By Ek Madra
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's U.N.-backed "Killing Fields" court has trebled its initial budget, seeking an extra $114 million from international donors to continue its pursuit of Pol Pot's top surviving henchmen, a spokesman said on Thursday.
Under the new proposal, the long-awaited tribunal's three-year lifespan would grow by two years, dragging out proceedings until 2011 even though most of the Khmer Rouge's leading cadres are old and in poor health.
Given the problems with finding the court's initial $56 million, the request for such a large sum is unlikely to go down well with donors who already pump $600 million a year into Cambodia's war-scarred but now booming economy.
"We have no choice but to expand," court spokesman Peter Foster told Reuters shortly after the start of a bail hearing for "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, charged last year with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"I would not call it a delay, but I would call it a more realistic plan," he said.
An estimated 1.7 million people were executed or died of torture, disease or starvation under Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror as his dream of creating an agrarian peasant utopia descended into the nightmare of the "Killing Fields."
After nearly a decade of delays and tortuous talks with the United Nations, the court kicked off in earnest last year with charges against Nuon Chea and four other senior cadres.
SURPRISE
However, it has long been clear the court was short of cash.
One Phnom Penh-based diplomat said the request for more money had been in the pipeline for some time, but the size of the increase was a surprise.
"The original budget was too low and a lot of key elements had not been costed properly, but this is certainly a pretty hefty rise," the diplomat said.
Foster said he hoped countries such as Japan, which has bankrolled much of the proceedings so far, would dig deep to ensure the court achieved the aim of prosecuting "those most responsible" for the atrocities without compromising standards.
"I am optimistic because the extra funding that has been requested is for units and staffing that are absolutely essential for the court to maintain international standards," he said.
Tokyo hopes the trials will expose the full extent of the links between Pol Pot's murderous regime and China, analysts say.
The expanded budget would be mainly for more court staff, translation and transcription facilities and victim and witness support units, and suggested prosecutors would widen their net well beyond the five already in custody, Foster said.
At his bail hearing, the octogenarian Nuon Chea argued he was not a flight risk and would not try to influence potential witnesses. Fears for his safety were also overblown, he said.
"I have no desire to leave my beloved country," he told a courtroom packed with reporters.
The court is not expected to announce its decision for several days, but he is extremely unlikely to be released.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 in the final Khmer Rouge redoubt of Anlong Veng on the Thai border.
Besides Nuon Chea, members of his inner circle now in custody are former president Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith, and Duch, head of Phnom Penh's Tuol Sleng, or "S-21" interrogation and torture centre.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Michael Battye and Sanjeev Miglani)
Under the new proposal, the long-awaited tribunal's three-year lifespan would grow by two years, dragging out proceedings until 2011 even though most of the Khmer Rouge's leading cadres are old and in poor health.
Given the problems with finding the court's initial $56 million, the request for such a large sum is unlikely to go down well with donors who already pump $600 million a year into Cambodia's war-scarred but now booming economy.
"We have no choice but to expand," court spokesman Peter Foster told Reuters shortly after the start of a bail hearing for "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, charged last year with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"I would not call it a delay, but I would call it a more realistic plan," he said.
An estimated 1.7 million people were executed or died of torture, disease or starvation under Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror as his dream of creating an agrarian peasant utopia descended into the nightmare of the "Killing Fields."
After nearly a decade of delays and tortuous talks with the United Nations, the court kicked off in earnest last year with charges against Nuon Chea and four other senior cadres.
SURPRISE
However, it has long been clear the court was short of cash.
One Phnom Penh-based diplomat said the request for more money had been in the pipeline for some time, but the size of the increase was a surprise.
"The original budget was too low and a lot of key elements had not been costed properly, but this is certainly a pretty hefty rise," the diplomat said.
Foster said he hoped countries such as Japan, which has bankrolled much of the proceedings so far, would dig deep to ensure the court achieved the aim of prosecuting "those most responsible" for the atrocities without compromising standards.
"I am optimistic because the extra funding that has been requested is for units and staffing that are absolutely essential for the court to maintain international standards," he said.
Tokyo hopes the trials will expose the full extent of the links between Pol Pot's murderous regime and China, analysts say.
The expanded budget would be mainly for more court staff, translation and transcription facilities and victim and witness support units, and suggested prosecutors would widen their net well beyond the five already in custody, Foster said.
At his bail hearing, the octogenarian Nuon Chea argued he was not a flight risk and would not try to influence potential witnesses. Fears for his safety were also overblown, he said.
"I have no desire to leave my beloved country," he told a courtroom packed with reporters.
The court is not expected to announce its decision for several days, but he is extremely unlikely to be released.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998 in the final Khmer Rouge redoubt of Anlong Veng on the Thai border.
Besides Nuon Chea, members of his inner circle now in custody are former president Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith, and Duch, head of Phnom Penh's Tuol Sleng, or "S-21" interrogation and torture centre.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Michael Battye and Sanjeev Miglani)
6 comments:
During 1975-79, I was in the children organisation (Angka) like the other Cambodian at the time and saw a lot of Chinesses in district Krang Leav of province Kampong Chhnang, helping Pol Pot`s soldiers to bild the new airport overthere. At the time, fast all of my familiesmumber were killed and died. My father served in sihanoouk`s army till 1970 and than in Lon Nol`s Govt. 1970-75. In May 1975 my parents were killed by KR, three months later my both (sister and brother) were arrested and killed by Khmer Rouge`s soldiers. Two months later, One of the other brother was died without food. During that time China had best relation to Pol Pot, opposite China did not knew nothing? WHY ????????? What´s justice for Khmer people ??????
let factoring out the budget of Khmer Rouge trail expense:
1. $10000/month to Internatinal judges
2. $4200/month to brown skin judges
3. $350 daily stipend for each Int. judge.
4. $85,000/year for each Int. judge transportation accommodation.
5. $250/monthly brown bag lunch staff
6. $ 56,800/month to maintain security and related area.(155 security personnels)
7. $186,000/month for brown bag lunch staff operations(348 adm. support staff)excluding security and maintain staff.
8.$26700/month for facility/electric/waste and others minor.
9.$120 daily stipend for Ex-khmer Rouge leaders plus $1048/month for medical care.
10.$3250/mnoth for medical accident insurance for WS judges.
11.$345,800/month operational expenses excluding staff salary and travel expenses/stipends.
Oh I almost forget: Add another $ 250/per diem for travel expenses for brown skin judges,$150/stipends, $750/medical/accident insurances per se. Let see all come to the total of $1,100 to $1,350/month for each BS judge.
Couple millions....tens of millions.....hundreds millions....
Why stop now...go for a billion dollars budget!!!!
Donors pour $$$ in...CPP distributes the checks to everyone involved in the KRT.
Everyone is happy....Justice serves.
So close but yet so far.....
We already know the criminals.
why do we have to spend s much money.
1 ) Sihanouk : the traitor who help Vietnam and Pol Pot to invade Cambodia.
2) The vietcong: they entered into Phnom Penh under the name of Sihanoouk's soldiers.
2) Pol Pot and the vietcong agents.
Chineses povided the weapons to Pol Pot but they are not the khmer killer.
The only killers are the stupid khmers ( Pol Pot's gang and Sihanouk) and The vietcong.
I'm with you 4:29AM .. 100% right!! China helped KR in front,vietcong helped from the back.
They both need to go down to hell!
Change China!!!!& Change Vietnam!!!!!& Remove the Communist State!!!!!!!
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