Local translators working on the UN-backed genocide trial have not been paid since December, spokesman says
Court officers during a hearing of former Khmer Rouge leaders in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Nhet Sok Heng/AP
Cambodian translators angry that they have gone without pay for
three months have stopped working at the UN-backed genocide trial of
former Khmer Rogue leaders.
Neth Pheaktra, the Khmer Rouge tribunal spokesman, said about 30 Cambodian staff members from the translation section had announced they were going on strike just before the court was to hear testimony from a foreign expert. Testimony that had been scheduled to be given this week and next has been postponed until the dispute can be resolved, he said.
He said local staff at the tribunal had not been paid since December because the countries that have agreed to fund the tribunal have not contributed on time. Foreign workers involved in the trial are paid through a separate budget.
He said the court had appealed to donors for more money but it was unclear when the workers might be paid.
The tribunal, which formed in 2006, is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during its four years in power in the late 1970s. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the communist regime from forced labour, starvation, medical neglect and execution.
Three former leaders have been on trial since November 2011, charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and other offences: Khieu Samphan, 81, the former head of state, Nuon Chea, 86, the chief ideologist of the group, and Ieng Sary, 87, the former foreign minister. A fourth defendant, the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed mentally unfit and set free.
The defendants' age and infirm health has raised concerns they may not live long enough to hear a verdict. Just one person, chief Khmer Rouge jailer Kaing Guek Eav, has been convicted by the tribunal so far; he is serving a life sentence.
Tribunal officials have sought to prosecute other former Khmer Rouge leaders, but Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, has warned that more trials will "not be allowed". Many people in Cambodia's government, including Hun Sen, are former Khmer Rouge officials. Frustration over government pressure prompted Swiss judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet to resign from the tribunal last year.
Neth Pheaktra said translators were essential to the proceedings, which use three languages: English, French and Cambodian. About $9.3m (£6m) is needed for salaries and daily operating costs in 2013 for the Cambodian component of the operation, he said.
The tribunal, which spent $141.1m between 2006 and 2011, has warned that it faces severe budgetary shortfalls.
Japan is the biggest contributor to the tribunal with nearly $80m, while France, Germany and Britain are also big donors.
Neth Pheaktra, the Khmer Rouge tribunal spokesman, said about 30 Cambodian staff members from the translation section had announced they were going on strike just before the court was to hear testimony from a foreign expert. Testimony that had been scheduled to be given this week and next has been postponed until the dispute can be resolved, he said.
He said local staff at the tribunal had not been paid since December because the countries that have agreed to fund the tribunal have not contributed on time. Foreign workers involved in the trial are paid through a separate budget.
He said the court had appealed to donors for more money but it was unclear when the workers might be paid.
The tribunal, which formed in 2006, is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during its four years in power in the late 1970s. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the communist regime from forced labour, starvation, medical neglect and execution.
Three former leaders have been on trial since November 2011, charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and other offences: Khieu Samphan, 81, the former head of state, Nuon Chea, 86, the chief ideologist of the group, and Ieng Sary, 87, the former foreign minister. A fourth defendant, the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed mentally unfit and set free.
The defendants' age and infirm health has raised concerns they may not live long enough to hear a verdict. Just one person, chief Khmer Rouge jailer Kaing Guek Eav, has been convicted by the tribunal so far; he is serving a life sentence.
Tribunal officials have sought to prosecute other former Khmer Rouge leaders, but Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985, has warned that more trials will "not be allowed". Many people in Cambodia's government, including Hun Sen, are former Khmer Rouge officials. Frustration over government pressure prompted Swiss judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet to resign from the tribunal last year.
Neth Pheaktra said translators were essential to the proceedings, which use three languages: English, French and Cambodian. About $9.3m (£6m) is needed for salaries and daily operating costs in 2013 for the Cambodian component of the operation, he said.
The tribunal, which spent $141.1m between 2006 and 2011, has warned that it faces severe budgetary shortfalls.
Japan is the biggest contributor to the tribunal with nearly $80m, while France, Germany and Britain are also big donors.
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