Ieng Thirith, former minister of social affairs of the communist Khmer Rouge regime, sits in the dock at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in the outskirts of Phnom Penh May 21, 2008. REUTERS/Chor SokuntheaMon Dec 21, 2009
Jared Ferrie
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A U.N.-backed Cambodian war crimes court on Monday charged a fourth top Khmer Rouge cadre with genocide, broadening the scope of a long-awaited trial of the ultra-communist "Killing Fields" regime's top ranks.
Ieng Thirith, 78, had already been accused of "murder, imprisonment and other inhumane acts" for her role as social affairs minister in a regime blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people.
The new charges relate to the slaughter of Cambodia's ethnic Vietnamese and Cham Muslim minorities during the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge era. The tribunal on Monday also charged her with torture and religious persecution.
Ieng Thirith, a former Shakespeare scholar known as the "Khmer Rouge First Lady", was arrested in November 2007 with her 85-year-old husband and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary.
The French-educated Communist revolutionaries had lived under a government amnesty granted to Ieng Sary in 1996.
They were the closest associates of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader who died in 1998. Ieng Thirith's sister, Khieu Ponnary, was married to Pol Pot.
The Khmer Rouge-era president, Khieu Samphan, was dealt an additional charge of genocide on Friday. Similar charges of genocide were also issued for "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary last week.
They have also been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, along with two other former leaders.
Experts on the Khmer Rouge have been critical of the additional charges, which they said would bog down a trial already criticized for taking too long.
Many of the defendants were in poor health and could die before they see a courtroom, while some cases were already so complex and politicized that they may not even go to trial, the experts said.
The first trial of a senior Khmer Rouge cadre, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, came to an end three weeks ago. He was accused of overseeing the torture and murder of more than 14,000 people as head of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison.
A verdict in that case is expected by March.
(Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Martin Petty)
Ieng Thirith, 78, had already been accused of "murder, imprisonment and other inhumane acts" for her role as social affairs minister in a regime blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people.
The new charges relate to the slaughter of Cambodia's ethnic Vietnamese and Cham Muslim minorities during the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge era. The tribunal on Monday also charged her with torture and religious persecution.
Ieng Thirith, a former Shakespeare scholar known as the "Khmer Rouge First Lady", was arrested in November 2007 with her 85-year-old husband and ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary.
The French-educated Communist revolutionaries had lived under a government amnesty granted to Ieng Sary in 1996.
They were the closest associates of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader who died in 1998. Ieng Thirith's sister, Khieu Ponnary, was married to Pol Pot.
The Khmer Rouge-era president, Khieu Samphan, was dealt an additional charge of genocide on Friday. Similar charges of genocide were also issued for "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary last week.
They have also been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, along with two other former leaders.
Experts on the Khmer Rouge have been critical of the additional charges, which they said would bog down a trial already criticized for taking too long.
Many of the defendants were in poor health and could die before they see a courtroom, while some cases were already so complex and politicized that they may not even go to trial, the experts said.
The first trial of a senior Khmer Rouge cadre, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, came to an end three weeks ago. He was accused of overseeing the torture and murder of more than 14,000 people as head of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison.
A verdict in that case is expected by March.
(Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Martin Petty)
1 comment:
CHINA and the USA do not now how to rescue Cambodia from Vietnamese jaws?
In relation to Cambodia, CHINA is Zero achievement, every time Chinese start to move their men or policies to influence Cambodia, the Vietcong/NVA punch in the Chinese nose first all the times.
Now the ECCC in Cambodia is indirectly control by Vietnamese government through their puppet Mr. Hun Sen/CPP government. The ECCC is charging former CHINA clients Mr. Khieu Samphan, Mr. Nuon Chea, Mr. Ieng Sary and his wife Mrs. Ieng Thirith as GENOCIDE crimes against the ethnic Vietnamese and the Cham in Cambodia. What is CHINA GOING TO DO ABOUT THAT?
BESIDE BRING MORE MONEY TO BUY Mr. Hun Sen/CPP government and perhaps to robe the whole of Cambodia through land development, ripping for Vietnam to take over again and again CHINA can not do anything to save Cambodia from Vietnam colonization.
CHINA WAS THE MAIN SUPPORTER OF KHMER ROUGE who is their clients now charging as genocide. Whereas the Vietnamese clients such as Hun Sen, Chea Sim, Heng Samrin, Hor Nam Hoang, Keat Chhon, Sam Kar, Sar Kheng, Men Sam An and much more who also GENOCIDED millions of Khmers are laughing at CHINA, USA, UN, EU, ECCC all the way to their own individual’s banks.
At this stage USA do not want to save Cambodia from Vietnam swallowing, so what CHINA must do is to wake up quickly by allying themselves with USA the same way as Mr. Deng Xao Ping did with Mr. Ronald Reagan in 1980’s and rearmed the ex- Khmer Rouge soldiers again to save Cambodia from extinction.
The condition must be attached onto those ex-Khmer Rouge troops, that those troops must be control and lead by ex-anti Vietnamese guerrilla’s leaders similar to the recipient of American Silver Cross Medal, Major Sergeant SARUN SAR of the American Special Force and many more of that types are waiting around the world and inside Cambodia to bring Vietnam and Hun Sen/CPP government to respect the 23rd October 1991 Paris Peace Agreement once more time.
Vietnamese government through their puppet HUN SEN had cheated the CHINESE GOVERNMENT, the UNTAC, the USA administrative and the whole Khmer Rouge organization by urging the Khmer Rouge to lay down their arm before 1993 and now control them like slave and master.
Now a day what CHINA hoping is to buy out HUN SEN and the whole CPP government with their money, so CHINA can have influence in Cambodia.
Vietnamese will not let HUN SEN go off their hooks so easily like CHINA wanted, if HUN SEN do want to escape from Vietnamese jaws, he will receive the same fate as his in-law former police crook-murderer Gen. HOK LUNDY.
Vietnam only allow Hun Sen as a bait to attract investment funds from China, so Vietnam who is Hun Sen master, can spare their own fund to buy 6 Sub-Marines and 12 Russian Airplanes to defeat CHINA once more time like in February 1979 from future China attack.
Vietnam at this moment will never let Chinese put a hand on Cambodia cake again, for inside Cambodia they had 100,000 NVA plus 5 million of Vietnamese illegal immigrants, and for augment sake who know how many Vietnamese militia in disguise among those 5 million illegal Vietnamese in Cambodia?
Therefore, the USA and the CHINA were manipulated by Vietnamese government again and again until they took all the South East Asian markets. Recently they took Laos, Cambodia and perhaps Thailand soon when the opportunity arises.
Vietnam smartly took Laos, Cambodia from CHINA and from the USA, and CHINA never dares to challenge Vietnam for CHINA and USA are always incapable to defeat Vietnamese hypocrisy in war or in politics, so CHINA and USA have no choice, but to unite like in 1980’s to stop Vietnam from swallowing Cambodia and to stop Vietnam expansionist strategy toward Thailand too.
CHINA CAN NOT BUY VIETNAMESE OR HUN SEN/CPP GOVERNMENT OUTRIGHT. CHINA and USA ARE THE LOOSERS TO VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST’S GOVERNMENT WITHOUT KNOWING IT, WHAT IS A SHAME!!!
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