Southland Cambodians Doubt Reports

News of Pol Pot’s reputed death was greeted with skepticism Wednesday night in Long Beach, home to the largest Cambodian community outside Cambodia, and many said they will not believe the Khmer Rouge leader is dead until they see a body.

“Until I see some picture on TV, and I know that his body is in a third party’s hands, I won’t believe it,” said Sovann Tith, executive director of United Cambodian Community Inc., a Long Beach-based refugee social services organization.

And even if Pol Pot is dead, Tith said, it does not make much difference to Cambodia. “I don’t know whether the struggle would end. Pol Pot is one person. Many people are still there causing trouble.”

Southern California is home to an estimated 60,000 Cambodians--most of them in Long Beach.

“I think it’s April Fool’s. They just want to let us think that the Khmer Rouge is falling apart to fool us,” said Diep Ly, news editor of Angkor Borei News in Long Beach. “We’ll never see the body. We’ll never know.”