Jun 9, 2010, 11:36 GMT
Phnom Penh - Further divisions in Cambodia's war crimes tribunal came to
light Wednesday after its two senior investigators openly disagreed on when
to proceed with cases against five new suspects.
The hybrid UN-Cambodian court, which is tasked with trying those responsible
for Khmer Rouge-era crimes, has a dual structure in which local and foreign
staff fill equal positions in each of the court's operational areas.
Documents released Wednesday showed Cambodian investigating judge You
Bunleng reversed an earlier agreement with his international counterpart to
start investigations into the five suspects, none of whom has been named by
the court.
Court spokesman Lars Olsen said tribunal rules meant international
investigating judge Marcel Lemonde would proceed alone.
'The international investigating judge will go ahead by himself and start
the investigation,' Olsen said.
In his memorandum to Lemonde, You Bunleng said he had changed his mind after
taking into account several factors, including the state of Cambodia's
society.
That echoed comments made by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has argued that the
prosecutions could lead to civil war. His weighing-in on the tribunal led to
accusations of political interference.
You Bunleng told his international counterpart that they could discuss the
issue in September once formal notices to prosecute four ageing Khmer Rouge
leaders now in custody were issued.
Youk Chhang - who heads DC-Cam, an archive of material relating to the
1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge - said he was encouraged that You Bunleng
had not ruled out investigating the new cases.
'The good news is that he is not saying no,' Youk Chhang said in reference
to fears that political pressure could stop those cases.
Judgement in the tribunal's first case - that of the former head of the S-21
prison, Comrade Duch - was scheduled for July 26. Duch was prosecuted for
war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the deaths of more
than 12,000 people who entered S-21 in Phnom Penh.
The four surviving senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge are in detention for
their alleged involvement in the deaths of 1.7 million people. Their trials
were expected to begin early next year.
The four are: former Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, the movement's ideologue;
former head of state Khieu Samphan; former foreign minister Ieng Sary; and
his wife, the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith.
Around 1.7 million people are thought to have died from execution, disease,
starvation and overwork during the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia. Its
leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 on the Thai-Cambodian border.
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MEMORY & JUSTICE
“...a society cannot know itself if it does not have an accurate memory of its own history.”
Youk Chhang, Director
Documentation Center of Cambodia
66 Sihanouk Blvd.,
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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About Me
- Duong Dara
- Dara Duong was born in 1971 in Battambang province, Cambodia. His life changed forever at age four, when the Khmer Rouge took over the country in 1975. During the regime that controlled Cambodia from 1975-1979, Dara’s father, grandparents, uncle and aunt were executed, along with almost 3 million other Cambodians. Dara’s mother managed to keep him and his brothers and sisters together and survive the years of the Khmer Rouge regime. However, when the Vietnamese liberated Cambodia, she did not want to live under Communist rule. She fled with her family to a refugee camp on the Cambodian-Thai border, where they lived for more than ten years. Since arriving in the United States, Dara’s goal has been to educate people about the rich Cambodian culture that the Khmer Rouge tried to destroy and about the genocide, so that the world will not stand by and allow such atrocities to occur again. Toward that end, he has created the Cambodian Cultural Museum and Killing Fields Memorial, which began in his garage and is now in White Center, Washington. Dara’s story is one of survival against enormous odds, one of perseverance, one of courage and hope.
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