Reporter: Karen Percy
ABC Radio Australia
BRENDAN TREMBATH: In Cambodia the long awaited prosecutions of former Khmer Rouge officials accused of genocide in the 1970s are reaching a crucial stage. Lawyers are due to meet today to thrash out how the first trial will be run.
While some victims are keen to see justice done, many ordinary Cambodians would rather see the time and money spent improving their lives.
South East Asia correspondent Karen Percy reports.
KAREN PERCY: This month marks 30 years since the Khmer Rouge, the red communist Cambodians, were driven from power in Cambodia.
During their four year reign well over and half-a-million people died, accused of being spies for their country or for refusing to embrace the changes forced upon them by Pol Pot, the cold-blooded leader of the movement who wanted to build an agrarian utopia free of Western influence and meddling.
Today tourists flock to the killing field sites in Phnom Penh and elsewhere to view piles of skulls and bones and to walk among the dusty graves and soon they'll be able to see the Khmer Rouge accused.
In December the Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan was in court for a procedural hearing. He's now 77 and is ailing. But he maintains his innocence.
He's one of five former members of the KR who are set to face trial under the extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia, a United Nations backed process more commonly known as the KR or genocide tribunal.
It is proving to be a laborious process, running several years and more than $100-million over budget. It's been dogged by funding shortfalls, internal bickering, and allegations of corruption.
But within a matter of months the first trial should begin.
BRUNO CARETTE: When the Khmer Rouge took power I was 20 years old. I was very impressed by this story...
KAREN PERCY: Bruno Carette is a Paris-based film maker who's released a feature on the genocide tribunals. He believes the role China and the US played in the region at that time needs to be addressed. The filmmaker says there is little popular support for the tribunal process.
BRUNO CARETTE: Nowadays Cambodia is trying to join the world. You know, they have been in war for 30 years, with this terrible story and most of the people are very poor and living with less than $1 per day, especially the farmers which are 90 per cent of the population. And they don't think this trial is necessary.
KAREN PERCY: Cambodia has come a long way since the Khmer Rouge time. It has one of the fastest growing economies in South-East Asia and it's rapidly changing.
But the tribunal is now getting down to the serious end of business and regardless of the critics it will deal with the country's dark past.
This is Karen Percy in Bangkok reporting for AM.
While some victims are keen to see justice done, many ordinary Cambodians would rather see the time and money spent improving their lives.
South East Asia correspondent Karen Percy reports.
KAREN PERCY: This month marks 30 years since the Khmer Rouge, the red communist Cambodians, were driven from power in Cambodia.
During their four year reign well over and half-a-million people died, accused of being spies for their country or for refusing to embrace the changes forced upon them by Pol Pot, the cold-blooded leader of the movement who wanted to build an agrarian utopia free of Western influence and meddling.
Today tourists flock to the killing field sites in Phnom Penh and elsewhere to view piles of skulls and bones and to walk among the dusty graves and soon they'll be able to see the Khmer Rouge accused.
In December the Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan was in court for a procedural hearing. He's now 77 and is ailing. But he maintains his innocence.
He's one of five former members of the KR who are set to face trial under the extraordinary chambers in the courts of Cambodia, a United Nations backed process more commonly known as the KR or genocide tribunal.
It is proving to be a laborious process, running several years and more than $100-million over budget. It's been dogged by funding shortfalls, internal bickering, and allegations of corruption.
But within a matter of months the first trial should begin.
BRUNO CARETTE: When the Khmer Rouge took power I was 20 years old. I was very impressed by this story...
KAREN PERCY: Bruno Carette is a Paris-based film maker who's released a feature on the genocide tribunals. He believes the role China and the US played in the region at that time needs to be addressed. The filmmaker says there is little popular support for the tribunal process.
BRUNO CARETTE: Nowadays Cambodia is trying to join the world. You know, they have been in war for 30 years, with this terrible story and most of the people are very poor and living with less than $1 per day, especially the farmers which are 90 per cent of the population. And they don't think this trial is necessary.
KAREN PERCY: Cambodia has come a long way since the Khmer Rouge time. It has one of the fastest growing economies in South-East Asia and it's rapidly changing.
But the tribunal is now getting down to the serious end of business and regardless of the critics it will deal with the country's dark past.
This is Karen Percy in Bangkok reporting for AM.
9 comments:
we trust on ki-meia about the daily news, it really fast udate
KR trial? idiot. they have done nothing. spending too much money for nothing. never see the result. it a wasted.
Hanoi did give birth to Khmer Rouge, and endoctrine them to kill Khmer people for Khmer Killing Fields. Then Hanoi Invaded Cambodia in the pretext to liberate Khmer people from the KR, and became Khmer savor as The Puppet Regime celebrated recently the 7th of January event to mark the Viet Invasion of Cambodia.
The current Regime is 100% Viet puppet. BY the thousands every month, Hanoi did flock illegal Viet people (Viet colons) to resettle freely throughout Cambodia.
There were over Five millions of them in Cambodia now.
In the turn of the century, Cambodia will be a State of Viet Indochina Federation for sure.
It's a shamefull for all Khmers as a Nation, a race, and khmer identities will be disappeared very soon.
The author of Norna Chea Kheatakors Reas Khmers ?
Stop put the powerless khmer on trial.
Hun Sen, you are benefiting both money and power from this trial.
Internationals are not conerning about the well being of khmer. They are making sure that khmer will not cooperate or like each other. Especially, our neighbors are very happy to see khmer former leaders are on trial.
The Bath Party of Saddam Hussen were much stronger than the CPP and they are done for good now. CPP will have to evacuate to Hanio, VN in the future.
very funny and inefficient tribunal
This should not be blamed on the foreigners’ influential and involvement but the Khmer themselves. If Khmers bright enough to handle the problems themselves, the country should not have been in ruined and lost many innocent lives.
This was something to do with unwise and stupid leadership.
You meant. Everything is to blame on the stupid King.
Sihanouk is stupid. He is on the way to hell. He is trying to dig out the past that he thought he had done something good to Khmer. Bad deeds overweight good deeds from Sihanouk.
Oh, Monique wants him to stay in Peking because this is the only way he can't DO young girl khmer.
How long? how many time i heard that it will start soon? Waste money, waste time !!!
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