Cambodia: Government's stand against prosecution of more Khmer Rouge leaders shows its true colours
AHRC-STM-080-2009
April 7, 2009
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
In the immediate period leading to the trial of Khmer Rouge Prison Chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, on 30 March, there was a disagreement between the international and the national co-prosecutors of the Cambodian UN-assisted Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) over the prosecution of more Khmer Rouge leaders in addition to the five who have already been arrested and detained and who are awaiting trial. According to KRT, the international co-prosecutor, Robert Petit, has proceeded to "open new judicial investigations against certain additional suspects”, saying that “there are reasons to believe that (1) the crimes described in those submissions were committed, (2) these crimes are within the jurisdiction of this Court, and (3) they should be investigated by the Co-Investigating Judges.” KRT said that Petit “does not believe that such prosecutions would endanger Cambodia’s peace and stability."
For her part, the Cambodian co-prosecutor, Chea Leang, "believes that these investigations should not proceed on account of Cambodia's past instability and the continued need for national reconciliation, (2) the spirit of the agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Cambodia ("Agreement") and the spirit of the law that established this Court ("ECCC Law"), and (3) the limited duration and budget of this Court." She "feels that this Court should instead prioritize the trials of the five suspects already detained" and "maintains that this Court's mandate can be adequately fulfilled by the prosecution of the suspects already detained."