Original report from Phnom Penh
29 October 2007
A tribunal spokesman said Wednesday the courts were confident Washington would find a way to add money to an increasingly cash-strapped process, even as critics maintain the tribunal's administration lacks transparency.
US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said Monday the US was "seriously" considering direct funding. It currently does not support the tribunal.
Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath told VOA that the US administration was changing its position.
"We hope that the US will change its heart, because at all times the US took part in the formation of the tribunal," he said. "But up to now, the US has not given any direct aid to the tribunal. Therefore, we understand that the US will change its heart to help the KRT directly. If the US will not help, the US will be late in finding justice for the Cambodian people directly."
The tribunal is seeking more than $8 million more to supplement its UN-supported $56.3 million budget. The UN side has so far come in about $3 million short on the budget, with the Cambodian side failing to post $5 million.
Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong recently made a public appeal to foreign donors to help the budget, in a process that now could take as long as 2010.
Mussomeli said the US needed to make an assessment of the tribunal's administration before it would give direct assistance, to ensure the tribunal "is capable of meeting international standards."
Human Rights Party Vice President Keo Remy said the tribunal would have to show donors it is not corrupt if it expects to get more money.
The tribunal came under fire last year from allegations Cambodian judges had to pay kickbacks to government officials in order to sit in the courts.
US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said Monday the US was "seriously" considering direct funding. It currently does not support the tribunal.
Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath told VOA that the US administration was changing its position.
"We hope that the US will change its heart, because at all times the US took part in the formation of the tribunal," he said. "But up to now, the US has not given any direct aid to the tribunal. Therefore, we understand that the US will change its heart to help the KRT directly. If the US will not help, the US will be late in finding justice for the Cambodian people directly."
The tribunal is seeking more than $8 million more to supplement its UN-supported $56.3 million budget. The UN side has so far come in about $3 million short on the budget, with the Cambodian side failing to post $5 million.
Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong recently made a public appeal to foreign donors to help the budget, in a process that now could take as long as 2010.
Mussomeli said the US needed to make an assessment of the tribunal's administration before it would give direct assistance, to ensure the tribunal "is capable of meeting international standards."
Human Rights Party Vice President Keo Remy said the tribunal would have to show donors it is not corrupt if it expects to get more money.
The tribunal came under fire last year from allegations Cambodian judges had to pay kickbacks to government officials in order to sit in the courts.
11 comments:
What difference does it makes? Transparency or no transparency can't guarantee justice for anyone. Let's keep it moving to make the westerner trained idiots happy.
Uncle Sam please check every pay rolls and every details on the report watch for ah tmart Hun Sen People they will steal you from left and right,so increasing more security on the group called tmart expenses.
Vietnamese shall provide fund to kill the Khmer rouge. It shall $don for every drop of the KR blood. HUn Sen shall look up to his master
Vietnamese need not to fund anything. Just send the accused to vietnam and they will take care of it (free of charge.)
Mr. Ambassador,
They are playing with U.S., Sir, please don’t consider to fund them.
By this time number of the active lawyers were reaching the end of their periods of service or were ready for trail. Now these errors were seen and understood by those whom in-charge, and several measures were adopted to fill these gaps.
Unfortunately, they met insurmountable obstacles, economic and financial,
I mention only two.
Cambodia will not have a truly KRT under the Modern of Cambodian government, which is they are playing “de luxe system of twisting, cheating and stealing”. So, the criminals itselves and its ganges would walk free.
some people think the U.S should help fund, some people think the U.S are being tricked and some people say the U.S should put some conditions behind their funding.
I say somebody is being BS in clear water. Don't forget the deep root of the U.S involvement in the killing our people. Who is making the U.S responsibile? How is the U.S making up for that? You ever considered that?
They're just playing good guys. For the whole time they didn't support the tribunal, they had to make sure that Kisenger and others who had helping hand in killing of Khmer people could not be tried.
What kind of farce joke is this!
Sick kind of justice. If the U.S sees no moral obligation and wrong doing in its own hand--- it never does, and it will continue to make the same mistake over and over again-- then we don't need no stinking play dolllars!
Stop being stupid!
If donor nations can prop up CPP in the tune of hundred of million dollars a year without conditions, then what a few million more for tribunal show?
Besides, our government actors deserve the pays for the long and suffering production.
U.S., were only nuked the Yuon Yeak sanctuaries in Cambodia's Nuetrality, Yuon were violated Cambodian Nuetrality, dammit.
And King Sihanouk were authorized to bomb that Sons of the biches(SB)
Wrong, it was the US and Ah Toothless Khmer-Yuon involvement that caused Cambodia to lose its neutrality.
Dear KMIDIA manager,
Would you please doing some thing to mrs,miss or Mr.6:46AM by delete ,his or her comment,that is not the healthy comment to Cambodian in Cambodia or abroad this poster just annoying make no sense and benefit ,to totalitarian ,communist evil regime that not benefit of Cambodian who love their country and enjoyment of peaceful and freedom of speech at all,please just delete that none sense that all would be no more nuisances like 6:44AM any more .
Thank you
Ohhhh pooorrrrr bayyyyy behhhhh, did you got your ass kicked by the Viet again, Ah Toothless Khmer-Yuon moron (9:13)?
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