Reuters
Ta Mok, the aged Khmer Rouge military chief ailing in a Cambodian hospital, wants to be tried as soon as possible, his lawyer said on Friday.
The one-legged 82 year old, in detention since 1999, appeared worried he would not get the chance to tell his side of the story at trials not expected to start until next year, Benson Samay said.
"Try me now before I die, so that I can tell the court who is the mastermind of the massacre," he quoted Ta Mok as saying of internationally supervised trials of some of the leaders deemed responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians.
The 30 judges, including foreigners, appointed to try them will be sworn in on Monday and prosecutors are due to start assembling their cases in July.
But no date has been set for the long-delayed trials, and there are fears that surviving Khmer Rouge leaders might not live to see them start.
"The estimated date for the start of the Khmer Rouge trials is the first quarter of 2007," tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said.
"We know the former Khmer Rouge leaders are getting older and older and that is why we, the court, are trying our best to speed up the legal process," he said.
Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge's "Brother Number One", died in 1998. "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former head of state Khieu Samphan and ex-Foreign Minister Ieng Sary are free.
None has faced justice in a country where almost every family lost relatives to execution, starvation, forced labour or disease during their years of power from 1975-1979.
But none is thought to be as in poor health as Ta Mok - real name Ong Chhoeun -who was taken to a military hospital on Thursday suffering from high blood pressure and respiratory problems.
Hospital officials said his problems were not yet life threatening, but that could change swiftly.
"He is an old man and could die of high blood pressure some day. We just do not know when," senior military doctor Tuoth Nara said.
The one-legged 82 year old, in detention since 1999, appeared worried he would not get the chance to tell his side of the story at trials not expected to start until next year, Benson Samay said.
"Try me now before I die, so that I can tell the court who is the mastermind of the massacre," he quoted Ta Mok as saying of internationally supervised trials of some of the leaders deemed responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians.
The 30 judges, including foreigners, appointed to try them will be sworn in on Monday and prosecutors are due to start assembling their cases in July.
But no date has been set for the long-delayed trials, and there are fears that surviving Khmer Rouge leaders might not live to see them start.
"The estimated date for the start of the Khmer Rouge trials is the first quarter of 2007," tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said.
"We know the former Khmer Rouge leaders are getting older and older and that is why we, the court, are trying our best to speed up the legal process," he said.
Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge's "Brother Number One", died in 1998. "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former head of state Khieu Samphan and ex-Foreign Minister Ieng Sary are free.
None has faced justice in a country where almost every family lost relatives to execution, starvation, forced labour or disease during their years of power from 1975-1979.
But none is thought to be as in poor health as Ta Mok - real name Ong Chhoeun -who was taken to a military hospital on Thursday suffering from high blood pressure and respiratory problems.
Hospital officials said his problems were not yet life threatening, but that could change swiftly.
"He is an old man and could die of high blood pressure some day. We just do not know when," senior military doctor Tuoth Nara said.
7 comments:
This is the tactic game play by Hun Sen,Viet,China because they want to walkaway from this responsable crime.But don't worry we will have a people court soon and at that time we will bring Hun Sen,Chea Sim,Heng samrin,sihanouk,Sok An and Hor to the Cambodian people court fo justice.
Just forget about China and Vienam for the killing in Cambodia. If we blamed others countries for the killing in Cambodia, the real killers will have no reponsiblities to their own actions. I have talked these problems a lot to Chinese authorities, they blamed these killing to Pol Pot as a most evils in human society. Indeed, Sihanouk was the mastermind of these killing if you go back and listen to all his apppeals from Beijing. Under his instruction to Khmer Rouge leaders to force people out from all cities as a punishment to these people to allow Mr Lon Nol to topple him out from power. The person who must take the most responsible is Sihanouk and his wife.
The Internation Court need to respect Ta Mock requested!
Let get it on!
Please, try the khmer rouge as soon as possible. The whole world is very anxious who was the boss of Pol Pot.
Behind you is Sihanouk, isn't he.
well well well I wouldn't like to know who but I would like to know which countries that relate with killing fields. SIhanouk is not important more for the Cambodian, because he was the slave of China, Noth Korea and Vietnam (he was the best friend of Ho Chi Minh, but Ho Chi Minh brain was very clever)
That's alright Mok yumphoubal will ask you about this, you can not tell the court now because Sihanouk still alive and Hun Sen still against the khmer rouge trial to protect his big boss Vietnam and China .
Everyone quit blaming China and the U.S. The Khmer Rouge are responsible for the massacre of our people, they live among free Cambodians in Cambodia. In fact murderers reside with victims, we cannot put the blame on any one country. WE MUST PERSECUTE the regualr soldiers who carried out the orders of brainless leaders. Sure Ta Mok wants to blame the one responsible for genocide, he should point at himself for not stopping it. He is the head of S-21!
Just have a fair look at the skulls- and the skelletons. Not all was hackled to death by the KR. Thousands already died before the Khmer Rouge arrived in P Penh. At least 600,000 people dwelled in the capital city survived on rice and aids by USAID flights during the last 6 months. Thousands others could have died in US carpet-bombing around the capital and other major township and cities montns before the end of the war. The both Vietnamese- which includes Hun Sen faction- and the US camps then put the blame on the KR leaders who were really bad in counter peopaganda. Hun Sen regime, Vietnamese invaders as well as the US government are equally to blame for about 2 million Khmers who lost their lives during the war.
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