Khmer Oral History Project

15 INTERVIEWS

DATE: July – August 1992

PLACE: St. Paul, Minnesota

INTERVIEWERS: Various

On June 9, 1990, at the Minnesota State Capitol, the Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee held a mock trial of the Khmer Rouge leadership for the crime of genocide. Members of Minnesota’s Khmer (Cambodian) immigrant community served as witnesses in the mock trial, emotionally recounting their personal experiences in the years 1975-79, a period in which an estimated 1.7 million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge-led government of Cambodia. At the conclusion of the mock trial, a panel of Minnesota public officials serving as members of the "International Court of Justice" found Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, and his agents guilty of the crime of genocide.

The 1990 mock trial led to the Khmer Oral History Project, during which members of the Khmer community were interviewed on videotape about their experiences during the years of the genocide in Cambodia, their experiences in refugee camps, and their emigration to the United States. Each interview includes a transcript, available in English and Khmer as appropriate. Copyright in the interviews is held by Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.

LENGTH OF INTERVIEWS: 16 hours 24 minutes

TRANSCRIPTS: