PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)--Judges for the long-awaited Khmer Rouge tribunal will be sworn in next month and prosecutors will start work for trials expected to start in 2007, a government official said Friday.
A swearing-in ceremony will be held July 3 and prosecutors will be able to start "the formal launching of judicial work" on July 10, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, head of the government task force for the tribunal, said in a statement.
Cambodia and the United Nations agreed in 2003 to set up a U.N.-assisted tribunal to prosecute surviving Khmer Rouge leaders over the deaths of about 1.7 million people during the regime's 1975-79 rule.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998. The ultra-communist movement collapsed a year later, but none of its top leaders has been brought to justice. Many still live and move freely in Cambodia.
Drawn-out negotiations and funding problems led some critics to suggest that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government was intentionally stalling to avoid embarrassing Khmer Rouge members who had become government backers.
Many fear that aging Khmer Rouge leaders may die before they can stand trial for crimes against humanity and genocide.
Trials are expected to start in 2007, though no date has been set.
A U.N.-Cambodia agreement set a US$56.3 million budget for the tribunal, with the world body covering US$43 million.
Cambodia agreed to pay US$13.3 million of the cost, but has since asked foreign donors to finance US$9.6 million of its share.
Donors allocated US$6.3 million toward Cambodia's portion at a ceremony Thursday.
The U.N. development agency in Cambodia will manage the money, according to UNDP head Douglas Gardner.
Sok An said Cambodia still lacks US$4.9 million for the trial, and urged donors to help.
He said newly received funds will go toward upgrading the tribunal's facilities, installing air conditioning in the court building, and constructing a detention center and a safe house for witnesses.
A swearing-in ceremony will be held July 3 and prosecutors will be able to start "the formal launching of judicial work" on July 10, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, head of the government task force for the tribunal, said in a statement.
Cambodia and the United Nations agreed in 2003 to set up a U.N.-assisted tribunal to prosecute surviving Khmer Rouge leaders over the deaths of about 1.7 million people during the regime's 1975-79 rule.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998. The ultra-communist movement collapsed a year later, but none of its top leaders has been brought to justice. Many still live and move freely in Cambodia.
Drawn-out negotiations and funding problems led some critics to suggest that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government was intentionally stalling to avoid embarrassing Khmer Rouge members who had become government backers.
Many fear that aging Khmer Rouge leaders may die before they can stand trial for crimes against humanity and genocide.
Trials are expected to start in 2007, though no date has been set.
A U.N.-Cambodia agreement set a US$56.3 million budget for the tribunal, with the world body covering US$43 million.
Cambodia agreed to pay US$13.3 million of the cost, but has since asked foreign donors to finance US$9.6 million of its share.
Donors allocated US$6.3 million toward Cambodia's portion at a ceremony Thursday.
The U.N. development agency in Cambodia will manage the money, according to UNDP head Douglas Gardner.
Sok An said Cambodia still lacks US$4.9 million for the trial, and urged donors to help.
He said newly received funds will go toward upgrading the tribunal's facilities, installing air conditioning in the court building, and constructing a detention center and a safe house for witnesses.
1 comment:
yep..so that they can get pay...otherwise they gonna grab the lands from the innocents for sell again..
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