By Andrew L. Jaffee

Just what are these Cambodians lamenting? And why give an atheist murderer a Buddhist funeral? From the BBC:

Hundreds of Cambodians have paid their respects to Ta Mok, a former Khmer Rouge leader nicknamed “The Butcher”.

In a traditional Buddhist funeral ceremony, incense was burned and prayers recited over Ta Mok’s body, which was daubed with white powder.

The ceremony took place in Ta Mok’s former stronghold of Anlong Veng, in the north of Cambodia.

Ta Mok, who died on Friday, was the regime’s military commander and linked to many atrocities of the 1970s.

About 1.7 million people died under the Khmer Rouge, through a combination of starvation, disease and execution.

Ta Mok was the only Khmer Rouge leader who refused to bargain with authorities following the collapse of the regime, and he was arrested in 1999 near the Thai border.