Comrade Im Chaem won't go to KRT and she's happy that Comrade Hun Xen opposes further KR indictments

Former Rebel Leader ‘Won’t Go’ to Tribunal

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
10 September 2009

With further indictments at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal moving forward for five leaders of the regime, a likely suspect, Im Chaem, told VOA Khmer she will not go to the court if summoned.

Im Chaem, now 65, is well known to villagers as a Khmer Rouge district chief in Banteay Meanchey province. She is now a deputy commune chief in Anglong Veng district, the last of the 1990s Khmer Rouge strongholds.

“I absolutely will not go, because the charge is unacceptable, and even if I’m called to court, I will not go,” she told VOA Khmer by phone. Asked why she would refuse to cooperate with the court, she said she had “no faults” reason enough to go.

She said she was “relieved” to hear Prime Minister Hun Sen object to further indictments, following promises of amnesty to cadre in the waning days of the regime, which ultimately fought a losing battle with government forces led by today’s premier.

If new investigations are opened ‘just to prosecute without reason,’ it will unsettle former Khmer Rouge cadre, she said.

‘’If you challenge more, it makes everybody feel no peace,’’ Im Chaem told VOA Khmer.

In on-site interviews with VOA Khmer several months ago, villagers in Proneth Preah district said Im Chaem was feared in the region and had been in charge when a number of crimes were committed under the Khmer Rouge.

Im Chaem has denied any wrongdoing, saying people who were killed or went missing there did so before her arrival as chief in 1978.

However, Khmer Rouge scholars say she could be among a tier of the regime’s leaders to face indictments. The Pre-Trial Chamber have now allowed five indictment submissions from the prosecutors office to move to the investigating judges, despite warnings from Hun Sen and other Cambodian officials more arrests could lead to instability.

Knut Rosandhaug, a UN coordinator for the tribunal, told VOA Khmer in an e-mail “it is a clearly established international standard that courts do not seek approval or advice on their work from the executive branch.”

“I expect that the ECCC will comply with this internationally recognized standard and make its decisions independently,” he said, referring to the tribunal by its official initials, for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

The tribunal is currently trying its first Khmer Rouge suspect, the former prison chief known as Duch, and is holding four more: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, and Ieng Thirith.

Inquiries could sink ECCC: PM

Thursday, 10 September 2009
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday predicted that an attempt to charge additional suspects at the Khmer Rouge tribunal would be unsuccessful.

If the push for indictments were to go forward, he said, "the result of the trial would be zero".

"All the suspects would die, and the court would run out of money," he said.

His remarks in Takeo province came one day after the tribunal announced that acting international co-prosecutor William Smith had on Monday formally requested the investigation of five more suspects. Also Monday, Hun Sen repeated in a speech at Chaktomuk Theatre his warning that further investigations risked sparking civil unrest that could claim hundreds of thousands of lives.

On Wednesday, he delivered a message to former Khmer Rouge cadres.

"I would like to appeal to the brotherhood and sisterhood of the former Khmer Rouge to remain calm," he said. "There will not be any problems happening."

Hun Sen also said his statements about the tribunal did not amount to an attempt to influence its work.

"Please go ahead with your procedures. I will not have a say, but the thing is that you need to find a supporting force ... you need four votes," he said in an apparent reference to the Pre-Trial Chamber vote that opened the door to new investigations.

In that vote, announced last week, the five-person chamber failed to resolve a disagreement between the international co-prosecutor, who pushed for more investigations, and the national co-prosecutor, who argued against them. The chamber voted 3-2 against them.

The tribunal's internal rules held that the proposed investigations would go forward in the absence of a supermajority, or 4-1 vote.

Hun Sen's statements about the court this week have drawn concerns about political interference, including from Human Rights Watch, which said Monday that judicial considerations should be based solely on evidence.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Hyena has its day

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Calm Down: Hun Xen told his KR comrades

Mr. Hun Xen called on other KR leaders to calm down

09-09-09
By Leang Delux
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

PM Hun Xen returned to talk about the KR Tribunal again on Wednesday 09 September. However, this time, he is not giving a harsh speech as he did on Monday. He also called on other KR leaders to calm down as well.

PM Hun Xen called on other former KR leaders who are still free to maintain their calm. According to Hun Xen, these KR leaders should remain calm because there could not be anything happening to them even if the international co-prosecutors sent to the court, the summon to the judges to investigate 5 other KR leaders. On Wednesday, Hun Xen returned to comment on this issue again during the inauguration ceremony of a pagoda in Takeo province.

This is a legal process that will have a hard time reaching an ending at this time. According to this legal process, the bringing in, the arrest and the incarceration of suspects or those who are accused must require the agreements from both national and international investigating judges. In the case these two investigating judges do not agree with each other, i.e. if one of the investigating judges does not want to see the bringing in, the arrest or the incarceration of anybody, then the remaining investigating judge must seek the support of at least 4 of the 5 ECCC judges, otherwise, no bringing in, no arrest and no incarceration will take place. This was the point Hun Xen explained in public during today’s speech, and he did not hesitate to mock the 2 sitting international judges who must confront the 3 Cambodian judges at the ECCC.

Therefore, to Hun Xen, the international side will never be able to find the 4 voices required by the ECCC. Furthermore, Hun Xen declared that the confrontation between the Cambodian and International sides is nothing more that a delay tactic to spend the [budget] money. It should be noted that money spent by the ECCC are provided by UN members.

Indictments Hint at Tribunal Independence: Scholar

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
09 September 2009

An American professor who has been following and writing crucial articles about the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal on Monday offered a cautious congratulations to the court’s latest development which could lead to more prosecutions of the regime’s senior leaders.

John Hall, a law professor at Chapman University School of Law, said in a letter to VOA Khmer that “by deciding to open the door to additional prosecutions, the tribunal has proclaimed its determination to remain above political manipulation.”

Hall was referring to a decision by the Pre-Trial Chamber last week to move five more indictments to the investigating judges, following the recommendation of the international prosecutor’s office and against the judgment of the Cambodian prosecutor.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned that further indictments could lead to instability or war, fears echoed by Cambodian officials and judges. (Three Cambodian Pre-Trial judges decided against moving the indictments forward, but with two international judges in favor of the move, the chamber did not reach the super-majority necessary to kill the prosecution’s submissions to investigating judges.)

“The apparent willingness of the tribunal to move forward with additional prosecutions suggests that the international judges at least are unwilling to allow Hun Sen to influence the legal proceedings with alarmist threats of impending civil war,” Hall wrote.

The concern of instability has little basis in the reality of contemporary Cambodia, Hall said, calling the split decision “particularly worrying, because the argument against additional prosecutions—a vague and less unconvincing threat of civil war from the prime minister—is clearly not a legal argument adequate for the court to reject additional indictments, such as an insufficiency of evidence.”

Now, Hall said, a worry lingers over whether Cambodian officials will cooperate with the court if the indictments move even further through the process.

“How will the Cambodian government respond if indictments are brought against former senior Khmer Rouge who are currently active supporters of Hun Sen and the CPP?” he asked, referring to the ruling party. “Will the prime minister then use the excuse of national stability to pull the plug on the hybrid tribunal, perhaps proceeding with a purely domestic trial only of the current five defendants?”

The tribunal is currently trying Kaing Kek Iev, the former prison chief known as Duch, and is holding Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, four of the senior-most leaders.

At least one former Khmer Rouge commander, Meas Muth, a probable suspect for indictment who serves an advisory role to the Ministry of Defense, has said he does not fear prosecution for his role in what he says was defense of the country from foreign invasion.

Cambodian PM pessimistic about UN trial's future [-How can Hun Xen predicts the tribunal outcome without influencing the Cambodian judges?]

Wednesday, September 09, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned foreign judges and prosecutors at the United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge court they will fail in their attempt to prosecute more suspects.

An international prosecutor at the Khmer Rouge tribunal earlier this week formally requested five more suspects from the late 1970s regime be investigated for crimes against humanity, war crimes and other offences.

But Hun Sen says the court will not get more indictments because Cambodian judges outnumber their international colleagues.

He says the three Cambodian judges and two foreign judges at the tribunal's pre-trial chamber will be unable to get the four votes to indict additional suspects and the final results will be zero.

Cambodia PM increases tirade [-The heat is unbearable for Hun Xen?]

Hun Sen's accusation was the latest in a series he has launched against the tribunal and its ruling last week to allow foreign prosecutors to pursue more suspects. -- PHOTO: AP

Sep 9, 2009
AP

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA'S prime minister accused foreign judges and prosecutors at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal of seeking to arrest new suspects as part of a plot by foreign governments to incite unrest.

Hun Sen's accusation was the latest in a series he has launched against the tribunal and its ruling last week to allow foreign prosecutors to pursue more suspects.

On Monday, Hun Sen said such action could lead to civil war. He has repeatedly spoken out against expanding the list of defendants beyond the one currently on trial - Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, - and four others in custody.

He elaborated Wednesday, saying foreign governments want war in Cambodia, a former French colony that was later wracked by decades of civil war.

'I know that some foreign judges and prosecutors have received orders from their governments to create problems here,' Hun Sen said while inaugurating a Buddhist pagoda south of the capital. 'There is no doubt that they have received advice from their government to do so.'

Hun Sen did not name specific countries. The tribunal includes 12 foreign judges and two foreign prosecutors from countries including Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Zambia.

'What Cambodia needs is peace,' Hun Sen added. 'If Cambodia has peace, they (foreign governments) are not quite happy with us - but if Cambodia has war, they are happy because then we'll be easy to occupy.' A tribunal spokesman, Lars Olsen, said Hun Sen's comments were being verified before a comment could be issued.

Critics accuse Hun Sen of trying to limit the tribunal's scope to prevent his political allies from being indicted. Hun Sen once served as a Khmer Rouge officer and many of his main allies are also former members of the group.

On Tuesday, the tribunal's acting international co-prosecutor, William Smith of Australia, formally recommended that five more suspects be investigated for possible crimes against humanity and other offenses.

The tribunal's Cambodian co-prosecutor opposed further indictments, but the tribunal ruled last week that his international counterpart could seek them. The tribunal, created last year under an agreement reached in 2003 between Cambodia and the United Nations, employs joint teams of Cambodian and international court personnel.

Cambodian genocide trial clash

Wednesday, 9 September 2009
By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent
The Independent (UK)

A prosecutor at the genocide tribunal in Cambodia has formally recommended that a further five suspects be investigated for crimes against humanity – setting the UN-backed trial on a collision course with the country's Prime Minister.

The tribunal, held on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh, is trying five members of the Khmer Rouge for their alleged role in the mass murder that led to the deaths of up to 1.7 million people. Among them is Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, the head of a notorious prison where thousands were sent to be tortured before being dispatched for execution at the "killing fields".

A statement issued yesterday by the acting international prosecutor, William Smith, said he had recommended to the trial judges that a further five, so-far unidentified, suspects be investigated. He said the cases involved at least 32 instances of murder, torture, unlawful detention, forced labour and persecution.

The announcement came after Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday that such a move would lead to widespread violence. "I would like to tell you that if you prosecute [more leaders] without thinking beforehand about national reconciliation and peace, and if war breaks out again and kills 20,000 or 30,000 people, who will be responsible?" he said.

The UN, which is overseeing the prosecutions, reiterated that the tribunal is independent of the government. The tribunal has both an international and a Cambodian prosecutor and the two have always disagreed on whether more suspects should be tried. Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge officer, has been accused of interfering with the trial and trying to protect many former rebels, some of whom are now members of his government.

Prosecutor Files for More Khmer Rouge Indictments

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 September 2009

The international prosecutor’s office has filed a request to investigate five more suspects by the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, moving forward in a process political leaders has said could destabilize the country.

Acting co-prosecutor William Smith filed the request to investigating judges, after the Pre-Trial Chamber failed to reach a super-majority to close the indictments.

“This last set of cases to be prosecuted would lead to a more comprehensive accounting of the crimes that were committed under the [Khmer Rouge] regime during 1975-79,” Smith announced Tuesday.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said Tuesday an investigation can start anywhere from one month to a year after investigating judges receive a prosecutor’s submission.

The court is currently holding five suspects and is only now undertaking its first trial, of former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Kek Iev, better known as Duch.

Long Panhavuth, a project officer at the Open Justice Initiative in Cambodia, said five more suspects would be responsible for crimes similar to Duch, who prosecutors say oversaw the killing of at least 12,380 people at Tuol Sleng prison.

The prosecution’s motion was filed on Monday, the same day Prime Minister Hun Sen again warned that more investigations could lead to instability.

Many former Khmer Rouge cadre defected to the government in the final throes of the brutal regime, and officials say they still retain loyal followers.

It remains to be seen what investigating judges found and if any more suspects will see trial.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: More Indictments ... War

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Prosecutor wants 5 more Khmer Rouge investigated

Tuesday, September 08, 2009
By SOPHENG CHEANG
AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A prosecutor at Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal has formally recommended that five more suspects be investigated for crimes against humanity and other offenses, setting the legal body on a collision course with the country's powerful prime minister.

A statement from the tribunal Tuesday said the acting international co-prosecutor, William Smith of Australia, submitted his recommendation to the co-investigating judges, who would then decide whether to issue arrest warrants.

Citing the confidentiality of the process, the tribunal announcement did not identify the five new suspects. It said the cases involved at least 32 instances of murder, torture, unlawful detention, forced labor, and persecution that constituted violations of Cambodian and international law.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has repeatedly spoken out against expanding the list of defendants beyond the one now on trial — Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, — and four others in custody.

On Monday, Hun Sen said such action could lead to civil war, a claim doubted by his critics.

"I would like to tell you that if you prosecute (more leaders) without thinking beforehand about national reconciliation and peace, and if war breaks out again and kills 20,000 or 30,000 people, who will be responsible?" Hun Sen said.

The tribunal's Cambodian co-prosecutor opposed further indictments, but the tribunal last week ruled that his international counterpart could seek them. The tribunal, created last year under an agreement reached in 2003 between Cambodia and the United Nations, employs joint teams of Cambodian and international court personnel.

Lars Olsen, a spokesman for the tribunal, said there was no timeframe for action by the co-investigating judges on Smith's submission, made Monday.

The tribunal is seeking justice for the estimated 1.7 million people who died in Cambodia from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the communist regime's radical policies while in power between 1975-79.

The U.N. administrator for the tribunal issued a blunt reminder Tuesday to Hun Sen that the panel was independent.

"It is a clearly established international standard that courts do not seek approval of advice on their work from the executive branch," Knut Rosandhaug said in a statement.

Critics accuse Hun Sen of trying to limit the tribunal's scope to prevent his political allies from being indicted. Hun Sen once served as a Khmer Rouge officer and many of his main allies are also former members of the group.

The tribunal's long-awaited first trial — of Kaing Guek Eav, the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer for war crimes and crimes against humanity — opened in March. A joint trial of the four other defendants is expected within the next two years.

The Khmer Rouge came to power after a bitter 1970-75 civil war, and after being ousted from power in 1979, carried out an insurgency from the jungles until 1999.

Hun Sen has dominated Cambodian politics for more than two decades. He ousted his former co-prime minister in a 1997 coup and has since ruled virtually unchallenged.

Chhang Youk sent a clarification letter to Hun Xen

Monday, September 07, 2009
By Leang Delux
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

In a comment made today by PM Hun Xen regarding additional cases to be considered by the KR Tribunal, Hun Xen warned Chhang Youk not to interfere in these additional cases. Hun Xen’s reaction came after Chhang Youk, the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that “they should show the motives to PM Hun Xen if they want to charge other KR leaders.” Hun Xen ordered Chhang Youk to clarify his meaning.

Chhang Youk, DC-Cam director, immediately wrote a clarification letter to PM Hun Xen on Monday, a few hours after Hun Xen yelled and told him not to interfere in the accusation against addition KR leaders. In a ceremony to report the latest results for the 2008 census held on Monday morning, Hun Xen directly pointed out Chhang Youk who was quoted by The Kampuchea Thmei newspaper as saying: “The ECCC should show its intention to the prime minister if it wants to accuse additional KR leaders because, in the past, the PM maintained a stance of not wanting to have additional charges because of concerns about social havocs.”

In his letter sent to Hun Xen, Chhang Youk told the latter that he never organized a seminar to push for additional charges on other KR leaders. While talking to RFI, Chhang Youk confirmed his stance which [he claimed] that it never changed, i.e. the number of KR leaders brought to face justice does not reflect justice. Furthermore, he added that additional charges are the court’s decision. Nevertheless, Chhang Youk claimed that he is ready to go clarify the PM face to face, should Hun Xen wants it.

In his first comment following the ECCC impasse where the judges’ disagreement led to the push for additional investigation on KR leaders, Hun Xen raised one more time his concerns that the accusations on additional KR leaders could create social unrest. At the same time, Hun Xen was also trying to defend himself by saying that he was not trying to influence the KR Tribunal. Nevertheless, Hun Xen asked that if the judgments are taking place without concerns for peace and national unity, and that this could lead to 200,000 or 300,000 deaths, then who would be responsible for it? Hun Xen also asked: If there will be more [KR leaders] charged, and some will flee to the forest, who will call them back out?

Hun Xen used to show his stance of not wanting to see additional KR leaders brought up to face justice beyond the current 5 leaders who are now in custody at the KR Tribunal.

UN to Hun Xen: Shut up! Nobody needs your advice!

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen gestures at a ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sep. 7, 2009. Hun Sen renewed his criticism of the country's U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal Monday, warning that arresting more suspects could spark civil war. (AP Photo/Khem Sovannara)

UN says Khmer Rouge tribunal must be independent

Tuesday, September 08, 2009
By SOPHENG CHEANG
AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The U.N. administrator for the Khmer Rouge tribunal issued a blunt reminder to Prime Minister Hun Sen that the panel is independent, after the Cambodian leader suggested that arresting more suspects for trial could spark a civil war.

The U.N.-backed tribunal ruled last week that prosecutors could pursue further arrests beyond the five Khmer Rouge leaders already indicted, in a decision opposed by the panel's Cambodian co-prosecutor but supported by his international counterparts.

Hun Sen said Monday that he had devoted several years to persuading Khmer Rouge leaders and their soldiers to stop fighting, so he could not allow anyone to drag the country back into a new civil war by putting additional suspects them on trial.

Knut Rosandhaug, Coordinator of the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials, subsequently issued a statement that he expects the tribunal to continue to work independently.

"It is a clearly established international standard that courts do not seek approval of advice on their work from the executive branch," he said.

The tribunal is seeking justice for the estimated 1.7 million people who died in Cambodia from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the communist regime's radical policies while in power between 1975-79.

Critics accuse Hun Sen of seeking to limit the tribunal's scope because other potential defendants are his current political allies. Hun Sen served as a Khmer Rouge officer, before changing sides, and many of his major political allies are also former members of the group.

Brad Adams, Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said he believes Hun Sen was seeking to protect members of his own Cambodian People's Party, who could be targets for prosecution. But he said it was unlikely more arrests would be made.

Adams pointed out that the Khmer Rouge have been defunct for a decade, and that its former leaders are now more interested in business than war.

The tribunal's long-awaited first trial — of the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer for war crimes and crimes against humanity — opened in March. A joint trial of the four other senior officials — the only others currently in detention — is expected within the next two years.

The Khmer Rouge came to power after a bitter 1970-75 Civil War, and after being ousted from power in 1979, carried out an insurgency from the jungles until 1999.

Hun Sen has dominated Cambodian politics for more than two decades. He ousted his former co-prime minister in a 1997 coup and has since ruled virtually unchallenged.

Hun Sen, Researcher in Row Over Indictments

(Photo: Khmer Sthabna)

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
07 September 2009

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday warned a leading Khmer Rouge researcher not to implicate him as an obstacle to further indictments of former regime leaders at the UN-backed tribunal.

Hun Sen called on Youk Chhang, a prominent researcher and head of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, to send a letter of explanation, following media reports where the researcher called on the tribunal to make a decision counter to Hun Sen’s political wishes.

The Pre-Trial Chamber of the tribunal announced last week it would allow investigations of more suspects to continue, ending a nine-month decision-making process that put the international and national prosecutors at odds.

Hun Sen has warned more indictments could plunge the country back into war. Critics say the Cambodian judges at the tribunal have followed this political logic in decision-making outside the purview of the law.

The chamber allowed the possibility of indictments to move forward after it failed to reach a super-majority—a provision under the rules of the court—to disallow the international prosecution’s motion. The potential indictments will now be forwarded to the investigating judges.

“We have allowed the court to decide on the additional former Khmer Rouge cadre following the majority,” Hun Sen said Monday.

“If the court wants to charge more former senior Khmer Rouge cadres, the court must show the reasons to Prime Minister Hun Sen,” the premier said referring to himself in the third person. “Hun Sen only protects the peace of the nation. I do not affect to the court issue.”

“Now, if you try the former Khmer Rouge leaders without thinking of peace and national reconciliation, war will happen again, killing 200,000 to 300,000 more, and who will be responsible for this?” he said. “I changed my life for the whole Cambodia. I will not allow anyone to destroy it, and this nation and people also will not allow anyone to bring instability, not only Cambodian, but also foreigner.”

Youk Chhang said in a letter to Hun Sen Monday he had “no intention” of pushing for more charges in statements he made at a seminar. The Documentation Center of Cambodia has spent years collecting evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities, and is the repository of much of the nation’s history during the period.

Hun Xen, a former Khmer Rouge, opposes more Khmer Rouge arrests

Cambodian PM opposes more Khmer Rouge arrests

Monday, September 07, 2009
AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen renewed his criticism of the country's U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal Monday, warning that arresting more suspects could spark civil war.

Hun Sen spoke in response to last week's ruling by the tribunal allowing prosecutors to pursue further arrests. The matter had been in contention because the Cambodian co-prosecutor opposed the idea, while his international counterpart supported it.

The tribunal is seeking justice for the estimated 1.7 million people who died in Cambodia from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the communist regime's radical policies while in power between 1975-79.

Critics allege that Hun Sen has sought to limit the tribunal's scope because other potential defendants are now his political allies. Hun Sen served as a Khmer Rouge officer, before changing sides, and many of his major political allies are also former members of the group.

Brad Adams, Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said he believed Hun Sen was seeking to protect members of his own Cambodian People's Party, who could be targets for prosecution. But he said it was unlikely more arrests would be made.

"(Hun Sen) has been saying the same thing for 10 years, since before the court was set up," Adams said. "It's never happened, and it's not going to happen."

He pointed out that the Khmer Rouge have been defunct for a decade, and that its former leaders are more interested in business than war, and even if they sought to fight, they would be unable to recruit anyone to their side.

The tribunal's long-awaited first trial — of the Khmer Rouge's chief jailer, for war crimes and crimes against humanity — opened in March. A joint trial with four other senior officials — the only others currently in detention — is expected in the next year or two.

Hun Sen said that if foreign aid donors stopped funding the tribunal, Cambodia would carry on the proceedings on its own, without the international participation it now has. The tribunal employs joint teams of Cambodian and international court personnel.

"I would like to tell you that if you prosecute (more leaders) without thinking beforehand about national reconciliation and peace, and if war breaks out again and kills 20,000 or 30,000 people, who will responsible?" Hun Sen said. He said he was not trying to use his influence against the court, but only stating the situation.

There was no immediate reaction to Hun Sen's comment by representatives of the tribunal.

The Khmer Rouge came to power after a bitter 1970-75 civil war, and after being ousted from power in 1979, carried out an insurgency from the jungle until 1999.

Hun Sen said that he had devoted several years of his life to persuading Khmer Rouge leaders and their soldiers to end their fighting, so he could not allow anyone to drag the country back into a new civil war.

"I will not allow anyone to destroy what I have achieved,' Hun Sen said. "The value of peace here is huge."

Hun Sen has dominated Cambodian politics for more than two decades. He ousted his former co-prime minister in a 1997 coup and has since ruled virtually unchallenged.