Ieng Thirith and Ieng Sary (Photo ww.pythiapress.com)21 Feb. 2006
Moneaksekar Khmer Newspaper
A few days ago, Ieng Vuth, second deputy governor of Pailin City, claimed that his parents, former Khmer Rouge leaders Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, went to Thailand for medical treatment and that Ieng Sary, was very sick from heart disease.
Ieng Sary, former Khmer Rouge deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, was the top Khmer Rouge murderer who sent the intellectuals from abroad for reeducation at Boeng Trabek before forwarding them to their deaths in Tuol Sleng prison. As for Ieng Thirith, she was the minister of social affairs and labor under the Khmer Rouge regime.
Ieng Vuth said that his parents had left Pailin for medical treatment in Thailand after Michelle Lee, the UN Khmer Rouge trial court [KRTC] coordinator, arrived in Cambodia. Mrs. Michelle Lee claimed that her presence in Cambodia was to work for the early establishment of the KRTC even if the budget for this tribunal was meager compared to the Rwanda genocide court and the special court for Sierra Leone, of which she used to be the administrator. However, the $60 million expenses on the KRTC are huge for the Cambodian government, which cannot even come up with its share of about $10 million for the court.
Now, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave the Cambodian government the green light that the budget issue was no longer an issue provided the government cooperate with the United Nations in quickly creating this court. For this reason, Kofi Annan sent Michelle Lee to Cambodia to work with the Cambodian government on setting up this court as soon as possible.
Seeing that the KRTC is nearing its birth, the two husband-wife former Khmer Rouge leaders have fled into hiding abroad. It is believed that the couple are hiding in Cuba, but their son who is a government official claimed that Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith are having medical treatment in Thailand.
Sean Visoth, president of the Cambodian side of the KRTC, said he did not know that Ieng Sary and his wife went to Thailand for medical treatment. But Chang Yuk, director of the Cambodian Documentation Center, said that this is a signal to the world that it is time to speed up the establishment of the KRTC because the former Khmer Rouge leaders are getting very old and some of them are having medical treatment abroad, such as Ieng Sary and his wife.
A former Khmer Rouge commander in Pailin said that the report that Ieng Sary and his wife went to Thailand appeared untrue. First, Ieng Sary has been a frequent visitor of Thailand and his son Ieng Vuth never said anything about his parents going to Thailand before. It is only now that Ieng Vuth has said so. Should this not be suspicious? Ieng Sary has bought a mansion in Cuba and a dozen hectares of land to plant sugar beet.
Ieng Vuth suspiciously omitted to tell which hospital his parents are being treated in their trip to Thailand. This is most suspicious because even the Thai military commander familiar with the Khmer Rouge did not believe that Ieng Sary is in Thailand.
Ieng Sary has wanted to dodge the KRTC from which Hun Sen also had tried to protect him. However, after the Japanese prime minister had appealed to him, Hun Sen agreed to let Ieng Sary be prosecuted. Now, as the KRTC is going to proceed, Ieng Sary and his wife fled abroad under the pretext of undergoing medical treatment.
It should be noted that this year Ieng Sary is 77 years old and he is one of the former top Khmer Rouge leaders who will face the extraordinary chambers to be set up by the Cambodian government and the United Nations to prosecute the main leaders of Democratic Kampuchea in the near future.
Michelle Lee, UN representative and administrative vice chairperson of the KRTC, after learning that Ieng Sary was seriously sick recently said that the [Khmer Rouge] leaders are aging ... that's why we have to start the process as soon as possible.
Concerning the process of creating the KRTC, Mrs. Michelle Lee said Cambodia still lacks 9.6 million dollars in tribunal funds.
She further said there was no word yet whether donors will allow 6.9 million dollars they contributed to a UN fund for Cambodia in the early 1990s to be channeled into the 56.3-million-dollar tribunal.
Among the aging former Khmer Rouge leaders to face the court is Nuon Chea, former chairman of the People's Assembly of the Democratic Kampuchea regime. He is now 80 years old, which is a very advanced age.
Nuon Chea said that he did not have anything against this court. He said, "Let this take its actual course. As for me, I have been ready to stand up and make clarification to the international tribunal."
Concerning Nuon Chea's personal view on the court of justice, which is expected to begin by the end of 2006, he said, "The past is a lesson and the future is complex," therefore, it is better to think about the present.
Nevertheless, the United Nations and the Hun Sen government have been pushed to endeavor so that the KRTC could take shape as soon as possible because the principal former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime of genocide are aging fast.
Now, only Ta Mok, the one-legged former commander of the Democratic Kampuchea regime, and Duch, former security chief of S-21 (Tuol Sleng prison), are living in detention pending the establishment of the KRTC.
Besides, there have been criticisms that allowing the main Khmer Rouge ringleaders, such as Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, and Ieng Sary to move around freely could cause difficulty when the hearing begins.
But Nuon Chea maintained that he was ready to clarify to this international court. As for Khieu Samphan, he too used to affirm like Nuon Chea that he would never avoid this court. What makes the various circles worry that this trial court would not be able to proceed soon enough is the fact that the Hun Sen government still does not have its contribution to the UN fund. The question remains to know whether the trial court of the main former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime of genocide would proceed at the end of 2006 as planned or not.
Ieng Sary, former Khmer Rouge deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, was the top Khmer Rouge murderer who sent the intellectuals from abroad for reeducation at Boeng Trabek before forwarding them to their deaths in Tuol Sleng prison. As for Ieng Thirith, she was the minister of social affairs and labor under the Khmer Rouge regime.
Ieng Vuth said that his parents had left Pailin for medical treatment in Thailand after Michelle Lee, the UN Khmer Rouge trial court [KRTC] coordinator, arrived in Cambodia. Mrs. Michelle Lee claimed that her presence in Cambodia was to work for the early establishment of the KRTC even if the budget for this tribunal was meager compared to the Rwanda genocide court and the special court for Sierra Leone, of which she used to be the administrator. However, the $60 million expenses on the KRTC are huge for the Cambodian government, which cannot even come up with its share of about $10 million for the court.
Now, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave the Cambodian government the green light that the budget issue was no longer an issue provided the government cooperate with the United Nations in quickly creating this court. For this reason, Kofi Annan sent Michelle Lee to Cambodia to work with the Cambodian government on setting up this court as soon as possible.
Seeing that the KRTC is nearing its birth, the two husband-wife former Khmer Rouge leaders have fled into hiding abroad. It is believed that the couple are hiding in Cuba, but their son who is a government official claimed that Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith are having medical treatment in Thailand.
Sean Visoth, president of the Cambodian side of the KRTC, said he did not know that Ieng Sary and his wife went to Thailand for medical treatment. But Chang Yuk, director of the Cambodian Documentation Center, said that this is a signal to the world that it is time to speed up the establishment of the KRTC because the former Khmer Rouge leaders are getting very old and some of them are having medical treatment abroad, such as Ieng Sary and his wife.
A former Khmer Rouge commander in Pailin said that the report that Ieng Sary and his wife went to Thailand appeared untrue. First, Ieng Sary has been a frequent visitor of Thailand and his son Ieng Vuth never said anything about his parents going to Thailand before. It is only now that Ieng Vuth has said so. Should this not be suspicious? Ieng Sary has bought a mansion in Cuba and a dozen hectares of land to plant sugar beet.
Ieng Vuth suspiciously omitted to tell which hospital his parents are being treated in their trip to Thailand. This is most suspicious because even the Thai military commander familiar with the Khmer Rouge did not believe that Ieng Sary is in Thailand.
Ieng Sary has wanted to dodge the KRTC from which Hun Sen also had tried to protect him. However, after the Japanese prime minister had appealed to him, Hun Sen agreed to let Ieng Sary be prosecuted. Now, as the KRTC is going to proceed, Ieng Sary and his wife fled abroad under the pretext of undergoing medical treatment.
It should be noted that this year Ieng Sary is 77 years old and he is one of the former top Khmer Rouge leaders who will face the extraordinary chambers to be set up by the Cambodian government and the United Nations to prosecute the main leaders of Democratic Kampuchea in the near future.
Michelle Lee, UN representative and administrative vice chairperson of the KRTC, after learning that Ieng Sary was seriously sick recently said that the [Khmer Rouge] leaders are aging ... that's why we have to start the process as soon as possible.
Concerning the process of creating the KRTC, Mrs. Michelle Lee said Cambodia still lacks 9.6 million dollars in tribunal funds.
She further said there was no word yet whether donors will allow 6.9 million dollars they contributed to a UN fund for Cambodia in the early 1990s to be channeled into the 56.3-million-dollar tribunal.
Among the aging former Khmer Rouge leaders to face the court is Nuon Chea, former chairman of the People's Assembly of the Democratic Kampuchea regime. He is now 80 years old, which is a very advanced age.
Nuon Chea said that he did not have anything against this court. He said, "Let this take its actual course. As for me, I have been ready to stand up and make clarification to the international tribunal."
Concerning Nuon Chea's personal view on the court of justice, which is expected to begin by the end of 2006, he said, "The past is a lesson and the future is complex," therefore, it is better to think about the present.
Nevertheless, the United Nations and the Hun Sen government have been pushed to endeavor so that the KRTC could take shape as soon as possible because the principal former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime of genocide are aging fast.
Now, only Ta Mok, the one-legged former commander of the Democratic Kampuchea regime, and Duch, former security chief of S-21 (Tuol Sleng prison), are living in detention pending the establishment of the KRTC.
Besides, there have been criticisms that allowing the main Khmer Rouge ringleaders, such as Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, and Ieng Sary to move around freely could cause difficulty when the hearing begins.
But Nuon Chea maintained that he was ready to clarify to this international court. As for Khieu Samphan, he too used to affirm like Nuon Chea that he would never avoid this court. What makes the various circles worry that this trial court would not be able to proceed soon enough is the fact that the Hun Sen government still does not have its contribution to the UN fund. The question remains to know whether the trial court of the main former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime of genocide would proceed at the end of 2006 as planned or not.
1 comment:
It's long overdue with this issue let moved before they all dies.
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