Tonight at 8 pm ET, chat with Dith Pran, author of the just released book
"Children of the Cambodia Killing Fields" - A memoir of stories told by
survivors of the Pol Pot purges in the mid 1970's, about the current situation
in Cambodia including the fake trial of Pol Pot. Please ask your questions
now!
Host @Dith_Pran has joined the conversation.
Host Vickie_MSNBC says:
Hello, Dith Pran...welcome back! :)
Host Dith_Pran says:
Hello everybody, I'm glad to be back. I'm ready to take your questions now
Host Dith_Pran says:
We want to hear what you want to hear about Pol Pot and the current situation
in Cambodia
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
MikeK says:
is the Khmer Rouge different than it was in the 70's?
Host Dith_Pran says:
They all the same leadership from the 70's carrying on 'til the last few days.
The Khmer Rouge group put Pol Pot on trial, similar to the SS trying Hitler
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
febe says:
Question is the cambodian genocide worse than the Us financed genocede in
east timor?
Host Dith_Pran says:
Well, Cambodia genocide is worse because during the Killing Fields, the world
ignored Cambodia completely, that's why we as the world allowed this to
happen. We lost 2 million of the 8 million Cambodian population
hal says:
Hi Mr. Pran, I think the world of you God bless you
Host Dith_Pran says:
And compared to East Timor, yes we feel sorry for East Timor, but because we
have so many things on this planet happening similar to the Killing Fields, we
had to sort it out as to which came first
Host Dith_Pran says:
To me as Cambodian , it doesn't mean that I don't care about East Timor's
being killed, but I want to see the Cambodian genocide in the news again
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
Money says:
Mr Pran: Were the long suffering Cambodians pleased to see the Vietnamese
army show up in 1979?
Host Dith_Pran says:
Yes, in the beginning, we were so happy to see the rescuer, so we considered
the Vietnamese as rescuers in the beginning. Later, we worried because
Vietnam is the long historical enemy of Cambodia, and tried to chop Cambodia
territory
Host Dith_Pran says:
So the Cambodian people see this as a matter of priority and not a problem.
First we were grateful, then we worry because these are both the same problem.
Host Dith_Pran says:
We want our own country run by our own politicians. We don't want Khmer
Rouge, we don't want Vietnamese, but we have no choice. We think the
Vietnamese are the lesser evil but we accept them
Host Dith_Pran says:
But that's why we have war during the occupation from 1979-1989
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
MikeK says:
Why did the United Nations broker a peace treaty with the Khmer Rouge, in the
early 90's that gave them some say in the politics of the nation
Host Dith_Pran says:
Because on this planet they have the sponsor of this Cambodia warring faction.
China sponsored the Khmer Rouge, American sponsored the Freedom Fighters,
Soviet Union sponsored the group the Vietnamese had running the country during
the occupation
Host Dith_Pran says:
During the peace agreement they had to please all sides, they said the way to
a peaceful solution was bringing all sides together
hal says:
Mr. Pran your story of your friendship has been inspiring to me and my 9 year
old son.
Host Dith_Pran says:
We the people had no say, the world decided. They said if you want peace we
have to bring Khmer Rouge into the table.
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
||MrB|| says:
Vickie: Two questions for Dith Pran, how many years when into the writing of
his book, and was he there during Pol Pot Purges?
Host Dith_Pran says:
I'm one of the lucky ones, that's why I'm running around trying to educate the
public about my experiences, about what happened to me and the Cambodian
people that Pol Pot and entourage did, torturing and killing 2 million people
Host Dith_Pran says:
I witnessed the horrible situation in almost 4 years of the Pol Pot regime
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
ptr says:
I have a question to Mr DP...are you a pro-Sihanouk or pro-Hun Sen ?
Host Dith_Pran says:
I am a messenger, I don't take sides. But I'm not afraid to tell the truth.
Because if you take sides you cannot tell the truth and I love to be neutral
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
Ronfar says:
Where is Sihanouk and how does he fit into this?
Host Dith_Pran says:
Sihanouk became a king after the general election of 1993, but he's old and
sick. He lives in Peking right now for medical treatment.
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
Kat says:
Vickie, I will try to help. What was the perceived necessity of the "fake
trial"? What did they think the world was going to think? The bad guys are
good now?
hal says:
Mr. Pran I know you have all sorts of questions but my 9 year old son is here
and wants to say hello and how much he loves your portrayal of friendship and
unconditional love. GOD BLESS YOU!!!!!!!!!
Host Dith_Pran says:
They wanted the fake trial, they wanted to fool the world and especially the
Cambodian public. They need the Cambodians to support them, they want the
world to see them as a clean group, that they're no longer Pol Pot followers
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
Ronfar says:
Does he think the comparisons to Hitler re-emerging twenty years after WWII
are accurate?
Host Dith_Pran says:
Oh yes, Hitler killed the Jews, Khmer rouge killed their own people. But
people are people, any race, any color. We want the world to see the
similarity, Hitler and Khmer Rouge killed human beings
Host Dith_Pran says:
We're glad to hear your reactions
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
hal says:
I hope you will forgive us for what Dianne Sawyer did to you years ago, I will
never forget how humiliating she was.
Host Dith_Pran says:
It was not me it was Huang Noor, the man who played me. He was killed in
February 1996.
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
Rastaman says:
Mr. Pran: Have you been involved at all in the Cambodian Genocide Project at
Yale University?
Host Dith_Pran says:
I'm not very involved deeply, but I know what's going on. I always try to
share the view, like they share my view. We have our own project called the
Dith Pran Holocaust Awareness Project and my web site is
http://www.dithpran.org
Host Dith_Pran says:
Also, you can read my compiled book that my wife Kim DePaul edited with 29
survivors of the Killing Fields. These are the children who were there during
the genocide.
Host Dith_Pran says:
The book is called "The Children of Cambodia's Killing Field". My wife edited
it and I compiled it. It's a very powerful message from the 29 children.
Host Dith_Pran says:
Please visit and if you have more questions, my wife and myself will do my
best to answer email
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
hal says:
Mr. Pran do you think the killing will begin now with the demise of Pol Pot
Host Dith_Pran says:
Very good question. It could happen again with different strategy. Now Pol
Pot is old and sick and retired. But, don't forget, not Pol Pot alone was
responsible for the Killing Fields. There is a group like in the west we call
Junta, the group that runs the show. This is a group of people that's like a
steering committee
Host Dith_Pran says:
Don't forget, a lot of them are still in hiding behind what's going on right
now, in the jungle. Pol Pot alone, let's say he dies or is killed, it doesn't
mean everything is over. So it looks like this is a new strategy that the
steering committee decided to change the way to get back into power
Host Dith_Pran says:
Also, right now, because Cambodia has the problem of people divided, it looks
to me like we are repeating history back to 1970 and repeat the time when the
Vietnamese occupied Cambodia
Host Dith_Pran says:
and had a guerilla war. There is a similarity to now. The royalist group and
the freedom fighters are in the jungle and I'm worried they may join with the
Khmer Rouge because the Khmer Rouge needs royalists to get to the people
Host Dith_Pran says:
because they have a bad reputation. The royalists have a good reputation and
the Khmer Rouge wants to infiltrate and hope they can conquer again in the
future
Host Dith_Pran says:
And the royalists look like they need some strength, someone who can help them
too, because thy're weaker now due to the coup on July 5th and 6th
Host Dith_Pran says:
This group believes in a monarchy
Host Chris_MSNBC says:
Rastaman says:
Mr. Pran: Do you think Pol Pot will ever be brought before an international
tribunal?
Host Dith_Pran says:
We'd love to see him handed over by the Khmer Rouge new generation for the
central government, but I'm very pessimistic because when I saw the jungle
trial, it seemed like the public that used to lean with Khmer Rouge and Pol
Pot still respect Pol Pot
Host Dith_Pran says:
It's very hard to change because this is the time, if they really believe Pol
Pot is guilty.
Host Dith_Pran says:
Please help spread the word of the Cambodian genocide. I believe it needs to
be told, the new generation needs to be educated and we want history not to
repeat itself. We don't want to see the holocaust, the genocide, the killing
fields keep returning to this planet
Host Dith_Pran says:
I believe in order to stop this horrible thing from happening again, we must
educate the new generation to prepare for the worst
Host Dith_Pran says:
Thank you for caring, good night to you all
Host Dith_Pran has left the conversation.
votus says:
What an amazing, powerful message from one individual. Thanks for inviting Mr. Pran
