Headline: Khmer Rouge Leaders to Go on Trial
(The results of Kerry's very first anti-war election campaign still being felt in Cambodia. If US wasn't forced to pull out of Vietnam by war protesting anarchists led by John Kerry & Hanoi Jane, millions of Cambodians would not have been slaughtered. Kerry could not have cared less about the diastrous ramifications of his first election campaign rhetoric):
Khmer Rouge Leaders to Go on Trial
04-Oct-2004 6:10AM Story from AP
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia's legislature on Monday approved a long-delayed agreement to put surviving Khmer Rouge leaders on trial for atrocities that claimed nearly two million lives during their murderous rule in the late 1970s.
All 107 lawmakers of the 123-seat National Assembly who were present on Monday voted in favor of the pact to establish a U.N.-assisted tribunal.
The ratification means the last major hurdle to holding a trial has been overcome, even though no timetable has been set for it. While the pact still needs approval by the Senate and head of state, both actions are considered formalities.
"This is a very big outcome the Cambodian people and international community have been waiting for," Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters after the vote. "Let's accept this outcome.
Speaking before the vote, opposition leader Sam Rainsy called the ratification an "urgent matter," noting that seven years have passed since Cambodia first requested U.N. help.
"Finding justice for victims is important not just in terms of settling past affairs, but also ... in our obligation in establishing the rule of law and ending the bad habit of impunity."
The Khmer Rouge, radical communists who ruled the country from 1975-79, are believed responsible for the deaths of at least 1.7 million of their countrymen from starvation, disease, overwork and execution.
None of the regime's top leaders has been brought to justice. The movement's chief, Pol Pot, died in 1998. Several of his top lieutenants, aging and infirm, still live freely in Cambodia.
Much work remains to be done before a trial can be held, especially in finding a venue and obtaining a budget.
Hun Sen made it clear last month that he expects the international community to fund the lion's share of the tribunal, even though Cambodia had pledged to cover about half of the costs.
Cambodia first asked for U.N. assistance seven years ago, but the negotiations were slowed by complications, including domestic politics.
Skeptics suggested the delays were meant to help Khmer Rouge leaders escape prosecution, because they are past, present or potential allies of Hun Sen, who exercises virtually unchallenged control over the country's administration.
The government, however, has given assurances that no one will be exempt, including people who previously received pardons.
After more than five years of talks, Cambodia signed the agreement with the United Nations in June 2003, but ratification was delayed, largely because the country had no functioning legislature during the 11-month political crisis that followed inconclusive elections in July 2003.
Heide Bronke, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, said the embassy welcomed Monday's ratification as another step toward bringing to justice those who are "most responsible for atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime."
The legislature ratified the basic agreement on the tribunal reached with the United Nations, but still planned to debate several proposed amendments to Cambodian law that enables the tribunal.
Hun Sen said lawmakers were expected to adopt the amendments when they reconvene Tuesday.
The tribunal will comprise teams of Cambodian and foreign prosecutors and judges, with Cambodians in the majority, and any decisions will require a vote of the majority plus one.
Some critics fear justice cannot be rendered because Cambodia's judicial system is not sophisticated enough to handle complex proceeding such as a genocide tribunal.
The judiciary is also widely viewed as corrupt and susceptible to political influence.
To help, the United Nations Development Program and the Cambodian government organized a two-week introductory course in August on international humanitarian law for 30 judges and prosecutors.
The Cambodian government and the world body are expected to soon discuss the tribunal budget, currently estimated at $57 million.
Returning from a trip to the U.N. General Assembly in New York Saturday, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said he had urged Secretary-General Kofi Annan to quickly find donors to fund the tribunal, fearing the aging Khmer Rouge leaders could die before the court is convened. |
