord with Cambodians of all ages and had special meaning for UPF organizers too.
Teol Sleng prison was originally a high school, renamed by the Khmer Rouge “S-21.” As many as 30,000 people, including women and children, were killed there over a three-and-a-half-year period.
At the Teol Sleng Genocide Museum the devices used to torture men, woman and children were on display. The purpose was to remind Cambodians and the world of the unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity of the communist regime.
One particularly cruel method of torture was to tie a person’s hands behind his back and then with another rope lift him off the ground so that the weight of his body pulled his arms backwards. The pain would cause the person to pass out.
Guards would then put the prisoner’s head in a mixture of sewer water and fertilizer to revive him and continue interrogation. This was called “the gallows” in Cambodia.
In North Korea the same technique was called “the airplane,” and it was used on Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Universal Peace Federation, in Pyongyang nearly 60 years ago. He was arrested, imprisoned and tortured several times for teaching religion in a communist state.
This heritage of suffering has made the Cambodian people serious about ensuring it does not happen again. More than 700 people, including a government minister, an undersecretary of state, a senator, ten members of Parliament, NGO leaders, legal experts, 25 Buddhist monks, academics and students, listened attentively as the basic principles of peace and good governance were discussed – especially the concept of “love your enemy.”
Minister of Cults and Religion Min Khin spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Hun Sen and set the tone of the two-day conference. He explained, “As long as there is peace, we can achieve anything. So we need to have peace.”
More than 95 percent of the Cambodian people are Buddhists, yet the country allows freedom of religion to all groups. Kong Sokleng, executive director of the Student Monk Association, said what he most appreciated about the peace initiative was its promotion of “the idea that we are one family under God.”
The program included lectures on leadership, with an emphasis on character, and good governance as the highest form of service to a nation’s people. As Ton Sa Im, undersecretary of state of the Ministry of Education, explained, “The highest values of human beings are spiritual and moral in nature, and therefore must serve as the basic foundation of leadership and good governance.”
During the two days, 120 peace awards were given to community leaders and students. The awards were not only to recognize past achievements, but also to represent a commitment to serve as peace ambassadors in their communities.
The Universal Peace Federation conducts similar programs around the world, aimed at bringing reconciliation to divided communities. Other Asian peace initiatives have been introduced in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines’ island of Mindanao.
UPI Correspondent
Published: April 01, 2009
Phnom Penh, Cambodia — This year marked the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of the Pol Pot dictatorship that brutally slaughtered as many as 2 million Cambodians – one-third of the population. And just this month in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, the trial began for “Duch,” the former prison chief of the notorious Teol Sleng prison.
Human rights activists have called for justice through prosecution, while Prime Minister Hun Sen has asked for reconciliation and healing. Against this background the Universal Peace Federation held a Global Peace Tour, March 30-31, under the banner, “A New Paradigm for Peace in the 21st Century.”
The theme struck a somber cord with Cambodians of all ages and had special meaning for UPF organizers too.
Teol Sleng prison was originally a high school, renamed by the Khmer Rouge “S-21.” As many as 30,000 people, including women and children, were killed there over a three-and-a-half-year period.
At the Teol Sleng Genocide Museum the devices used to torture men, woman and children were on display. The purpose was to remind Cambodians and the world of the unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity of the communist regime.
One particularly cruel method of torture was to tie a person’s hands behind his back and then with another rope lift him off the ground so that the weight of his body pulled his arms backwards. The pain would cause the person to pass out.
Guards would then put the prisoner’s head in a mixture of sewer water and fertilizer to revive him and continue interrogation. This was called “the gallows” in Cambodia.
In North Korea the same technique was called “the airplane,” and it was used on Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Universal Peace Federation, in Pyongyang nearly 60 years ago. He was arrested, imprisoned and tortured several times for teaching religion in a communist state.
This heritage of suffering has made the Cambodian people serious about ensuring it does not happen again. More than 700 people, including a government minister, an undersecretary of state, a senator, ten members of Parliament, NGO leaders, legal experts, 25 Buddhist monks, academics and students, listened attentively as the basic principles of peace and good governance were discussed – especially the concept of “love your enemy.”
Minister of Cults and Religion Min Khin spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Hun Sen and set the tone of the two-day conference. He explained, “As long as there is peace, we can achieve anything. So we need to have peace.”
More than 95 percent of the Cambodian people are Buddhists, yet the country allows freedom of religion to all groups. Kong Sokleng, executive director of the Student Monk Association, said what he most appreciated about the peace initiative was its promotion of “the idea that we are one family under God.”
The program included lectures on leadership, with an emphasis on character, and good governance as the highest form of service to a nation’s people. As Ton Sa Im, undersecretary of state of the Ministry of Education, explained, “The highest values of human beings are spiritual and moral in nature, and therefore must serve as the basic foundation of leadership and good governance.”
During the two days, 120 peace awards were given to community leaders and students. The awards were not only to recognize past achievements, but also to represent a commitment to serve as peace ambassadors in their communities.
The Universal Peace Federation conducts similar programs around the world, aimed at bringing reconciliation to divided communities. Other Asian peace initiatives have been introduced in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines’ island of Mindanao.
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