Another deja-vu funding crisis at the Icky Clown (aka ECCC)?

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

KR tribunal suffers crisis of funding

10/02/2012
Ellie Dyer
DPA

With unpaid salaries, demoralised staff and a catalogue of high-profile controversies, observers say Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Tribunal is in crisis.

A total of 317 Cambodians working at the war crimes court, including judges, prosecutors and legal officers, have not been paid since October due to a lack of international funding.

The shortfall has "demoralised" staff and is a "serious concern", says the tribunal's administrative office.

The funding crunch is just the latest difficulty to dog the tribunal, which aims to bring to justice those most responsible for crimes under the Khmer Rouge. Between 1.7 million and 2.2 million people are estimated to have died during the 1975-79 rule of the brutal Khmer Rouge.

The past year has seen several allegations of judicial misconduct and political interference.

In January, the UN accused Cambodia of breaching a 2003 agreement on Khmer Rouge prosecutions when the Phnom Penh judiciary decided not to approve UN-nominated Laurent Kasper-Ansermet as international co-investigating judge, following concerns over his use of Twitter. "The court is again at a crisis, perhaps its biggest crisis, because of the breach," said Anne Heindel, legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, a research institute. "It's a clear-cut issue they have to deal with."

But it is not yet clear what will be the consequences of the alleged breach and the reality of Mr Kasper-Ansermet's position in investigating upcoming Cases 003 and 004, which senior Cambodian officials have repeatedly said will not be allowed to reach trial.

Though the UN has stated that Mr Kasper-Ansermet can carry out investigations regardless, government spokesmen have said the judiciary had the power not to appoint him.

The latest row, coupled with the court's chequered history, could affect its international standing.

"Funding is a major challenge tied to legitimacy," Ms Heindel said. "I think there can be no doubt that states are not going to line up and give money to this court until the legitimacy crisis is resolved."

Clair Duffy, a tribunal monitor at Open Society Justice Initiative, an organisation funded by US billionaire George Soros, said she believes an inquiry into previous alleged misconduct would also boost the credibility of the court.

The co-investigating judges' decision to close Case 003 investigations without interviewing suspects or inspecting alleged crime sites, drew widespread criticism in April.

International prosecutor Andrew Cayley appealed against the closure, citing a litany of judicial failures.

In October, German co-investigating judge Siegfried Blunk resigned over concerns that his ability to withstand perceived government pressure could be "called into doubt". He had been accused by rights groups of violating his duties.

"You can't compromise on fundamentals like judicial independence," said Ms Duffy, adding that the court "can undo some of the damage that's been done by conducting credible and genuine investigations in Cases 003 and 004".

It is not clear if such an inquiry will take place.

Prominent court critic and Khmer Rouge survivor Theary Seang said, "We are experiencing the rolling momentum of the weight of these crises to the tipping point of sham."

She said the tribunal's legitimacy was now "beyond restoring".