By Patrick Falby
AFP
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA, March 30, 2009 (AFP) - As Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal resumes its landmark first trial Monday, analysts said allegations of corruption and government interference threaten the court's legitimacy.
Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, will be confronted with his role in the torture and killing of more than 15,000 people while he was head of Tuol Sleng prison - but the proceedings are dogged by unresolved questions.
'The hope is that the tribunal itself will be a model of a fair and impartial trial process,' said Michelle Staggs, a trial monitor for the Asian International Justice Initiative.
'This (corruption and political interference) has always been a concern and the fact that it's a concern now isn't surprising,' Staggs added.
The tribunal, which mixes international and Cambodian staff, was designed to inspire justice in this country where corruption is common, and courts usually enforce wealthy, powerful interests.
While most laud the arrest of Duch and four other senior leaders for their roles in the late 1970s regime which killed up to two million people, they also worry the court can do little to fight impunity in Cambodia.
After Duch's trial, the court plans to prosecute former Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith.
But analysts were dismayed about allegations of interference by Prime Minister Hun Sen's administration, after the Cambodian co-prosecutor opposed pursuing six more suspects on the grounds it could destabilise the country.
'How would those people be able to destabilise the situation? I doubt this argument,' said Thun Sary, head of local human rights organisation ADHOC.
As judges mull whether to open cases against other Khmer Rouge members, the administration has been accused of trying to protect former cadres who are now in government.
Some senior officials have publicly indicated prosecutions should be limited to the five who have been arrested.
'It's surprising to me that neither the donors nor the UN have expressed concern that recent statements by government officials indicate an attempt to control prosecution decision-making,' said Heather Ryan, who monitors the tribunal for the Open Society Justice Initiative.
Lao Mong Hai, senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission, called on the government to avoid making statements on the issue.
'Certainly, the government should not make comments giving messages that pressure the court not to go after more suspects. It's blatant interference in the tribunal,' Lao Mong Hai said.
Meanwhile, claims that some Cambodians paid kickbacks for their jobs at the tribunal have apparently made donors wary to fund the local side of the court.
Cambodian staff were in danger of not getting their salaries this month until Japan made an emergency 200,000-dollar donation.
Court officials have said the allegations were 'unspecific, unsourced and unsubstantiated.' However, details of last year's UN investigation of kickbacks at the court have not been released. All analysts said more must be done to address allegations of corruption within the court.
'We cannot tolerate corruption,' said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches Khmer Rouge crimes.
'There is a lack of competent administration on the Cambodian side and it needs to be replaced and the problem fixed before the verdict is issued,' he added.
The UN and Cambodian government, which established the tribunal in 2006 after years of wrangling, have not announced results of talks to stop alleged corruption.
'The UN and the government have been aware of allegations of corruption for over two years, and the fact that they haven't found a way to definitively deal with this problem is discouraging,' Ryan said.
Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, will be confronted with his role in the torture and killing of more than 15,000 people while he was head of Tuol Sleng prison - but the proceedings are dogged by unresolved questions.
'The hope is that the tribunal itself will be a model of a fair and impartial trial process,' said Michelle Staggs, a trial monitor for the Asian International Justice Initiative.
'This (corruption and political interference) has always been a concern and the fact that it's a concern now isn't surprising,' Staggs added.
The tribunal, which mixes international and Cambodian staff, was designed to inspire justice in this country where corruption is common, and courts usually enforce wealthy, powerful interests.
While most laud the arrest of Duch and four other senior leaders for their roles in the late 1970s regime which killed up to two million people, they also worry the court can do little to fight impunity in Cambodia.
After Duch's trial, the court plans to prosecute former Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith.
But analysts were dismayed about allegations of interference by Prime Minister Hun Sen's administration, after the Cambodian co-prosecutor opposed pursuing six more suspects on the grounds it could destabilise the country.
'How would those people be able to destabilise the situation? I doubt this argument,' said Thun Sary, head of local human rights organisation ADHOC.
As judges mull whether to open cases against other Khmer Rouge members, the administration has been accused of trying to protect former cadres who are now in government.
Some senior officials have publicly indicated prosecutions should be limited to the five who have been arrested.
'It's surprising to me that neither the donors nor the UN have expressed concern that recent statements by government officials indicate an attempt to control prosecution decision-making,' said Heather Ryan, who monitors the tribunal for the Open Society Justice Initiative.
Lao Mong Hai, senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission, called on the government to avoid making statements on the issue.
'Certainly, the government should not make comments giving messages that pressure the court not to go after more suspects. It's blatant interference in the tribunal,' Lao Mong Hai said.
Meanwhile, claims that some Cambodians paid kickbacks for their jobs at the tribunal have apparently made donors wary to fund the local side of the court.
Cambodian staff were in danger of not getting their salaries this month until Japan made an emergency 200,000-dollar donation.
Court officials have said the allegations were 'unspecific, unsourced and unsubstantiated.' However, details of last year's UN investigation of kickbacks at the court have not been released. All analysts said more must be done to address allegations of corruption within the court.
'We cannot tolerate corruption,' said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches Khmer Rouge crimes.
'There is a lack of competent administration on the Cambodian side and it needs to be replaced and the problem fixed before the verdict is issued,' he added.
The UN and Cambodian government, which established the tribunal in 2006 after years of wrangling, have not announced results of talks to stop alleged corruption.
'The UN and the government have been aware of allegations of corruption for over two years, and the fact that they haven't found a way to definitively deal with this problem is discouraging,' Ryan said.
2 comments:
no hope for justice
Ki Media is so much bias, Look at this website, it will give much clearer picture:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/National-news/Tribunal-ignoring-US-role-says-Chomsky.html
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