August 16, 2007
AFP
A CAMBODIAN judge vowed that his departure from the country's genocide trials would not disrupt the UN-backed court's effort to try former Khmer Rouge leaders.
You Bunleng is one of the court's co-investigating judges, making him key to determining which suspects will go to trial.
But he was abruptly appointed head of Cambodia's Appeal Court last week, after its former president was sacked over bribery allegations.
The move will force him to resign from the tribunal, and raises fears of further delays in trying to prosecute one of the 20th century's worst atrocities.
You Bunleng, in his first public statement since his appointment, said it was his duty to ensure "there is no interruption or delay in the process."
He had earlier told media that he would continue working at the tribunal until a reserve judge is familiar enough with the cases currently under investigation to take over the post.
On Thursday, he said he had begun working with his staff and international counterpart, French judge Marcel Lemonde, "to reach a mutually acceptable and constructive solution that does not disrupt our work."
But his departure comes at a crucial time during which he and Lemonde are investigating the first cases filed by prosecutors.
After months of delay, the pair in July began reviewing charges against five former leaders of the brutal 1975-79 regime.
Only one of the five -- former prison chief Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav -- has been publicly named and detained by the tribunal.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed under the Khmer Rouge, which abolished religion, schools and currency, exiling millions to vast collective farms with the aim of creating an agrarian utopia.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998.
So far no other top cadres have been brought to justice amid accusations that Cambodia's leaders have sought to stall the trials for fear of exposing the roles of other former Khmer Rouge now serving in the country's government.
The three-year tribunal got under way last year after a decade of often contentious negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations.
You Bunleng is one of the court's co-investigating judges, making him key to determining which suspects will go to trial.
But he was abruptly appointed head of Cambodia's Appeal Court last week, after its former president was sacked over bribery allegations.
The move will force him to resign from the tribunal, and raises fears of further delays in trying to prosecute one of the 20th century's worst atrocities.
You Bunleng, in his first public statement since his appointment, said it was his duty to ensure "there is no interruption or delay in the process."
He had earlier told media that he would continue working at the tribunal until a reserve judge is familiar enough with the cases currently under investigation to take over the post.
On Thursday, he said he had begun working with his staff and international counterpart, French judge Marcel Lemonde, "to reach a mutually acceptable and constructive solution that does not disrupt our work."
But his departure comes at a crucial time during which he and Lemonde are investigating the first cases filed by prosecutors.
After months of delay, the pair in July began reviewing charges against five former leaders of the brutal 1975-79 regime.
Only one of the five -- former prison chief Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav -- has been publicly named and detained by the tribunal.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed under the Khmer Rouge, which abolished religion, schools and currency, exiling millions to vast collective farms with the aim of creating an agrarian utopia.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998.
So far no other top cadres have been brought to justice amid accusations that Cambodia's leaders have sought to stall the trials for fear of exposing the roles of other former Khmer Rouge now serving in the country's government.
The three-year tribunal got under way last year after a decade of often contentious negotiations between Cambodia and the United Nations.
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