16/9/2010
One of the two co-investigating judges of Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court, Frenchman Marcel Lemonde, said Thursday he was quitting his job at the tribunal to focus on other projects.
The announcement came as the curt indicted four former senior Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Lemonde said he had joined the tribunal in 2006, intending to stay for just three years but he had ended up serving for four.
He said he was proud with what he had achieved in his role for the tribunal, despite frequent difficulties, but that he was now "passing the baton to someone else". He plans to leave in early December.
"I have other longstanding plans that I cannot now ignore. I have informed (co-investigating) judge You Bunleng and my colleagues and so I would like to move on with my other plans."
Bunleng said his colleague's departure had not surprised him because he always knew Lemonde would only stay for a limited number of years.
He thanked the Frenchman for his commitment and for staying "with us until the closing order was finalised."
He added that he would work with Lemonde's successor to decide how to proceed with a possible third case against other former Khmer Rouge cadres.
© 2010 AFP
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MEMORY & JUSTICE
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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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