Khmer Rouge leader defends their revolution

The Khmer Rouge revolution in the 1970s was aimed at freeing Cambodia from colonialism and protecting it from invasion by Vietnam, the party’s ideologue, Nuon Chea, told a court yesterday, opening his defence against a charge of genocide.

It is the first time a Khmer Rouge leader has defended the regime since the UN-backed court started to try cases last year related to the “Killing Fields” revolution that wiped out a quarter of the population from 1975-1979.

“Oppression, injustice compelled me to devote myself to fight for my country. I had to leave my family behind to liberate my motherland from colonialism and aggression, and oppression by the thieves who wished to steal our land and wipe Cambodia off the face of the earth,” he told the court.

The trial continues.