Robert Petit (top) and the Khmer Rouge Court in session.
By Ed Johnson
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- A United Nations-backed genocide court in Cambodia said officials are sifting through evidence from more than 500 victims of the Khmer Rouge about crimes committed by the regime in the 1970s.
The statements may help judges try five former Khmer Rouge officials who are already in custody, or result in new prosecutions, the court said in a statement late yesterday.
``Information received from victims is crucial to our success,'' said Robert Petit, a co-prosecutor with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
The trials are central to the process of reconciliation in the Southeast Asian nation, where one in five people died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. The movement, which forced the population out of cities to work on collective farms as it tried to establish an agrarian state, is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million people through starvation, disease or execution.
Vietnamese forces ended the rule of the Khmer Rouge when they captured the capital, Phnom Penh, in January 1979. Khmer Rouge fighters resisted in the west of the country until the final units surrendered to the Cambodian army 20 years later.
Pol Pot
Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge's prime minister, died in his jungle hideout in 1998. Ta Mok, the group's military chief, died in custody in July 2006.
Nuon Chea, 81, the regime's second-in-command, is among five officials in custody awaiting trial and is appealing against his detention.
The tribunal has ``violated the human rights of an old man,'' Agence France-Presse cited his lawyer, Sun Arun, as saying during a court hearing yesterday.
The judges ``put physical and emotional pressure on my client,'' Sun Arun said, adding Nuon Chea was without a lawyer for his first three court appearances, a violation of criminal procedures, AFP reported.
Known as ``Brother Number 2,'' Nuon Chea is charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, imprisonment, enslavement and persecution.
Prosecutors allege he controlled the Khmer Rouge's internal security apparatus and directed, implemented and enforced its policy of forced labor.
Prison Chief
Kang Kek Ieu, also known as Duch, 65, was charged in July for atrocities allegedly committed while he ran the regime's S- 21 jail. He was the first official to be charged by the court in Phnom Penh, which comprises international and Cambodian judges.
Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, 82, former Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, 75, and Khieu Samphan, 76, the former head of state, are also in detention awaiting trial. They all deny charges of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Of the more than 500 complaints received, about a fifth are missing information such as when, where and what crimes are alleged to have occurred during the Khmer Rouge's rule and victims are being contacted to elaborate, the court said.
A victims unit was set up in January to help people file complaints. In a first for an international criminal tribunal, victims are allowed to take part in the proceedings as civil parties, with legal representation, according to the court.
Theary Seng, whose parents were killed during the regime's rule, appeared before the court today and called on the judges not to grant Nuon Chea bail, AFP said.
``They treated us inhumanely. For us, the graveyard was our playground,'' AFP cited her as saying. ``As victims, we have been waiting for 30 years for justice. There is a risk that the accused will fail to appear in court, and without his presence we will suffer a great loss.''
The tribunal process was scheduled to last three years and cost $56.3 million, with the UN providing $43 million and Cambodia's government $13.3 million. Funds may run out as early as next month.
The court, convened in 2006, is seeking another $114 million from international donors to keep it running until 2011, AFP cited Chief of Public Affairs Helen Jarvis as saying yesterday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .
No comments:
Post a Comment