Posted on 06/07/2003 9:36:37 AM PDT by Enemy Of The State
Cambodia, UN sign deal on trials for Khmer Rouge heads Cambodia and the UN yesterday signed an agreement to hold a genocide trial for former leaders of the Khmer Rouge, whose brutal rule claimed about 1.7 million lives. Sok An, Cambodia's chief negotiator of the pact, and Hans Corell, the UN deputy secretary-general for legal affairs, signed the document at Chaktomouk conference hall, which the government has set as the venue for the internationally assisted tribunal. The agreement must still be ratified by Cambodia's legislature, and Corell and others have warned that it may still be a long time until any trials, with joint teams of Cambodian and international prosecutors and judges, are convened.
However, the agreement -- 24 years after the Khmer Rouge lost power and six years after Cambodia first asked for UN assistance in holding a tribunal -- marks a breakthrough in the quest for justice for victims of the Khmer Rouge. None of the Khmer Rouge leadership have ever faced trial for the atrocities committed during their 1975 to 1979 rule, when nearly a quarter of the Cambodian population died. Many senior Khmer Rouge figures live freely in the country, having surrendered to the government before the movement's collapse in 1998, the same year the group's leader, Pol Pot, died. Although many of those who died under the Khmer Rouge were victims of failed utopian plans which led to starvation and disease, others were tortured and killed in purges which became the group's notorious trademark. The tribunal agreement has been opposed by several leading human rights groups, including Amnesty International, who said it will be set up in a way that makes it too vulnerable to political influence. The Cambodian government and the UN began talks in 1997 on setting up an international tribunal in Cambodia, but struggled to agree on how much control foreigners would have over the proceedings. The UN was concerned about giving too much power to Cambodia's corrupt and politicized judiciary, while Cambodia feared infringements of its sovereignty. UN negotiators abruptly pulled out of talks last year, claiming Cambodia was insincere in guaranteeing conditions for fair trials. Talks resumed last year after a gap of about a year.
AP
Saturday, Jun 07, 2003,Page 1
Imperfect it may be, but I hope that the Cambodians experience some measure of justice throught this jurisprudence.
Much, much delayed and a shameful episode in a world that declared "Never again!"
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