September 16, 2010
By SETH MYDANS
The New York Times
BANGKOK — A United Nations-backed court in Cambodia formally indicted four surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge on Thursday on charges of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and murder as the tribunal moved forward with its second case, after the conviction in July of the director of the main Khmer Rouge prison.
The four leaders have been in custody since late 2007, and all have denied the charges against them. They are due in court in January for a procedural hearing, followed by substantive court sessions later in the year. The charges against them involve the deaths of 1.7 million people by execution, starvation, overwork and disease from 1975 to 1979.
The defendants are Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister; his wife, Ieng Thirith, who was minister of social welfare; Khieu Samphan, who was head of state; and Nuon Chea, known as Brother No 2. The top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.
In the earlier case, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for overseeing the torture and death of at least 14,000 people in the Tuol Sleng prison.
Though the trial of Duch, with its testimony about torture and killings, was gripping, experts said the second case was more important, both in the stature of the defendants and in the process of the tribunal, which tries to apply international standards of justice within the Cambodian court system.
“There is no doubt that the second trial of the most senior leaders is of the most significance,” said Alex Hinton, executive director of the Center for the Study of Genocide, Conflict Resolution and Human Rights at Rutgers University. “Without it, Duch’s trial, despite its accomplishments, will always remind people of the larger failures of the court and suggest that he was a scapegoat.”
The four leaders have been in custody since late 2007, and all have denied the charges against them. They are due in court in January for a procedural hearing, followed by substantive court sessions later in the year. The charges against them involve the deaths of 1.7 million people by execution, starvation, overwork and disease from 1975 to 1979.
The defendants are Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister; his wife, Ieng Thirith, who was minister of social welfare; Khieu Samphan, who was head of state; and Nuon Chea, known as Brother No 2. The top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.
In the earlier case, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for overseeing the torture and death of at least 14,000 people in the Tuol Sleng prison.
Though the trial of Duch, with its testimony about torture and killings, was gripping, experts said the second case was more important, both in the stature of the defendants and in the process of the tribunal, which tries to apply international standards of justice within the Cambodian court system.
“There is no doubt that the second trial of the most senior leaders is of the most significance,” said Alex Hinton, executive director of the Center for the Study of Genocide, Conflict Resolution and Human Rights at Rutgers University. “Without it, Duch’s trial, despite its accomplishments, will always remind people of the larger failures of the court and suggest that he was a scapegoat.”
11 comments:
The UN and The world must look deeper into the Communist System and by all mean, please call the cleaner.
On behalf of the 2 millions death Cambodian under the Communist Regime between 1975 and 1979.
How dare those people about the Geneva's convention?
A government of any country is like a parents of a children. You found abusing of them. Especially when you letting them getting killed thru your whatever reason. That's just too bad so sad and tough shit.
You're an offense of the law and the UN and the Tribunal team at this time are the defense. Meet your match and good luck f*cker
The Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime and the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime are responsible for killing almost two million innocent Khmer peoples and counting.
Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime's leaders and members:
Pol Pot
Nuon Chea
Ieng Sary
Ta Mok
Khieu Samphan
Son Sen
Ieng Thearith
Kaing Guek Eav aka Samak Mith Duch
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong aka Samak Mith Yaem
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka aka Samak Mith Muth
Hun Sen...
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime's leaders and members:
Hun Sen
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong aka Samak Mith Yaem
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka aka Samak Mith Muth...
Note:
Hun Sen,
Chea Sim,
Heng Samrin,
Hor Namhong aka Samak Mith Yaem,
Keat Chhon,
Ouk Bunchhoeun and
Sim Ka aka Samak Mith Muth... are also leaders and member of the Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime.
The current Cambodian government are run by Khmer Rouges.
A Ngorb Taing Bourn!
Big Joke Big Joke and it is so funny,the khmer rouge creator is Sihaknuk,and the khmer killer is Hun Sen,why those two are excepted from the TRIAL.
Stop wasting money because it shameful .
2:36 PM, you're a joke.
You're too dump to understand.
Go back to school if you want to be normal.
4 of them deserve to be jailed and you, you deserve to be died, too stupid.
Look at the picture on the top left. The man said to himself, I don't want to hear about it. Can we talk about something else?
these monsters had done nothing good for cambodia, but killed and took cambodia back to dark age! let the law of the land punish them severely!
Those clowns are stupid. They have no ability to lead the country.
2:28am tough sh.t. 2 millions people were dead under his deer in the
head light regime. He's better know how to answer correctly in court.
Post a Comment