Cambodian society at large is soul-searching and
trying to figure out how to as a nation address war-crimes accusations
against former Khmer Rouge commanders, some of whom are now in the
government.
The ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot
wrecked havoc across Cambodia when it ruled the country in what has gone
down in history as the "Killing Fields" revolution of the period 1975
to 1979 when 2.2 million Cambodians perished.
The United Nations Cambodian war crimes tribunal that is to investigate
and put on trial suspected war criminals, some of whom are positions of
power in the government, barely has the sufficient capital resources in
order to pursue all the allegations effective. Strikes have been held by
members who went for over two month without pay. The European Union
which is the biggest donor after Japan has called upon the Cambodians to
come up with more funding for the war crimes tribunal. Cambodia has in
turn stated that it has paid more than its fair share and accordingly
called for bigger donations. (Deutsche Welle, March 8 2013)
Hun Sen the Prime Minister of Cambodia and the leader of the Cambodian
People's Party has said he would be happy if the United Nations left his
country. He is a major ally of China which supported the Khmer Rouge
regime and was himself a Khmer Rougue fighter during Pol Pot's rule. He
is an authoritarian ruler, meaning that in modern day Cambodia the
political scene will directly clash with the accessibility and
capability of any international court to investigate criminal cases of
members of the government, who may have carried out crimes against
humanity during the rule of the Khmer Rouge.
(Reuters, March 11 2013) Most Cambodians alive today lost a family member during that horrible and dark period of that nations history. Given the current political situation in their country they have their doubts that the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia, that was brought into being by an agreement with the Cambodian regimes and the United Nations, will succeed in bringing justice when it comes to those "most responsible" for the mass killings that remain alive today. Most of those suspected of carrying out atrocities during that period are believed to live out of the public eye in more rural areas of the country.
(Reuters, March 11 2013) Most Cambodians alive today lost a family member during that horrible and dark period of that nations history. Given the current political situation in their country they have their doubts that the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia, that was brought into being by an agreement with the Cambodian regimes and the United Nations, will succeed in bringing justice when it comes to those "most responsible" for the mass killings that remain alive today. Most of those suspected of carrying out atrocities during that period are believed to live out of the public eye in more rural areas of the country.
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