Kerry op-ed on war crimes tribunal in Cambodia

[karynnj]

Thirty years after the Khmer Rouge slaughtered about 1.7 million people, Cambodians have received a small measure of justice. A joint Cambodian-United Nations (UN) tribunal this month found Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity -- the first conviction of a leading Khmer Rouge figure.
<snip>
Duch's conviction is a milestone for Cambodia. But the work of the tribunal is hardly finished, and the stakes for the Cambodian people are too high for the international community to walk away now. The next set of cases will be more complex and politically charged, testing the will of Cambodia and the international community. The four most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders are sitting in the docket: former President Khieu Samphan; the group's chief ideologue Nuon Chea; Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith. These are some of the architects of the brutalities committed against the Cambodian people during the disastrous rule of the Khmer Rouge.

But on the cusp of these trials, the tribunal's future is uncertain. With Duch's conviction, some contributors have been tempted to declare victory and go home. Donor support is flagging, and a $7 million funding gap has already emerged for the current fiscal year. This April, Cambodian staff at the court stopped receiving their salaries as the money ran out until Japanese donors stepped up in early July. Moving forward with what one U.S. expert rightly calls the "Nuremberg trial of Cambodia" will be difficult unless the tribunal is properly funded.
<snip>
Cambodia's courts suffer from a number of institutional and organizational shortcomings, and judicial proceedings are all too often politicized. Strengthening Cambodia's judiciary is a long-term undertaking, but the Khmer Rouge tribunal can accelerate the process of reform by demonstrating the virtues of judicial independence, fairness, and due process of law. The more Cambodians witness a higher standard of justice, the more they will be inclined to demand it in their own judicial system. If the tribunal can help catalyze domestic judicial reforms, that success would be among its most significant and lasting legacies.

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_15754546?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com#ixzz0wsYVTv9b


It was hard to get the full intent of the editorial - on the need for accountability on these war crimes and the possible influence on improving the Cambodian courts, after they see the impact of fair trials.

[SoxFan]

1. Thank you

The horror show in Cambodia is sadly forgotten by too many Americans. We played footsie with the Khmer Rouge for far too long, so we have a special obligation to make sure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and to create a legal framework for holding other such monsters accountable.

[paulk]

2. I wonder how Kerry feels about the Obama administration's

decision to let the Bush/Cheney war crimes go unpunished...

[SoxFan]

3. OFFS

You're comparing the Bush Administration to the Khmer Rouge?

You are either woefully uneducated about the history of modern Cambodia, or are willing to use ANYTHING as an excuse to slam Democrats such as President Obama and Senator Kerry. That's utterly shameful.

[karynnj]

4. I agree - there is an order of magnitude difference

Not to mention, the Cambodian war crimes were decades ago.

I can't imagine how Obama could resolve the wars, worked to keep the economy from going over a cliff, and achieve the rest of his agenda if he would have asked Holder to convene a war crimes tribunal. It would have split the country.

Realistically, I really don't think we will - there were no general war crimes tribunals for the Vietnam war - just My Lai and a few others. Very few countries would - and in most, it happens only if you lose to a stronger power.

The verdict on the Bush/Cheney administration and what they did will be rendered by history - not a court. I wish that it were otherwise, but I don't see it happening.

[paulk]

5. I really do wonder what Kerry thinks of this

I've been to Cambodia - of course I realize there is an order of magnitude difference - but in the context of Kerry's article, I truly do wonder how he feels about the Obama administration letting Bush/Cheney off the hook - how is our country going to heal from the wounds inflicted on it by the Bush/Cheney regime's trashing of our constitution and laws?

[karynnj]

6. I agree with you - in that I remember that Kerry was more open

with the truth coming out on the various torture issues much stronger than Obama or anyone in his administration. I don't think it was just rhetoric when Kerry in several speeches referred to "the US does not torture period" when speaking of what our real values are. (in context - he had just blasted Bush for having done so - this was the 2006 Faneuil Hall speech on National Security.)

I do trust that actually cares about these things, where many really don't. I wonder how conflicted someone in Kerry's position might be - he has a real ability to be heard and to possibly influence policy - and he could lose that if he spoke as freely as a critic as he did in 2006.

My apologies at the inference on Cambodia, especially as I've never been there.

[grantcart]

7. It has been very difficult for Cambodia to face these crimes.

Its not just that the people who kicked the KR out were former KR and it becomes very difficult to draw a line, although that is a problem, there is an existential cloud, "How could any Cambodian be involved in this, how could thousands be involved?".

Duch's case was very interesting because he had what is widely seen as an authentic religious conversion and accepted guilt for his crimes, maybe the first time where someone facing genocide has accepted his actions as being evil.

Samphan, Chea, Sary and Ieng are like names from Nazi Germany, I didn't think that they were still alive.

Thank you Senator Kerry for seeing this through.


The unusual story of Duch is found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_Kek_Iew


edited to add Duch's unusual confession


http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2009/04/original-confession-and-apology-from.html

[SoxFan]

8. A surprising number of these criminals are still alive

What we have to remember is that the KR leadership was populated by a lot of very young people. Someone in their 20s or 30s at the time of the killing fields would only be be in their 60s today.