Case 004 in the spotlight

Theary Seng (Photo: Roland Neveu)

Friday, 06 May 2011
James O'Toole
The Phnom Penh Post

Local activist Theary Seng has announced plans to file a civil party application at the Khmer Rouge tribunal against a trio of former cadres she says are the subject of investigation in the court’s controversial fourth case.

Theary Seng identified the following three people as Case 004 suspects in a statement yesterday: Im Chem, a KR district chief in Banteay Meanchey province; Yim Tith, aka Ta Tith, deputy secretary of the KR’s Northwest Zone; and Aom An, aka Ta An, deputy secretary of the KR Central Zone.

The tribunal has yet to confirm the identities of the suspects in this case, though Im Chem in particular has been widely suggested as a possible defendant.

Theary Seng’s announcement follows a similar move last month in which she lodged a civil party application for Case 003 against former KR navy commander Meas Muth and air force commander Sou Met, both of whom have long been named as potential suspects. She said yesterday that the court’s complete lack of transparency in its Case 003 and 004 investigations had pushed her to take her complaint public.

“These judges are hiding behind the confidentiality issue, they are abusing the confidentially issue,” she said. “I’m taking my fight [to] the public arena because it’s my only safeguard.”

Tribunal Trouble

April 3, 2008
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA

The Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia was one of the 20th century's most horrific crimes. The United Nations-sponsored war crimes tribunal that is seeking justice for the millions of victims has been wracked with allegations of corruption. So we're happy to report that outside scrutiny seems to be having an effect.

Last year, an audit of the tribunal, part of whose funding is supervised by the United Nations Development Program, found significant conflicts of interest in funding oversight, inflated salaries and underqualified staff. After this page exposed the audit's findings in September, the tribunal started to clean up its HR practices by improving hiring procedures and implementing a staff code of conduct.

Now, donor nations are turning up the heat. When the court released its revised budget to donors in January, it asked for an additional $114 million and an extension of the court's life until 2011. The biggest country donors – including Japan, Germany and France – came back with such extensive questions that it took the court two months to prepare its response.

Among the questions: Why did the tribunal triple its original budget projection to $170 million from $56 million? Why did staff costs constitute around 70% of that increase – and what exactly will those staff be doing? And why is the court, now in its second year, taking so long to try the top Khmer Rouge officials, many of whom are now in their 80s?

It's good to see donor nations asking these questions, but it would be better if the public – who ultimately are footing the bill – also had access to information about how their tax dollars are being spent. It's unclear whether the court will ever publicly release the revised budget projection.

Without new funding, the Cambodian side of the court will run out of money by the end of May; the U.N. side of the court can last only a few months longer. It's in no one's interest to see the tribunal fall apart. The Cambodian government and the UNDP can honor the memories of the victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide by running a clean tribunal.

Monitor: Tribunal Faces Image Challenges

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
05 March 2008

As the Khmer Rouge tribunal moves toward trials of five jailed leaders, the special courts will face problems in donor funding and credibility, a leading monitor said this week.

The tribunal will need to convince donors to make a "significant" investment, said Robert Varenik, acting director of the Open Society Justice Initiative.

To do so, the courts will need to show "the greatest possible transparency," he said.

Tribunal officials say they need about $114 million more to fund the tribunal, to supplement what began as a $56 million effort.

Donors are considering further funding, following some progress, such as the arrest of five leaders, public hearings of two, and the march to trial for all. But donors are also wary of allegations of corruption and mismanagement within the special courts.

Foreign Minister Seeks More Tribunal Money

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
25 October 2007

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong made an appeal to donor countries Thursday for more money to run the Khmer Rouge tribunal, saying the process was running "smoothly" but more funds were needed to keep things that way.

More arrests are imminent, Hor Namhong told reporters outside the Foreign Ministry, adding that the process could go through 2010, an extended time period for which no budget currently exists.

"The lack of funds is not so much, it is somewhat small, and I hope that the international community will contribute to the funds," he said.

Tribunal observers said earlier this week they expect a third Khmer Rouge leader to be brought before the tribunal courts in coming days, though the identity of the defendant has not been released.

Those widely suspected of being under tribunal investigation include Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister of Democratic Kampuchea, and Khieu Samphan, the former nominal head of the regime.

The tribunal struggled through its first year, failing to indict a single Khmer Rouge leader, as Cambodian jurists and their UN-appointed counterparts debated internal rules for the process. Critics have since warned the tribunal could exceed its own time-limit and budget. The tribunal has also come under fire from critics for a lack of transparency in its administration and staff hiring practices.

US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said Thursday the US would be reluctant to contribute to the tribunal if it is not made more transparent.

"We are now, in Washington and here, seriously assessing whether the United States should directly fund the Khmer [Rouge] tribunal," he said.

Hor Namhong said the tribunal was now moving forward, and he anticipated no further problems.

"I believe that in the future, there will be summons or the arrests of other top Khmer Rouge leaders, like Nuon Chea recently, so the procedure is going smoothly, and there will be no other problems," he said.

"The lack of funds is not important," Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said. "The important thing is the court's implementation."

Donors were not happy with the misuse of funds and allegations around the administration of the courts, he said.

"All of this leads to delay, not the budget," he said.

If the tribunal carries forward more than its mandated years, international standards could be comprised, Hisham Mousar, a legal expert for the rights group Adhoc said. "It is a loss to the Khmer Rouge tribunal."