[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 16 (Monday, April 20, 1998)]
[Page 663]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Death of Pol Pot

April 16, 1998

    The death of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot has again brought to 
international attention one of the most tragic chapters of inhumanity in 
the twentieth century. Between 1975 and 1979, Pol Pot and his Khmer 
Rouge followers transformed Cambodia into the killing fields, causing 
the death of an estimated 2 million of their countrymen in a brutal 
attempt to transform Cambodian society.

    Although the opportunity to hold Pol Pot accountable for his 
monstrous crimes appears to have passed, senior Khmer Rouge, who 
exercised leadership from 1975 to 1979, are still at large and share 
responsibility for the monstrous human rights abuses committed during 
this period. We must not permit the death of the most notorious of the 
Khmer Rouge leaders to deter us from the equally important task of 
bringing these others to justice. And equally, we must renew our 
determination to prevent such atrocities from occurring in the future.

    Now is a time to remember the victims of Pol Pot's murderous reign 
of terror and to underscore our determination to help the Cambodian 
people achieve a lasting peace based on respect for basic human rights 
and democratic principles.