05 August 2007By Sam Borin
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by KI-Media
During a question-and-answer session held at a reception for US ambassador Joseph Mussomeli in Atlanta, Georgia, this morning, Mussomeli indicated about the various conditions for the US participation in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) to the fast approaching judgment on former Khmer Rouge leaders, but which, nevertheless, is not happening just yet.
Even though the US supports the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DCCam) in its gathering of documents about the governance of the Khmer Rouge regime, and in the search for truth, the US is not yet participating in the KRT, nor does it provide any funding to the KRT. Only after the US State Department certifies that this tribunal follows international justice standards, that the US would provide its participation. The US State Department cannot only provide such certification after it receives testimonials from its embassy.
The leader of the Cambodian community in Georgia demanded that the US accepts more Cambodian students to study in the US. Mussomeli said that even though the relationships between the two countries were not too good in the past, a survey conducted among Cambodian people currently showed that the US is one of the countries Cambodian people love the most. Up to 89% of Cambodians responded positively to the US, versus only 60% for Japan, and even lower scores for other countries. Mussomeli added that the survey showed that Cambodian people likes the US system of government. Each year, US universities accept a number of Cambodian students, irrespective of their wealth background, and the US embassy in Cambodia never refuses issuing visas for these Cambodian students.
Regarding questions on the aid and active participation of the US in the upcoming 2008 general election, in order to provide just and fair election, Mussomeli praised the continued progress of democracy in Cambodia achieved through the successive elections. Mussomeli stressed that the good relationships between the US and Cambodia, starting from no relationships at all in the past, and reaching a good stage now, could be shattered if the results of the election cannot be accepted by the US.
In response to participants’ questions on the disappearance on Abbot Tim Sakhorn from Phnom Den North pagoda, Mussomeli said the US has expressed its concerns and demanded for a reasonable clarification in this case.
Even though the US supports the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DCCam) in its gathering of documents about the governance of the Khmer Rouge regime, and in the search for truth, the US is not yet participating in the KRT, nor does it provide any funding to the KRT. Only after the US State Department certifies that this tribunal follows international justice standards, that the US would provide its participation. The US State Department cannot only provide such certification after it receives testimonials from its embassy.
The leader of the Cambodian community in Georgia demanded that the US accepts more Cambodian students to study in the US. Mussomeli said that even though the relationships between the two countries were not too good in the past, a survey conducted among Cambodian people currently showed that the US is one of the countries Cambodian people love the most. Up to 89% of Cambodians responded positively to the US, versus only 60% for Japan, and even lower scores for other countries. Mussomeli added that the survey showed that Cambodian people likes the US system of government. Each year, US universities accept a number of Cambodian students, irrespective of their wealth background, and the US embassy in Cambodia never refuses issuing visas for these Cambodian students.
Regarding questions on the aid and active participation of the US in the upcoming 2008 general election, in order to provide just and fair election, Mussomeli praised the continued progress of democracy in Cambodia achieved through the successive elections. Mussomeli stressed that the good relationships between the US and Cambodia, starting from no relationships at all in the past, and reaching a good stage now, could be shattered if the results of the election cannot be accepted by the US.
In response to participants’ questions on the disappearance on Abbot Tim Sakhorn from Phnom Den North pagoda, Mussomeli said the US has expressed its concerns and demanded for a reasonable clarification in this case.
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