CCHR PRESS RELEASE – 14 March 2013, Phnom Penh
Death of Ieng Sary should act as a wake-up call
The Cambodian Center
for Human Rights (“CCHR”) notes the passing at 8.45am this morning of
Ieng Sary, former Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs of Democratic
Kampuchea and one of three senior Khmer Rouge leaders standing trial at the
United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal on charges of genocide, crimes
against humanity, and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Ieng Sary was 87 years old when he
died.
“Ieng Sary’s
death is upsetting for me both as a victim of the regime and as a human rights
activist, although it should come as no surprise given his age and ailing
health. Given the fact that the
other two defendants are also in their 80s, it should act as a wake-up call to all
concerned – the Cambodian government, the UN, the international donors and the
Tribunal itself – that these cases need to be expedited urgently so that
justice can be served. The whole
future of the Tribunal is currently in limbo, and the possibility that hundreds
of millions of dollars will have been wasted is now a very real threat. Most importantly, though, if all three
die before their guilt or innocence can be determined, then the Cambodian
people will quite understandably feel robbed of justice.”
For more
information, please contact Ou Virak via telephone at +855 (0)
1240 4051 or e-mail at ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org or Senior Consultant
Robert Finch via telephone at +855 (0)
7880 9960 or e-mail at robert.finch@cchrcambodia.org.
Please note that this Press Release is also attached in PDF format. A Khmer translation will follow shortly.
Kind regards,
CCHR
No comments:
Post a Comment