These people were soldiers, and don't forget that the one mentioned in the article started out at the age of 15. Can you even imagine the amount of brainwashing and propaganda he must have been subjected to in order to engage in the murderous "duties" he performed as a soldier?
In any event, such atrocities are known as "war crimes" in the modern parlance, and there is a system of due process, national and/or international, that these former Communist soldiers were/are subject to.
One thing that is certain is that in the wake of WWII, there were literally thousands of German officers, as well as rank-and-file, who engaged in atrocities ("war crimes") against countless civilians and enemy soldiers.
It's also a fact that, in general, thousands (millions?) of non-commissioned and private soldiers were collectively "forgiven" for those acts, even in some cases where their individual names and atrocities were known (or could be readily determined).
My experience is that the notion of holding every single private soldier accountable for every single atrocity ordered by a superior is rather alien in warfare and in subsequent "war crime" proceedings.
Those who are held responsible are, in general, those who were giving the orders, and then on down the chain, with the greatest responsibility accruing at the highest ranks, and the greatest clemency shown to those who were "just following" the orders.
So in the context of the "average" soldier, I certainly believe that forgiveness can encompass clemency or pardoning of "war crimes", both formally and informally.
Having said that, I'd imagine that if there are specific people who want to bring evidence of a crime committed by this child soldier during the course of his service, there are probably venues where "due process" can occur.
Barring such formal proceedings, this man's experience of "forgiveness" does indeed include not being held accountable for the crime of murder during his time as a "soldier". This sort of thing happens every day in the aftermath of War...
This man's experience as both a child, young adult and ultimately an adult growing up in a country torn by war since 1954 will never be understood by anyone who has grown up living in the luxury and comfort of the United States..........