Wednesday August 23, 2006
Phnom Penh- Progress towards finally trying senior former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime was on schedule, with prosecutors poised to finish the initial investigation process, a senior Cambodian official said Wednesday. Sean Visoth, in charge of preparing for the tribunal, told a seminar of survivors of the brutal regime that the 56.3 million dollar joint UN-Cambodian government tribunal was moving as quickly as possible to need to bring the ailing and aging former leaders to justice.
"At the moment, the co-prosecutors have almost finished the investigation process. In September this year, the co-judges will implement their role," he told the group.
"(We) must respect the timeframe. We cannot allow the entire process to go longer than three years."
However, it remained unclear when the first indictments would be issued for the as yet unspecified handful of former leaders to face the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
"The workings of the court are confidential, so we cannot make that information public. We can say that everyone involved is working very hard," ECCC media offiicer Reach Sambath said by telephone.
Up to 2 million Cambodians died of torture, execution, disease, overwork and starvation under the Khmer Rouge's bloody 1975 to 1979 Democratic Kampuchea regime.
The regime's former military commander Ta Mok died last month, just weeks after the tribunal began its initial phase. Other prime candidates, including the elderly Brother Number Two Nuon Chea are said to be in declining health. Brother Number One, the movement's leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.
One of just a handful of survivors of Pol Pot's secret torture centre, S-21, Van Nath, said after the seminar that he hoped those in charge of the tribunal would ensure that justice would come quickly.
"I am old and the Khmer Rouge leaders who are still alive are also very old. Please - do this quickly," Van Nath said.
"At the moment, the co-prosecutors have almost finished the investigation process. In September this year, the co-judges will implement their role," he told the group.
"(We) must respect the timeframe. We cannot allow the entire process to go longer than three years."
However, it remained unclear when the first indictments would be issued for the as yet unspecified handful of former leaders to face the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
"The workings of the court are confidential, so we cannot make that information public. We can say that everyone involved is working very hard," ECCC media offiicer Reach Sambath said by telephone.
Up to 2 million Cambodians died of torture, execution, disease, overwork and starvation under the Khmer Rouge's bloody 1975 to 1979 Democratic Kampuchea regime.
The regime's former military commander Ta Mok died last month, just weeks after the tribunal began its initial phase. Other prime candidates, including the elderly Brother Number Two Nuon Chea are said to be in declining health. Brother Number One, the movement's leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.
One of just a handful of survivors of Pol Pot's secret torture centre, S-21, Van Nath, said after the seminar that he hoped those in charge of the tribunal would ensure that justice would come quickly.
"I am old and the Khmer Rouge leaders who are still alive are also very old. Please - do this quickly," Van Nath said.
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