Justice

Are leaders accused of war crimes getting the justice they deserve? Since President Obama closed the prison in Guantanamo Bay after he took on the position of president there has been a lot of talk of who have committed war crimes. Through my research for an earlier project I have focused one aspect on the Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian political party which was led by Pol Pot, the vicious genocidal leader. Quite Often it is not only the central lead figure who should be accused of crimes against humanity. To be quite honest the individuals who accompany the ranks surrounding the genocidal leader are as guilty, if not more guilty for allowing it to carry out.

The Khmer rouge was a political party with a vision that spread like wild fire. It was a movement which would change Cambodia's future. Pol Pot can be credited with the absolute power to kill absolutely; genocide portray. But one of his top militants which goes by the name of "dock" was identified hiding in Northern-Cambodia and is up for tribunal trials in the United Kingdom. After so long he can only beg for mercy as he sits in a bullet proof segment of the court waiting for his verdict.

If you watch someone committee a crime and not attempt to prevent the occurrence you are as guilty as the individual who acted. "Dock" is credited for a small share of the war crimes of the entire genocide but none the less is as guilty as the monstrous leader Pol Pot. Three decades later it is quite the opposite; he lies powerless at the hands of mere innocent people determining his future. The jury has a very sensitive job as many victims’ families await the verdict of the man who took their loved ones sentenced to Phnom Penh's notorious Tuol Sleng torture centre.

The crimes have already been committed and the only thing which remains are the memories of those who perished. The next question becomes justice... or forgiveness?
Do the families who suffered along with their loved ones forgive the man who carried out such a devastating event. Is justice better served in a prison sentence, and execution or an apology? "Dock" looks to the victim’s families and states, "I ask for your forgiveness. I know that you cannot forgive me, but I ask you to leave me the hope that you might."

Hope can only save a murder to a certain extent. Can the families of those who suffered really forgive and turn the other cheek of the man who made them suffer so severely. So when is justice really served… if it ever is? These questions are at the heart of the push to stop and prevent genocides from happening across the world. All countries, citizens and governing bodies must unite on this one cause because pro-active prevention is the only way to serve justice. Humanity is served justice for each and every live that is saved from the hands of a genocidal leader.