Son Sen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Son Sen ( km, សុន សេន ; 12 June 1930 – 15 June 1997), alias Comrade Khieu () or "Brother Number 89", was a
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
n
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politician and soldier. A member of the
Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
of the
Communist Party of Kampuchea The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK),, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ; french: Parti communiste du Kampuchea also known as the Khmer Communist Party,Party of Democratic Kampuchea The Party of Democratic Kampuchea was a political party in Cambodia, formed as a continuation of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in December 1981. In the mid-1980s, it publicly claimed that its ideology was "a new form of democratic socialism",Al ...
, the ''Khmer Rouge'', from 1974 to 1992, Sen oversaw the Party's security apparatus, including the ''
Santebal The ''Santebal'' ( km, សន្តិបាល, ; meaning "keeper of peace") was the secret police of the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime in Cambodia. The Santebal was in charge of internal security and running prison camps like ...
'' secret police and the notorious security prison S-21 at
Tuol Sleng The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...
. Son Sen was responsible for ordering the massacre of more than 100,000 people in the Eastern Zone of Cambodia during the last six months of 1978. Sen was married to
Yun Yat Yun Yat ( km, យុន យ៉ាត; 1934 – 15 June 1997), also known by her alias Comrade At ( km, សមមិត្តនារីអាត, link=no), was the wife of Son Sen, Defense Minister of Democratic Kampuchea. On 9 October 1975, th ...
, who became the Party's minister of education and information. Along with the rest of his family, he was killed on the orders of
Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
during a 1997 factional split in the Khmer Rouge.


Early life

Son Sen was born in the village of Huong Hoa, Trà Vinh Province in southern
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
to a minor landowning family.Kiernan, B. (2004), p.29 Although the Khmer Institute described Sen as being of "Sino-Vietnamese" descent,Bora, Touch
Jurisdictional and Definitional Issues
''Khmer Institute'', retrieved 2007-11-19
Béréziat and others have confirmed that like several other Khmer Rouge leaders he was of
Khmer Krom The ''Khmer Krom'' ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរក្រោម, , , lit. 'Lower Khmers' or 'Southern Khmers'; vi, người Khơ-me Crộm, người Khmer Nam Bộ, người Khmer Việt Nam, người Việt gốc Miên (used before 19 ...
ethnicity.Béréziat (2009), p. 102 Son Sen est d'origine khmère krom (et non sino- khmère comme on l'a écrit). H est né en 1926 ou 1930 à Huong Hoa, dans la province de Trà Vinh (Sud- Vietnam), le même canton d'où est originaire Ieng Sary....Kiernan, ''The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia'', Yale UP, 2014, p.298 From 1946 he attended a teacher training college in
Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
, and in the 1950s received a scholarship to study in Paris, where he became a member of a
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
group of Cambodian students centred on
Saloth Sar Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
(alias Pol Pot),
Ieng Sary Ieng Sary ( km, អៀង សារី; 24 October 1925 – 14 March 2013) was a Cambodian politician who was the co-founder and senior member of the Khmer Rouge. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea le ...
, and
Hou Yuon Hou Yuon ( km, ហ៊ូ យន់, 1930 – August 1975 (or later)) was a veteran of the communist movement in Cambodia. A member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, he served in several ministerial posts dur ...
. Along with other members of the group, Sen was influenced by the radical line pursued by the
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...
. Sen's academic record was relatively mediocre, and in May 1956 the authorities withdrew his scholarship due to his continued participation in political activity.Kiernan, p.122 Returning to Cambodia with a teaching certificate, he taught for a time at the ''
Lycee Sisowath In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
'', and went on to become director of studies of the National Teaching Institute, part of the
University of Phnom Penh The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP; km, សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទភ្នំពេញ; french: Université royale de Phnom Penh) is a national research university of Cambodia, located in the Phnom Pe ...
. By 1960 he had also, however, joined the clandestine Cambodian Communist Party, then known as the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party and led by
Tou Samouth Tou Samouth ( km, ទូ សាមុត; c. 1915 – 20 July 1962), also known as Achar Sok (), was a Cambodian politician. One of the two founding members of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP), the other being Son Ngoc Minh, ...
.Kiernan, p.184


In the ''maquis''

Son Sen's political views, which opposed the ruling
Sangkum The Sangkum Reastr Niyum ( km, សង្គមរាស្ត្រនិយម, , ;Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Langu ...
regime of Prince
Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...
, were soon to affect his career. In 1962 he was removed from his post at the Institute after being accused of spreading anti-Sangkum ideas amongst the students, though he was permitted to continue teaching and was appointed principal of a high school in Takéo Province.Chandler, D. (1999). ''Voices from S-21 - Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison'', University of California Press, Berkeley, California, p. 19 By 1963, when Saloth Sar took over the Communist Party leadership, a number of leftists were beginning to escape Phnom Penh for the countryside; Sen went underground and was to follow them in 1964, hidden in the car boot of a Chinese diplomatic vehicle. Sen was initially to join Saloth Sar and other former colleagues at a Vietnamese Communist military base called Office 100, located in the border areas of Cambodia. There are indications that he was soon sent to the remote,
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
l Ratanakiri Province, in the far north-east of the country, in order to build up anti-government activity amongst the
Khmer Loeu The Khmer Loeu ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរលើ ; "upper Khmers") is the collective name given to the various indigenous ethnic groups residing in the highlands of Cambodia. The Khmer Loeu are found mainly in the northeastern pro ...
tribesmen.Kiernan, p.212 By the later 1960s, Sen – with increasing experience of
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
– had built up a reputation as a talented field commander, and had risen to a senior rank within the Party. In 1968, he was responsible for several successful uprisings in the south-west of the country, and was reported to be the chief of the political committee for
Kampot Kampot may refer to: *Kampot (city), a city in southern Cambodia *Kampot, an alternative spelling of the Slavic drink Kompot *Kampot Province, province of Cambodia *Kampot Municipality, a municipality in Cambodia *Kampot Airport, an airport in Cambo ...
, Takéo and Kampong Speu.Kiernan, p.269


Chief of Staff of Khmer Rouge forces

After the
Cambodian coup of 1970 Cambodian usually refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia ** Cambodian people (or Khmer people) ** Cambodian language (or Khmer language) ** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia ** For ...
, and the subsequent establishment of the
Khmer Republic The Khmer Republic ( km, សាធារណរដ្ឋខ្មែរ, ; french: République khmère) was a pro-United States military-led republican government of Cambodia that was formally declared on 9 October 1970. The Khmer Republic wa ...
under
Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol ( km, លន់ នល់, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian politician and general who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia The prime minister of Cambodia ( km, នាយករដ្ឋមន្ ...
, Sihanouk was to join with his former Communist enemies in forming the
GRUNK The Royal Government of the National Union of Kampuchea (french: Gouvernement royal d'union nationale du Kampuchéa, GRUNK; km, រាជរដ្ឋាភិបាលរួបរួមជាតិកម្ពុជា) was a government-in-exile ...
, a
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
-based government-in-exile. The Khmer Rouge's forces were soon to be swelled by thousands of new recruits, attracted in part by Sihanouk's name. Son Sen, whilst not a prominent member of the GRUNK, had considerable power thanks to his high position in the government's forces on the ground – CPNLAF, the Cambodian People's National Liberation Armed Forces. Along with Ieng Sary, he was responsible for the North-Eastern Zone, the stronghold of the Party 'Centre'.Kiernan, p.308 By 1972 Son Sen had become
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
of the Khmer Rouge forces. Despite occasional criticisms – his colleagues found his style peremptory and his point of view "bourgeois", and he was openly criticised by
Hou Yuon Hou Yuon ( km, ហ៊ូ យន់, 1930 – August 1975 (or later)) was a veteran of the communist movement in Cambodia. A member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, he served in several ministerial posts dur ...
at the Party's 1971 Congress – his devotion to Saloth Sar and his closeness to the Party 'Centre' guaranteed his senior position.


Democratic Kampuchea

After the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in April 1975, Son Sen was appointed Deputy
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
with responsibility for Defense. Responsible for internal security, he also oversaw the ''
Santebal The ''Santebal'' ( km, សន្តិបាល, ; meaning "keeper of peace") was the secret police of the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime in Cambodia. The Santebal was in charge of internal security and running prison camps like ...
'' – the Khmer Rouge secret police. As such he monitored the operations of the infamous S-21 prison at
Tuol Sleng The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...
, and engaged actively in the design of its
interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...
and
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
procedures. Son Sen's role meant that he was particularly closely implicated in the many thousands of deaths that occurred in this period due to the arrest and execution of perceived enemies of the regime. His memoranda to his subordinate
Kang Kek Iew Kang Kek Iew, also spelled Kaing Guek Eav ( km, កាំង ហ្គេកអ៊ាវ, ; 17 November 1942 – 2 September 2020), ''nom de guerre'' Comrade Duch ( km, មិត្តឌុច, ) or Hang Pin, was a Cambodian convicted war ...
, and notes taken during study sessions overseen by Sen for S-21 cadres, reveal his continued interest in history, deeply anti-Vietnamese views, and revolutionary zeal, along with a "schoolmasterish attention to detail".Chandler, pp. 19-20 These were combined with a brutally ruthless streak; Sen was reputed to have once been so angry with Foreign Minister Ieng Sary that he unsuccessfully attempted to have him murdered.Son Sen, Documentation Centre of Cambodia
, accessed 12-10-09
The Party's paranoia with regard to security, and its obsessive secrecy, led many senior Khmer Rouge cadres to be identified in internal documents by pseudonyms or numbers: Son Sen was often referred to as "Khieu", and his wife as "At". He was also identified as "Brother 89" on letters and memoranda. Sen's other main duties in this period involved reorganising the CPNLAF forces into a cohesive national army, the
Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea The Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea ( km, កងទ័ពរំដោះកម្ពុជា, RAK) was the Armed Forces of Democratic Kampuchea. History During the Democratic Kampuchea days, the 68,000-member Khmer Rouge-dominated CPNLAF ...
. By 1977–78, he was overseeing an increasing series of clashes with Vietnamese forces along the border, as well as mounting a massive purge of Eastern Zone cadres considered to have Vietnamese links. As the ongoing war with the Vietnamese began to go increasingly badly for the Democratic Kampuchean forces, however, Sen began to fall under suspicion himself, and may well have become a victim of his own security apparatus if the 1979 Vietnamese invasion had not intervened. In particular, he had been implicated by the Party's internal security in several "traitorous" activities including the 1978 murder of the British academic
Malcolm Caldwell James Alexander Malcolm Caldwell (27 September 1931 – 23 December 1978) was a Scottish academic and a prolific Marxist writer. He was a consistent critic of American foreign policy, a campaigner for Asian communist and socialist movements a ...
.Corfield, J. and Summers, L. ''Historical Dictionary of Cambodia'', Scarecrow Press, p.397


Commander of the NADK

Following the Vietnamese invasion and the establishment of a pro-Vietnamese regime in Phnom Penh, Sen was to re-establish his control over the Khmer Rouge forces, now operating against the Vietnamese and the forces of the
People's Republic of Kampuchea The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; vi, Cộng hòa Nhân dân Campuchia was a partially recognised state in Southeast Asia supported by Vietnam which existed from 1979 to 1989. It was founded in Cambodia by the Kamp ...
from bases in the
Cardamom Mountains The Cardamom Mountains ( km, ជួរភ្នំក្រវាញ, ; th, ทิวเขาบรรทัด, ), or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the south west of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range ...
. By August 1985, when the 'retirement' of Pol Pot was officially announced, Son Sen assumed supreme command of the
National Army of Democratic Kampuchea The National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (NADK) was a Cambodian guerrilla force. NADK were the armed forces of the Party of Democratic Kampuchea also known as "Khmer Rouge", operating between 1979 and the late 1990s. History NADK was formed in ...
, as it was now called. During this period Sen had occasional contact with the commanders of the other armed groups within the
Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea The Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK; km, រដ្ឋាភិបាលចំរុះកម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ, ''Roathaphibal Chamroh Kampuchea Pracheathipatai''), renamed in 1990 to the N ...
; the
Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces The Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF) was the military component of the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) a political front organized in 1979 in opposition to the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of Kampu ...
under
Sak Sutsakhan General Sak Sutsakhan ( km, សក់ ស៊ុតសាខន; 8 February 1928Some sources give 2 August. – 29 April 1994) was a Cambodian politician and soldier who had a long career in the country's politics. He was the last Head of State of ...
, and the ANS armed wing of the royalist
FUNCINPEC The National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia,; french: Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique et coopératif commonly referred to as FUNCINPEC,, ; is a royalist politic ...
, commanded by
Norodom Ranarridh Norodom Ranariddh ( km, នរោត្តម រណឫទ្ធិ; 2 January 1944 – 28 November 2021) was a Cambodian prince, politician and law academic. He was the second son of King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and a half-brother of Kin ...
. There was occasional coordination between the Sen's NADK and the ANS in particular, though the Khmer Rouge forces remained easily the strongest element in the coalition (and periodically attacked ANS and KPNLAF forces).


After 1991 and death

Following the Paris Peace Agreements of October 1991, Son Sen and
Khieu Samphan Khieu Samphan ( km, ខៀវ សំផន; born 28 July 1931) is a Cambodian former communist politician and economist who was the chairman of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as ...
traveled to Phnom Penh to negotiate with
UNTAC The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) ar, سلطة الأمم المتحدة الانتقالية في كمبوديا, italics=off zh, , italics=offfrench: Autorité provisoire des Nations unies au Cambodgerussian: Орг ...
and the Cambodian government in Phnom Penh. Sen was made a member of the Supreme National Council which was set up to protect the country's independence until UN-supervised elections could take place, and seems to have been more determined than most Khmer Rouge leaders to ensure that they were reintegrated into normal national politics. However, as a result Sen was removed from power in May 1992 by
Ta Mok Ta Mok ( km, តាម៉ុក; born Chhit Choeun (); 1924 – 21 July 2006) also known as Nguon Kang, was a Cambodian military chief and soldier who was a senior figure in the Khmer Rouge and the leader of the national army of Democratic Kamp ...
, after a dispute with fellow Khmer Rouge leaders over whether to continue the negotiations.* Chandler, D. (1999). ''Brother Number One. A Political Biography of Pol Pot'', Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, p. 173 From 1992 to 1997 he had relatively little influence within the Khmer Rouge. He was murdered on 15 June 1997, alongside 13 members of his family, including children, on orders of Pol Pot, who at the time was fighting his last battle to regain control of the Khmer Rouge from Ta Mok.* Chandler, D. (1999). ''Brother Number One. A Political Biography of Pol Pot'', Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, p. 180 Pol Pot is thought to have believed that Sen was in negotiations with government forces to surrender, specifically being in contact with then-Second Prime Minister
Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...
; he ordered Son Sen and his family to be shot, after which trucks drove over their bodies."Khmer Rouge Said to Execute A Top Aide on Pol Pot's Order"
''New York Times'', 14-06-97


See also

* Cambodia under Pol Pot *
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
*
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
(Second Indochina War) *
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...
*
Cambodian Civil War The Cambodian Civil War ( km, សង្គ្រាមស៊ីវិលកម្ពុជា, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (known as the Khme ...
*
Killing Fields The Killing Fields ( km, វាលពិឃាត, ) are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than one million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime (the Communist Party of Kampuchea) during its rule of t ...
* ''The Killing Fields'' (
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
film) * ''
First They Killed My Father ''First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers'' is a 2000 non-fiction book written by Loung Ung, a Cambodian-American author and childhood survivor of Democratic Kampuchea. It is her personal account of her experiences during t ...
'' by
Loung Ung Loung Ung ( km, អ៊ឹង លួង; born 19 November 1970) is a Cambodian American human-rights activist, lecturer and national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World, between 1997 and 2003. She has served in the same capaci ...
* ''Enemies of the People'' (film)


References


Bibliography

* Béréziat, Gilbert, ''Cambodge 1945-2005: Soixante années d'hypocrisie des grands'', L'Harmattan, 2009, * Kiernan, Ben; How Pol Pot came to power,
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...
, 2004, {{DEFAULTSORT:Son, Sen 1930 births 1997 deaths Cambodian communists Communist Party of Kampuchea politicians Defence ministers of Cambodia Khmer Krom people People from Trà Vinh province People executed by the Khmer Rouge Executed Cambodian people Genocide perpetrators Executed Vietnamese people People executed by Cambodia by firearm Cambodian politicians convicted of crimes Executed mass murderers