By Anne-Laure Poree
Cambodge Soir
Unofficial translation from French posted online
Click here to read Cambodge Soir's original article in French
"As long as the internal rule of the tribunal for the trial of the ex-Khmer Rouge [KR] leaders is still not adopted, the investigation work remains blocked, and while waiting for the end of the negotiations between the Bar and the defense office, the tone should be cautious," said an article by Anne-Laure Poree from the 20 April edition of the French-language independent newspaper Phnom Penh Cambodge Soir online.
The article said that international judges made known that they "would examine the proposals from the Cambodian Bar Association [CBA] during the last week of April and then take a position on actions to be taken further on the legal proceedings. " As such, at the approach of the deadline, all the parties concerned should "exhibit utmost caution," and this prudence denoted that "an agreement would be found."
The article quoted CBA secretary general Ly Tayseng as saying, "Discussions continued, but no final decision has been made yet. Many options are envisaged, but they will be decided only before the CBA council next week." "I remain optimistic that a solution will be found to this last obstacle," added Ly Tayseng.
"The sooner the better," said Helen Javis, official in charge of the public relations of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia [ECCC].
As for the civil society grouping, its tone was rather "confident," the article said. Panhavuth Long of the Open Society Justice Initiative said he believed the "question regarding the fees asked from lawyers could be settled."
The article cited Chhang Yu, director of the Document Center of Cambodia, as saying he thought that the CBA and the UN defense office would "make new propositions very quickly."
The article said it seemed that the negotiations turned around reducing the foreign lawyers' registration fees. The collected funds would not be handed over to the CBA but used to finance an office of the ECCC lawyers. Moreover, those who asked to defend clients free of charge could be exempted from the fees."
Hisham Mousar, in charge of the affairs on the KR at Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association [ADHOC], however, expressed pessimism, the article said. He said, "Given logistic constraints for convening it, the plenary Assembly can possibly be held only before mid-May. Is it acceptable to wait until the end of June or July?" To this question, the article added, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee said, "no." "The bogged-down process, thus inequitable, would run counter to international standards, except that the donors agreed to extend their assistance and the National Assembly voted for an extension of this institution. If the international judges agreed to wait beyond May, they would enter a stage where the United Nations risked being criticized," remarked the committee.
The article quoted the Phnom Penh US Embassy spokesman, Jeff Daigle, as stating, "At this stage, we remain cautiously optimistic, thinking that the last obstacles to the launching of the ECCC would be overcome. A law of the US Congress prevents the United States from providing funds directly to the ECCC so long as the State Department cannot guarantee that the tribunal would respond to international standards. If they failed to arrive at an appropriate compromise, then it will be difficult, and even impossible, to obtain certification. "
The article said on the question of getting a mediator to step in to help settle the disagreement, Jean Reynaud of the Justice association for Cambodia, said the idea was "not bad at all." He added, "To me the fundamental question now is rather the political will to see the process take place or not. Otherwise, no mediator, regardless of his talent, prominence, and influence, will be able to remedy the situation. If the Cambodian Government had no desire, this process would not take place. It will be a new tragedy. Therefore, one should look for other methods of reconciliation. "
To conclude, the article said the UN Secretary General, conscious of this question, simply wished that the debates would "remain confined in the judicial domain."
The article said that international judges made known that they "would examine the proposals from the Cambodian Bar Association [CBA] during the last week of April and then take a position on actions to be taken further on the legal proceedings. " As such, at the approach of the deadline, all the parties concerned should "exhibit utmost caution," and this prudence denoted that "an agreement would be found."
The article quoted CBA secretary general Ly Tayseng as saying, "Discussions continued, but no final decision has been made yet. Many options are envisaged, but they will be decided only before the CBA council next week." "I remain optimistic that a solution will be found to this last obstacle," added Ly Tayseng.
"The sooner the better," said Helen Javis, official in charge of the public relations of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia [ECCC].
As for the civil society grouping, its tone was rather "confident," the article said. Panhavuth Long of the Open Society Justice Initiative said he believed the "question regarding the fees asked from lawyers could be settled."
The article cited Chhang Yu, director of the Document Center of Cambodia, as saying he thought that the CBA and the UN defense office would "make new propositions very quickly."
The article said it seemed that the negotiations turned around reducing the foreign lawyers' registration fees. The collected funds would not be handed over to the CBA but used to finance an office of the ECCC lawyers. Moreover, those who asked to defend clients free of charge could be exempted from the fees."
Hisham Mousar, in charge of the affairs on the KR at Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association [ADHOC], however, expressed pessimism, the article said. He said, "Given logistic constraints for convening it, the plenary Assembly can possibly be held only before mid-May. Is it acceptable to wait until the end of June or July?" To this question, the article added, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee said, "no." "The bogged-down process, thus inequitable, would run counter to international standards, except that the donors agreed to extend their assistance and the National Assembly voted for an extension of this institution. If the international judges agreed to wait beyond May, they would enter a stage where the United Nations risked being criticized," remarked the committee.
The article quoted the Phnom Penh US Embassy spokesman, Jeff Daigle, as stating, "At this stage, we remain cautiously optimistic, thinking that the last obstacles to the launching of the ECCC would be overcome. A law of the US Congress prevents the United States from providing funds directly to the ECCC so long as the State Department cannot guarantee that the tribunal would respond to international standards. If they failed to arrive at an appropriate compromise, then it will be difficult, and even impossible, to obtain certification. "
The article said on the question of getting a mediator to step in to help settle the disagreement, Jean Reynaud of the Justice association for Cambodia, said the idea was "not bad at all." He added, "To me the fundamental question now is rather the political will to see the process take place or not. Otherwise, no mediator, regardless of his talent, prominence, and influence, will be able to remedy the situation. If the Cambodian Government had no desire, this process would not take place. It will be a new tragedy. Therefore, one should look for other methods of reconciliation. "
To conclude, the article said the UN Secretary General, conscious of this question, simply wished that the debates would "remain confined in the judicial domain."
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