Honoring the victims of the Cambodian genocide that took place from April 1975 to January 1979.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman, for his dedication and commitment to this issue, along with my friend the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member, for his ongoing support of this piece of legislation, and Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to address this issue that is incredibly important to all Cambodian Americans.

The tragic history of over 1.7 million Cambodian men, women and children who died during the Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 is unconscionable. The inhumanity of the Khmer Rouge regime and the harrowing events of the killing fields there still touch every Cambodian American family. They live each day with the indelible scars of lost mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and other loved ones.

While the tragedy can never be reversed, America's recognition of the 1.7 million lives lost is important to the hundred of thousands of survivors that now call America home.

My legislation, H. Con. Res. 238, commemorates the victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide.

In 1975, a large-scale insurgency took place, resulting in the forced removal of local Cambodians from their villages and into labor camps in an attempt by the Khmer Rouge to restructure society.

The Khmer Rouge maintained control by mass public tortures and executions. Families were separated by sending men, women and children into various labor camps, scattered throughout that country. Famine and disease were epidemic between April of 1975 and January of 1979. Cambodians watched hundreds of thousands of their loved ones die by starvation and thousands more by torture.

When the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979 by Vietnamese troops, thousands of Cambodians fled to nearby refugee camps in Thailand and to camps in the Philippines and Indonesia. As many as 145,000-plus courageous Cambodians made their way to the United States.

With the assistance of the Federal Government, State, local and voluntary agencies, Cambodians were resettled in communities across America. Despite the tremendous loss of family members, homes and parts of their heritage, Cambodians have shown enormous resiliency.

Their culture and contributions to America continue each day to enrich our society, and I am immensely proud that the largest Cambodian presence in the United States resides in my district.

Cambodians have been awaiting justice for over a quarter of a century, and it now seems that the opportunity will soon arise. The United Nations has taken steps to establish an international tribunal in 2007 to bring justice to the perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide. The government of Cambodia seems poised to proceed.

It is my sincere hope that the Cambodian tribunal, once it is up and running, will ensure that justice is finally served, and that those who perpetrated the genocide against innocent Cambodians will finally be punished for their heinous acts. Mr. Speaker, the 10s of thousands of Cambodian Americans who lost loved ones to the killing fields deserve no less.

So I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution, and again, I thank both the chairman and the ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. LANTOS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to commend my good friend and colleague, Juanita Millender-McDonald, for introducing this important resolution. Her leadership on behalf of all Cambodian- Americans is greatly appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago, one of the saddest chapters in world history began to unfold in the nation of Cambodia. With the victory of the Khmer Rouge, millions of men, women and children were forced from their homes into the countryside and prison labor camps throughout the nation.

They were told they faced ``reeducation.'' Instead they suffered crimes against humanity that became a genocide.

Entire categories of Cambodians were immediately marked for torture and execution by the Khmer Rouge--educated Cambodians, wealthy Cambodians, individuals associated with the previous government, even Cambodians who wore glasses.

Thousands of innocent people were herded into Phnom Penh's infamous S-21 prison. Once behind bars, they were tortured by the Khmer Rouge until they confessed to their so-called crimes. After the confessions were duly recorded and the photos of the doomed were taken and filed away, the imprisoned individuals were summarily executed.

When the killing was over 4 years later, over 1.7 million Cambodians were dead. Many

had been executed, hundreds of thousands more were victims of starvation and malnutrition.

Some Cambodians were fortunate enough to escape the madness and brutality of the Cambodian Genocide, making their way as refugees to various Southeast Asian nations. Nearly 150,000 Cambodians ultimately resettled in the United States, and today, there are more than 200,000 Americans of Cambodian descent.

As Cambodians build new lives in the United States, it is appropriate and timely for the Congress to recognize the victims of the Cambodian Genocide, and to welcome the establishment of an international criminal tribunal to bring long-overdue justice to the perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide.

Mr. Speaker, the international tribunal established for Cambodia is not a perfect institution, and only time will tell if those who carried out the genocide will be brought to justice. It remains our profound hope that the work of the tribunal will be carried out according to international standards of justice.

Mr. Speaker, nearly 1 in 7 Cambodians lost their lives during the horrible 4 years of Khmer Rouge rule. With passage of this resolution, we remember the innocent victims of the genocide, and hope that justice prevails.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as she might consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), my dear friend and distinguished colleague, the author of this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to commend my friend from California for taking up this most important issue. We have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 238) honoring the victims of the Cambodian genocide that took place from April 1975 to January 1979, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Thirty years ago, as we all know, Cambodia was thrust into 4-years of hellish chaos that claimed the lives of one-fifth of that country's population. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime attempted a radical restructuring of Cambodia, systematically destroying traditional Khmer society, forcibly relocating large portions of the population, and purging those whom it regarded as bourgeois, or culturally contaminated. Their movement, which claimed to be a Communist effort to create a classless, utopian state, was, in fact, a genocide.

By the time it ended, 1.7 million Cambodians were dead. It stands as one of the worst crimes of the 20th century and a shocking example of what becomes possible when the dignity of the human person is subordinated to political ideology.

Faced with the terror of the Khmer Rouge, many thousands of Cambodians did what you and I would do in that situation. They and their families fled their homeland, becoming refugees. Of those numbers, more than 145,000 resettled in the U.S. where they have contributed to the strength of communities throughout our Nation. We are proud of our Cambodian American population, which has demonstrated such resilience and industry.

We also are hopeful that there may be yet justice and accountability for the Cambodian genocide. We welcome the steps that the U.N. has taken toward establishing an international criminal tribunal for that purpose. Although that body has yet to become operational, we hope that, when it does, its proceedings will be substantive, transparent and credible.

In light of its history, I am proud that this body is taking up H. Con. Res. 238 which honors the victims of the genocide in Cambodia and welcomes the prospect of justice for that great crime. I want to especially thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender- McDonald) for introducing this resolution and urge its unanimous adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of our time.