Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh
04 September 2007
Rather than bring the former monarch before Khmer Rouge tribunal courts, better to call forth the US leaders whose interference in Cambodian affairs led to the rise of the regime, former king Norodom Sihanouk said Monday.
In a letter written in French and circulated to journalists Monday, Sihanouk raised the role of the US in toppling his monarchy and inflaming a communist insurgency through bombing and fighting in the 1970s.
US leaders were responsible for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the killing of millions of innocents, the former monarch wrote.
Sihanouk's role in the rise of the Khmer Rouge has come under the spotlight in recent weeks, with at least one small non-profit group calling for the revocation of parliament-granted immunity to a tribunal.
In a letter written in French and circulated to journalists Monday, Sihanouk raised the role of the US in toppling his monarchy and inflaming a communist insurgency through bombing and fighting in the 1970s.
US leaders were responsible for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the killing of millions of innocents, the former monarch wrote.
Sihanouk's role in the rise of the Khmer Rouge has come under the spotlight in recent weeks, with at least one small non-profit group calling for the revocation of parliament-granted immunity to a tribunal.
