Ben Kiernan Replies to Sorpong PeouSorpong Peou s review essay on Cambodia (Winter 1997, pp. 413-25) seriously dis-torts my work on the racism and the power-hunger of the leaders of the CommunistParty of Kampuchea, detailed in my book The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, andGenocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979 (New Haven, CT: YaleUniversity Press, 1996).

Peou asserts: "The book's central theme is that the Khmer Rouge leadershipwas anti-Marxist and racist" (p. 413). While I do argue that racism played a heretoforemisunderstood role in the Cambodian genocide, I also describe "Pol Pot's motleyideology" as a mingling of racism with Stalinism and other aspects of Chinese commu-nism. I show that "Maoism proved a useful ideological tool" for the Khmer Rougeregime, with its "unbridled lust for power," "Maoist emphasis on self-reliance," and"ideological debt to China." I conclude: "Its racialist preoccupations and discoursewere of primary importance, but so were totalitarian ambitions and achievements"(pp. 27, 125-27, 330, 463, 465).

By contrast, the words "Stalinism" and "Maoism" do not appear in Peou's re-view. He sees "classical Marxism," with its disregard for "cultural and ethnic particu-larism," as a source of the violence. But the Khmer Rouge were far more familiarwith the communist United-Front tactics of Stalin and Maoincluding, for instance,formal recognition of "national minorities." The Khmer Rouge rejected that specificaspect of their Maoist legacy, not because they were classical European Marxists, butbecause of the homegrown racist component of their ideology.

Contrary to the impression Peou leaves, the role of racism in the Cambodiangenocide is gaining wide acknowledgement. In a new book, international lawyers Ste-ven Ratner and Jason Abrams write: "The existing literature presents a strong primafacie case that the Khmer Rouge committed acts of genocide against the Cham mi-nority group, the ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai minority groups, and the Bud-dhist monkhood. While some commentators suggest otherwise, virtually every authoron the subject has reached this conclusion" (Accountability for Human Rights Atroci-ties in International Law [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997], p. 244). For two decadesI have worked to bring the Khmer Rouge leaders to justice for these and other crimes.

On the other hand, Peou has reportedly opposed legal accountability. LastMarch he proclaimed that "Punishing Pol Pot will not solve the problem." He added:"Prosecution in a condition of anarchy is wishful thinking and may hinder nationalreconciliation." The journalist who interviewed him reported that Peou "says he iswilling to forgive for the sake of breaking the cycle of deception and pre-emptiveviolence." The reporter wrote, "Sorpong supports reconciliation with the KhmerRouge rather than punishment for past crimes [and] supports the pragmatic strategyof incorporating Khmer Rouge defectors into the government structure in the hopethat the movement will die a natural death" {Good Weekend [Sydney], March 29,1997, pp. 33-34, 37).

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Peou s advocacy of letting bygones be bygones comes through clearly in hisreview. He calls the Khmer Rouge leaders "so-called 'genocidists'" (p. 414), and links"the pre-emptive nature of the violence" to "Pol Pot's egalitarianism," his "prudence,""insecurity," and "vulnerability," and "the fickleness of popular support" (pp. 416,420,423). Surprisingly, Peou claims that "from 1970 to 1975, the Cham Muslims were notpersecuted at all" (compare the evidence on pp. 67-68, 258-62 of my book). Whenhe does acknowledge massacres of Chams, he denies they were premeditated, despiteoverwhelming evidence (see pp. 262-67f). He then cites me inaccurately (see p. 93)in support of his claim that "the Pol Pot group made severalunsuccessfulat-tempts to limit the killing."

Sorpong Peou's apparent agendareconciliation with the Khmer Rougeshould be familiar to readers of Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Ben KiernanProfessor of HistoryDirector, Genocide Studies ProgramYale University

Corrections

The caption of die cover photograph of Volume 9, Number 2 incorrectly identifiessoldiers of the "Second" Armored Division; it should read "Elevendi."

On page 322 of Volume 11, Number 3 the next-to-last sentence of the middle para-graph (The fact that the . . . was refused recognition.") should have been deleted.

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