Cambodia has privatised a mass grave where thousands of Pol Pot's political enemies were clubbed to death, sparking anger among relatives who say the Khmer Rouge's 1.7 million victims are being traded for profit.
Phnom Penh mayor Kep Chuktema said today a Japanese company called JC Royal had signed a 30-year deal to manage the Cheoung Ek "Killing Fields" genocide memorial on the outskirts of the capital for an initial annual payment of $15,000 (€11,600).
Phnom Penh mayor Kep Chuktema
The move has sparked anger among relatives who say the Khmer Rouge's 1.7 million victims are being traded for profit.
The firm will have to plant trees and flowers at the site, which is home to a memorial tower of 8,000 human skulls, as well as build other visitor facilities, the mayor said.
In return, it will be able to charge foreign tourists an admission charge of $3 - up from $0.5 - while Khmers, who have always been allowed in for free, will have to pay 500 riel (10.1 cent).
"We need to beautify the site to attract tourists," the mayor told Reuters.
"This project will benefit our country's tourism as some tourists do not just want to visit our historic temples. They also want to see with their own eyes the past violence of the 'Killing Fields,'" he said.
Other survivors of the ultra-Maoist regime's four-year reign of terror see it differently.
"Morally speaking this upsets me so much," said Neang Say, manager of the Cheoung Ek site since the 1980s, who lost nearly 40 relatives under Pol Pot. "Justice has not yet been found for the victims, but at the same time their spirits have been traded of for money," he said.