Theary Seng
| Theary C. Seng | |
|---|---|
| File:ThearySENG RolandNeveu Riverfront4Dec09.jpg | |
| Born | 1971 Phnom Penh, Cambodia |
| Nationality | Cambodian, American |
| Education | Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service; Doctor of Law (Juris Doctor, JD) from the University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Human rights activist and author |
Theary Chan Seng is a Cambodian-American human-rights activist and lawyer, the former executive director of the Centre for Social Development, and president of the Center for Cambodian Civic Education (CIVICUS Cambodia). She is the author of Daughter of the Killing Fields, a book about her experiences as a child during the Khmer Rouge regime.[1]
Early life
Born as Chan Theary Seng, she moved to the United States in 1979 with her younger brother after the Khmer Rouge was defeated by the Vietnamese army. At the age of seven, Theary had lost both her parents and many relatives to the regime. After 1995, she volunteered with a number of labor and human-rights associations. She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 2000, and she has been admitted to the New York State Bar Association and American Bar Association. Seng returned to Cambodia in 2004.[2]
Work
She was executive director of the Centre for Social Development, which largely focused on assuring a fair trial in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. She is now president for CIVICUS, an organization that works on civic education, reconciliation and peace-building.[2] She has worked with many former victims of the Khmer Rouge.[3] Theary organized a darts campaign in Phnom Penh when President Barack Obama paid his first official visit to Cambodia. The game featured former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, which brought attention to asserted American guilt in bringing the Khmer Rouge to power after the bombing.[4]
Seng said that the American bombing in the early 1970s in Cambodia "had the direct consequence of killing half a million people and the indirect consequence of creating the conditions that gave us the Khmer Rouge. Kissinger is legally and morally responsible.” She urged that the Khmer Rouge tribunal's mandate should be continued. During Kang Kek Iew aka Duch's trial, she withdrew as a civil party because of a controversy at the court.[5]
See also
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References
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