07 August 2007By Sary Rath
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
In an interview with RFA in Washington DC last night, Joseph Mussomeli, the US ambassador to Cambodia, said that he cannot provide the name or the number of Khmer Rouge leaders who will be charged by the KR Tribunal (KRT).
Mussomeli said: “Nobody knows the functioning procedure the special tribunal. All that we know is through the news media only, with the exception of the name of Duch, the former Tuol Sleng prison chief. But for the 4 others, nobody knows.”
Nevertheless, a report indicated last week that, based on an anonymous reliable source, the four Khmer Rouge leaders charged would be: Nuon Chea, the former vice-prime minister and president of the Assembly, Ieng Sary, the minister of foreign affairs, Ieng Thirith, the former minister of social affairs and president of the DK Red Cross, and Khieu Samphan, the former DK president.
During the interview held in RFA’s officed in Washington DC, Mussomeli praised the attention paid by Cambodian-Americans living in Atlanta, Georgia, whom he visited on Sunday. During that meeting, ambassador Mussomeli replied to numerous questions related to various issues affecting Cambodia.
In response to a question regarding whether the progress made by the KRT has reached a stage with which the US can directly participate in, in the near future, Mussomeli said: “In regards to the question as to when the US can directly participate in this special tribunal, this issue is not certain yet because the US must obtain the certification from the State Department officials that this tribunal adheres to the International standards first. On this point, I think that we are approaching (this stage), and the most important is for the tribunal to start charging the 5 former KR leaders, and that it continues to bring more charges like this, and it will pursue this action soon so that is shows that the tribunal is moving forward. The international judges have already shown that they cannot allow this tribunal to face shame. This is why I believe that even though we do not reach a stage where we can certify it (KRT) yet, but we are approaching this point. This is quite different from what it was 6 month back.”
Regarding the case of Abbot Tim Sakhorn of the Phnom Den pagoda, located in Takeo province, Mussomeli said that the US embassy will discuss in detail with the Cambodian government on this issue.
Mussomeli said: “This issue seems to be related to politics. In the past, we did not understand the case very well, so we hesitated to talk much about it. But we are very concerned if the abbot was arrested, this is a human rights violation against him. We expressed our concerns to the Cambodian government, and we will ask about the abbot whereabouts and his general condition. You know that the US is always concerned when such issues arise. In any case, we will continue discussing with the Cambodian government to find a way to resolve this issue.”
Mussomeli said: “Nobody knows the functioning procedure the special tribunal. All that we know is through the news media only, with the exception of the name of Duch, the former Tuol Sleng prison chief. But for the 4 others, nobody knows.”
Nevertheless, a report indicated last week that, based on an anonymous reliable source, the four Khmer Rouge leaders charged would be: Nuon Chea, the former vice-prime minister and president of the Assembly, Ieng Sary, the minister of foreign affairs, Ieng Thirith, the former minister of social affairs and president of the DK Red Cross, and Khieu Samphan, the former DK president.
During the interview held in RFA’s officed in Washington DC, Mussomeli praised the attention paid by Cambodian-Americans living in Atlanta, Georgia, whom he visited on Sunday. During that meeting, ambassador Mussomeli replied to numerous questions related to various issues affecting Cambodia.
In response to a question regarding whether the progress made by the KRT has reached a stage with which the US can directly participate in, in the near future, Mussomeli said: “In regards to the question as to when the US can directly participate in this special tribunal, this issue is not certain yet because the US must obtain the certification from the State Department officials that this tribunal adheres to the International standards first. On this point, I think that we are approaching (this stage), and the most important is for the tribunal to start charging the 5 former KR leaders, and that it continues to bring more charges like this, and it will pursue this action soon so that is shows that the tribunal is moving forward. The international judges have already shown that they cannot allow this tribunal to face shame. This is why I believe that even though we do not reach a stage where we can certify it (KRT) yet, but we are approaching this point. This is quite different from what it was 6 month back.”
Regarding the case of Abbot Tim Sakhorn of the Phnom Den pagoda, located in Takeo province, Mussomeli said that the US embassy will discuss in detail with the Cambodian government on this issue.
Mussomeli said: “This issue seems to be related to politics. In the past, we did not understand the case very well, so we hesitated to talk much about it. But we are very concerned if the abbot was arrested, this is a human rights violation against him. We expressed our concerns to the Cambodian government, and we will ask about the abbot whereabouts and his general condition. You know that the US is always concerned when such issues arise. In any case, we will continue discussing with the Cambodian government to find a way to resolve this issue.”
1 comment:
This is exactly the worst case scenario regarding the KRT that was to be feared. The emphsis has now shifted from ensuring that these trials are clean to ensuring that "the tribunal (not) face shame." This is already a travesty of justice.
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