TRIP TO CAMBODIA AND VIETNAM.
Chief Robert Moore's Travel Journal.
The year 2005, is forty years after my military unit was deployed to Vietnam, thirty years after Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese military and thirty years after Cambodia was over taken by Pol Pot's, Khmer Rouge Regime, To further delineate 2005, I received a letter dated February 5, 2005 from the People to People Ambassador program of Spokane, Washington inviting me to join an Alumni Law Delegation. The delegation would travel to Vietnam and Cambodia on 11-1-12, 2005 for a professional and cultural exchange program.
This ambassador program was started by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. Its mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between ordinary citizens during visits to other countries, to gain a better understanding of their cultures and to promote peace and democracy.
I was very curious of how and why the Chief of Police of Jackson Mississippi was being invited to join this law delegation. Needless to say I was honored to be invited and I readily accepted their invitation Selected from across the United States and Canada, Participants in the delegation included ten lawyer, one medical doctor, one school teacher, one office manager, one dentist and the proprietor of a travel agency.
While some members of the delegation had previously travel to other countries together, the majority of the group met while we were waiting to board a plane for Vietnam in Hong Kong, China. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on November 3, 2005 to began, a fascinating 8 day journey into two countries that have experience both excessive war, and poverty. Additionally, Cambodia has had to cope with genocide.
A 1965 Soldier's decision: Vietnam and the war; or return to Mississippi.
I joined the army two months after I graduated from Pontotoc Colored High School in Pontotoc, Mississippi in 1962. I became a member of the United States Army's Big Red One, Company D 2nd Battle Group, 8th Infantry, Fort Riley Kansas. My first introduction to Vietnam came in 1965, as my three year commitment with Uncle Sam was scheduled to end in August 1965.
Following claims of communist attacks on a US destroyer in 1964, President Lyndon B Johnson launched America on a course that is still affecting lives today. That incident and the subsequent decision to lunch retaliatory air strikes started a war that would split the fabric of the United States in a multitude of ways. The decision quickly impacted the lives of military personnel all over America, including those of us in Company D 2nd Battle Group, 8th Infantry. In preparing to be deployed for war in Vietnam in 1965,all eligible personnel in the division began wearing back packs and carrying weapon on daily basics.
I along with other personnel who were short timers was shipped to non-combat units. To be deployed to Vietnam, I would have to re-enlist with my Battle Group. Eventually I chose not to re-enlist and I was transferred to a military police unit for the last three months of my tenure at Fort Riley Kansas. I returned to my home state of Mississippi in August of 1965. Within three months of Company D 2nd Battle Group, 8th Infantry being deployed to Vietnam, many of my close friends were reported to have been killed or wounded, including my first line sergeant who mentored me during much of my stay at Fort Riley
The decision not to consider re-enlisting and being transferred to the military police unit eventually influenced my career choice which would subsequently bring me back to Mississippi as a Chief of Police forty years later on July 1, 2002.
A view from Ho Chi Minh City.
On November 3, 2005 I got my first view of the country where my military unit was deployed in 1965 and where so many American soldiers died. Our first day in Vietnam started with a mini tour of Ho Chi Minh City, as we traveled to our hotel. I was fascinated to see thousand of Vietnam citizens riding motor bikes all over the city. It was common to see two or three family members sharing the same bike. The beauty of the many French influenced high rise structures was breathtaking.
Arriving at our hotel, the Windsor Plaza, we were greeted with great respect and openness. Our first concern upon our arrival at the hotel was accessibility to the internet and what was the cost for long distance call.
Our afternoon tour in Vietnam took us to the Reunification Conference Hall, a beautiful Palace built by the French at the end of the 19th century which had served as an office for the Governor from France and later it served as the residence and office of the presidents of the pro-American Governments of South Vietnam. The Army tanks from North Vietnam which sit on the lawn of this Conference Hall is a sobering reminder that at 11:30 am on April 30, 1975 the South Vietnamese Government surrendered without conditions.
We also visited the War Remnants Museum where United States military hardware, planes, tanks helicopters etc, which were captured or left behind is on display. As our first day ended our guide instructed the driver to drive by the site where our embassy once stood. Evidently, the embassy was an undesirable visual reminder to their government, of where U.S. Helicopters were evacuating governmental official from both South Vietnam and America, on the last day before Saigon fell. We ended our first day in Vietnam with a formal welcome dinner, a fifteen minute surfing session on the internet. At last, a bed was awaiting me for the first time since leaving Springfield, Illinois on November, 1, 2005.
Meeting with the Bar Association of Vietnam and Cambodia
On Friday November 4, the Law Delegation met with Lawyer Nguyen Dang Trung, Director of the City Lawyers Association and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association. During our two hour meeting we were given an overview of the courts system in Vietnam, the role of the Bar Association in certifying lawyers, and a very limited scope of the police function. There are 3,500 lawyers in Vietnam, most practice criminal law. Due to Mr. Trung limited English, our national guide Mr. Nguyen Hoai An served as out interpreter. Six days later we would meet with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia. We were informed that until recently Cambodians needed no special training to practice law; entry to the bar was largely dependent upon political connections.
In November 1994 the first batch of lawyers with specialized legal education were sworn in as full members of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Unlike their predecessors, they hold college degrees and they underwent a 10-month legal-training course at a center housed at the Royal University of Law and Economic Sciences in Phnom Penh
The United States-Vietnam(US-VN Bilateral Trade Agreement(BTA).
On the afternoon of 11/4 the law firm of Baker & McKenzie, a Vietnam based Intellectual Property Group, made a power point presentation to out delegation on the Opportunities for business arising out of Vietnam's Global Integration Strategy. The firm offers services in registration, enforcement and licensing. They also provide training for judges, custom authorities and IP officials on IP matters. The new business opportunities are arising out of two areas.
These opportunities depend on pending changes in Vietnam laws and the US-VN BTA. In 1991 there was widespread poverty in Saigon; total foreign trade was US$3 billion. Beginning in 2000-2003 the country began a major transformation. Their success in the rice industry, transformed Vietnam from a basket case to "food basket". The new political leadership embraced a new global integration strategy, worked out the US-VN BTA, and provided for new options for foreigners to invest in dynamic local companies (up to 30%). The BTA agreement has not been without some risk or trade disputes. The catfish dumping and shrimp cases are prime examples of this risk.
The United States-Vietnam(US-VN Bilateral Trade Agreement(BTA).
A two-hour bus ride and tour11/5 to the Mekong Delta highlighted our final day in Vietnam. During our drive to the delta, we stopped at a factory where hand made items were available to us for purchase. Our ride on route 1 to the Mekong Delta gave me my first view of the country side. This view yielded a look at the still lingering poverty among the people of Vietnam. Small houses with dirt floor, surrounded by rice patties or catfish farms and the occasional motor bike, typified the landscape.
We arrive in the Mekong Delta during an intense rain shower. This area is known as Vietnam's "bread basket" which produces rice, which feed the entire country. A boat ride took the delegation to a small remote island where children travel to school each day by boat, and were catfish farm are plentiful. The island dwellers produce, traditional handicrafts and coconut candy, and maintain bee farms. We all left several American dollars on the island. A canoe ride through the muddy back water of the Mekong River through the jungle bought us back to our waiting boat. This ride gave me a strong sense of what our soldiers faced and the fears this place bought to them while they were fighting and dying in the far away land. We ended our tour in the delta with lunch at a tropical restaurant where we dined on catfish and rice. Diet coke and Heineken beer was the drink of choice
My Reflections On Vietnam.
I have visited the country where my mentor and many of my friends from company D 2nd Battle Group 8th infantry died or were mangled for life, I took a boat ride on the Mekong Delta River where many Americans seeking political office have describe their heroic efforts during the Vietnam war.. I visited the catfish farms that raise catfish that's shipped directly to Mississippi. and other parts of America. I visited the rice patties and the jungles where some of my friends died in 1965... As we prepare to leave this beautiful country, it's a grim reminder that upon this foreign soil, I, too, might have given my life for my country. Had I done so, I couldn't ask the question today of, "What did we gain for the lost of so many lives in this country".
Our Journey Into Cambodia
Boarding a Bangkok airline on 11/6 and flying into the a place called Siem Reap, Cambodia from a place called Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to visit the antique capitol of Angkor Thom (12th century) reminded me of movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and other movies depicting century old settings. I must admit, my knowledge of Cambodia was limited to a superficial knowledge of Pol Pot, the killing fields and stories about the United States secretly bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Our delegation's five day stay in Cambodia would bring us face to face with the people of Cambodia, the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the killing fields and Pol Pot secret prison in Phnom Penh, where over 17,000 people were interrogated, tortured, forced to write confession and most eventually killed.
A brief Review Of Literature On Cambodia.
Cambodia is a country in South East Asia, less that half the size of California and twice the size of Scotland. Once it was the center of the ancient Kingdom of the Khmer, and it capitol was Angkor, famous for its 12th century temples. The present day capitol is Phnom Penh. In 1953 Cambodia gained independence after nearly 100 years of French rule. In the 1960,s the population was over 7m, almost all Buddhist, under the rule of a monarch, Prince Sikanouk
In 1970 Prince Sihanouk was deposed in a military coup. This action un-leased a series of political and military struggles that would lead to the Khmer Rouge guerrilla forces under Pol Pot to growing to over 700,000 men by 1975. In April of 1975 the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot marched in the Phnom Penh and declared victor, which ended the civil war.
Within days of overthrowing the government, the Khmer Rouge un-lease a reign of terror and brutality within the country that eventually left about 1.5 million Cambodians dead (1975-1978).Under threat of death, the inhabitants of town and cities all across Cambodia were evacuated to the country side and forced to work in farm communes.
All political and civil rights were abolished. Children were taken from their parents and placed in separate forced labor camps. Factories, schools and universities were shut down; so were hospitals. Lawyer, doctors, teachers, engineers, scientist and professional people in any field (including the army) were murdered, together with their extended families. Religion was banned, all leading Buddhist monks were killed and almost all the temples destroyed. This four year reign of terror finally ended in 1979 when the Vietnamese Army marched into Cambodia and removed Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge Regime from power.
Khmer 12th Century Temples.
During our first day in Cambodia, we had the opportunity to explore unique architectural monuments of the Khmer civilization. Our visit to the antique capitol of Angkor Thom (12th century) bought me face to face with an ancient history for which I was unfamiliar. To view Angkor Thom and see the South Gate with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, the Bayon Temple, unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara, the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King gave me an indescribable feeling. We would later visit Ta Prohm, a former monastery that was conquered by massive tree that have grown around and through the remains of the complex.
On our second day in Siem Reap, we visited the most famous of all the temples on the plain of Angkor, which is called Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing, China. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat's five towers symbolize Meru's five peaks-the enclosed walls represent the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat,the ocean beyond.
Under the direction of King Jayavama VII Angkor Wat was built at the end of the 12th century. This temple marks the height of the Khmer civilization. Although the structure as it stand now took 37 year to build, it remains unfinished from the time of the king death, as each new king would build his own temple. Entering the temple we found intricate carving on the north, south, east, and west walls with faces depicting stories of the gods Shiva (destruction), Yama ( death and justice), Indra (sky),Vishnu(preservation),and Brama which represented (creation).
A ride through the country side from Angkor Wat to Siem Reap gave the delegation a view of the disparity of income between city dwellers and the outlying village farmers. Siem Reap is the second largest city in Cambodia. Prosperity in this city has made land more valuable and many farmers have sold their land to incoming developers, using the money to build substantial structure of wood with window and door in the newly emerging surburb. Even with this prosperity, and five star hotels lining the roadways into Siem Reap a 39% poverty rate still grips this country.
Banteay Srei Temple build in the 10th century and Banteay Samre built in the third quarter of the 12th century were the last two temples visited by the delegation. Banteay Srie is regarded as the crown of Classical Khmer Art. It was discovered by the French in 1914. It had been lost in the jungles of Cambodia since its completion in the 10th century.
As we ended this grueling day, we all prepared ourselves for a 6:00 am departure to Phenom Penh where we would visit a place known as S-21 and the Center for Genocide.
Out of Siem Reap: into the killing fields of Phnom Penh.
On 11/8 we travel by air to Phnom Penh the capitol of Cambodia. Phnom Penh is the home for approximately 1.5 million inhabitants. Our tour of the capitol city began with a visit to Victory Monument and the National Museum which is called Musees des Beaux-Art. A French archaeologist and painter, George Groslier, designed the museum in Khmer style in 1917.
The museum contains a collection of Khmer art-notably sculptures from through the ages. We also toured the Royal Palace, built by the French in 1866 on the site of the old town, and the Silver Pagoda located within the grounds of the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda is so named because of its floor, which is made up of 5,000 silver tiles. The treasures found inside include a solid gold Buddha encrusted and weighting 90kilo and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha.
The Killing Fields of Choeung EK.
On the morning of our second day in Phnom Penh or tour guide took us to view the killing fields of Choeung EK. Choeung EKis the place where between 1975 and 1978, about 17,000 men, women, children, and infants (including nine westerners) were transported and killed after being detained, interrogated, tortured and many, forced to give confessions at the S-21 secret prison. Over 8,000 sculls, arranged by sex and age, are visible behind the clear glass panels of the Memorial Stupa, which was erected in 1988
Tuol Sleng Museum f Genocide Crimes.
On January 7, 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime of Democratic Kampuchea (DK), led by a former schoolteacher using the pseudonym Pol Pot, was swept from power by the invading Vietnamese Army, numbering 100,000. By the time he was removed from power, perhaps as many as 1.5 million Cambodians were dead from malnutrition, overwork, and misdiagnose and mistreated disease. At least another 200,000 people, and probably more had been executed without trial. They were labeled as "class enemies". In the aftermath of the Vietnamese invasion in 1979, two accompanying, Vietnamese Photographers stumbled upon the Khmer Regime secret prison called S-21.
Having been brief by our guide about this prison and her own story of surviving the Pol Pot years, we still were not prepared for the visual picture of the victims that died in that cruel and secret place. The museum displayed photographs of men, women and children covering the walls from floor to ceiling: virtually all the people were killed. The instrument and methods of torture, as wells as suicide prevention cells were on display. Even though it was 30 years since this place of torture was visited upon the people of Cambodia we were all shaken by what we saw.
Cambodia Today.
As our delegation entered the final day in this Asian Country, we were briefed on the legal system by the Vice President of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the Director of the Legal Aid Office of Cambodia. Much reform work is need in Cambodia in the area of Criminal Procedures, rules of evidence, laws of search and seizure and training and selection of police personnel. The conceptual framework of the Cambodian justice system is the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, adopted in September of 1993. The Constitution lay down that Cambodia is a liberal democracy. Thus, the concept that the police under the constitution is a police force, functioning under liberal democratic norms and standards.
The concept of the police as criminal investigators and peacekeepers is new to Cambodia and is different from the concept which prevailed up until the new constitution of 1993. Under the liberal democratic framework the courts are the apex of the system of justice administration. The police are a subordinate branch of the administration. Under the former system (1980-1992) the police had much more important role than the courts. They, the courts, had merely a public relation function and the police had more direct authority over the people.
Given the long history of constant change in its government, coupled with the genocide years under the Khmer Rouge regime, the people of Cambodia are doing remarkably well. Foreign investigator are investing in many area of the country, however, poverty is still extremely high hovering at a thirty nine percent rate.
As I prepare to leave this country, I still do not know how I go invited to join the delegation, however, my life will be changed for ever.
Robert Moore is a retired U.S. Marshal of the Central District of Illinois and former Chief of Police of the Jackson, MS. Police (2002-2005) he can be reached at 217-793-3505 in Springfield, Illinois
