Denying History

Cambodian lawmakers unanimously approved a bill this week that will ban anyone from denying the atrocities committed by the hardline communist Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s that killed nearly two million people, the Associated Press reported.

On Tuesday, all 115 legislators in the lower house voted in favor of the draft law, which they said would help prevent a recurrence of such an event in the future and honor the victims of that regime.

The legislation bans individuals from denying or condoning the atrocities perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, with violators facing five years in prison and fines of up to $125,000.

The bill defines the atrocities as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, echoing the convictions of top Khmer Rouge leaders by a United Nations-backed court nine years ago, according to Agence France-Presse.

The bill replaces a 2013 law that proscribed prison terms of up to two years and fines of up to $1,000 for such violations. The bill will now pass to the upper house of the legislature.

The Khmer Rouge, led by the late leader Pol Pot, ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 before it was ousted by an invasion by neighboring Vietnam. The regime is accused of the deaths of around 1.7 million people from starvation, execution, and illness.

A series of tribunals that began in 2009 found the ousted government guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, among other charges.

Few Cambodians who lived during that period have denied the Khmer Rouge’s human rights violations.

Last year, former Prime Minister Hun Sen called for an update to the 2013 law because some politicians still refuse to recognize the Khmer Rouge’s crimes.

Still, critics say the bill is an attempt by the government to undermine the opposition.

The former prime minister stepped down in 2023 after 38 years in office and was succeeded by his son, the current prime minister, Hun Manet.