More than 1,000 people have paid their respects to the Pol Pot
regime’s late foreign minister, Ieng Sary, since his remains were
returned to the former rebel stronghold of Malai in Banteay Meanchey
province Thursday.
Ieng Sary died Thursday, aged 88, after months of illness and with a
verdict in his case still far off at the Khmer Rouge war crimes
tribunal.
Ieng Sary’s son, Ieng Vuth, said that preparations are underway for
his father’s cremation, which will take place on Thursday, and that more
than 1,000 mourners had already visited his late father’s house in
Malai district.
“We’ll cremate him in front of our house,” said Mr. Vuth, who is the
deputy governor of nearby Pailin province, another former stronghold for
rebel Khmer Rouge fighters.
“At about 4 p.m., we will gather, then we’ll start the cremation at 6 p.m.,” Mr. Vuth said.
In a press briefing in Washington on Friday, U.S. State Department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was asked if the U.S. wanted the legal
process accelerated to make sure the remaining Khmer Rouge regime
defendants—Nuon Chea, 86, and Khieu Samphan, 82—face justice. Ieng
Sary’s widow, Ieng Thirith, has already been declared unfit for trial.
“The United States does continue to support the mandate of the
Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts in Cambodia, the ECCC, to bring to
justice the senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge and those responsible for
the atrocities of that era,” Ms. Nuland said.
“The death of Ieng Sary simply highlights the need for an expeditious
process which is also comprehensive to complete the trials of all of
the former Khmer Rouge leaders.”
The death led Human Rights Watch’s Asia director Brad Adams to say
Prime Minister Hun Sen had acted to “stymie” progress at the tribunal,
in effect denying justice to the victims of the Khmer Rouge.
The government responded Sunday in the form of an opinion article
written by the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit,
which pointed out Mr. Adams’ history of criticism of Mr. Hun Sen.
“Actually, Brad Adams is opening up another battlefield to pit the
Cambodian people against Prime Minister Hun Sen and his CPP-led
government with a view to scraping off a few more votes for the
opposition away from the supporters of the CPP,” the article says.
“It will not work. The accusation does not bear any truth.”
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1 comment:
i loved u oum sary - u are my hero
u had liberated our country
forever, misses u & loves u
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