Presence of Foreign Lawyers for Civil Parties Could Render Justice To A Certain Extent
Avocates San Frontieres France (ASFF) has established a lawyer team composed of 10 French lawyers and 8 Cambodian lawyers to provide free legal support for the complainants and civil parties who wish to seek justice in the Khmer Rouge tribunal, jointly established by the United Nations and the [Royal Government of Cambodia].
ASFF is a French legal aid organization which provided defence lawyers to poor people in Cambodia in 2006, and now it has announced to act for the civil parties in the Khmer Rouge tribunal for free.
Lawyer Philippe Canonne, French, has already been sworn in to represent the civil parties in the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
Philippe Canonne said that Avocats San Frontieres France was representing a civil party against Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, former Tuol Sleng prison chairman, one of the five Khmer Rouge suspects being detained provisionally at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
Seng Theary, Center for Social Development’s executive director, who is also a civil party in the Khmer Rouge tribunal, said that she welcomed the ASFF’s French lawyers who volunteered to represent the civil parties for free in the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
The director was delighted with the presence of the civil parties’ lawyers from developed countries, like France. “They have high legal knowledge and they can balance between the legal system in the Khmer Rouge tribunal and the law of Cambodia in order to give justice to the victims who are the civil parties,†she said.“The presence of the foreign lawyers for the civil parties could render justice to a certain extent,†said Seng Theary, adding that those lawyers were skillful in representing the case.
According to Khmer Rouge tribunal monthly report released on June 16, 2008, the Victims Unit of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has 19 lawyers, including 8 Cambodian lawyers, to represent the civil parties of the 1,290 complaints the Victims Unit has received. Those lawyers have been approved by the Bar Association of Cambodia.
I am waiting to see if KRT will plan to arrest 3 more KR officials!
The international community has urged the co-judges and the co-prosecutors to revise laws and evidence in order to indict 3 other former senior Khmer Rouge officials.
Up to now, five former Khmer Rouge leaders have been detained pending trial. They include: Ieng Sary former deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister; Khieu Samphan, former chairman of State Presidium; Nuon Chea, former president of People’s Representative Assembly; Ieng Thirith, former minister for health and social actions; and Kaing Guek Eav, a.k.a. Duch, former chief of Tuol Sleng prison, known as S-21 torture center.
However, in the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s compound, eight detention cells have been built, and five of them have been occupied.
An unofficial source said that the 3 former Khmer Rouge leaders to be charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes are the military officers who are currently serving in the Cambodian Royal Armed Forces after their integration with Phnom Penh Government in 1996.
Civil society organizations’ officials deem the plan to arrest 3 more senior Khmer Rouge leaders not important because they think the tribunal should try the five Khmer Rouge detainees very soon in order to give justice to Cambodian victims and indicate justice to almost 2 million Cambodians who died during the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror.
Donor Countries Deciding Whether To Fund KRT?
The Khmer Rouge tribunal, which is currently facing the budgetary, shortfalls has submitted a new budget to the standing committee of the donor countries in
Experts who have close relation to the donor countries said that both Cambodian government and the UN requested only $48 millions more for continuing the process of the tribunal for two years, 2008 and 2009. Moreover, the donors have a chance to donate more funds to the tribunal from 2009 to 2010 if the Cambodian government and the Khmer Rouge tribunal are willing to arrest and try more Khmer Rouge leaders and people most responsible for Khmer Rouge regime.
The observers of the tribunal said that giving the money is not a problem for the donors but the problem is that there is no agreement between the Cambodian government and the international community on the number of suspects to be tried. Moreover, the duration of the tribunal and the different budgets between the Cambodian government and the United Nations are also problematic. Hisham Mousar, a legal expert who monitors the tribunal for the rights group Adhoc, said that the concern of the donors is not on the money but on how the money is used and the expenses of the tribunal.
The civil societies are worried about the plan of the government to hand over the tribunal’s buildings back to the military forces in 2009 while the judicial process of the tribunal is still in progress. And whether or not the tribunal accuses new suspects is also a concern. Recently the tribunal has reduced its budget from $114 millions so that it is easy to get fund from the donors.
Some civil society officials and observers are not optimistic that the tribunal could seek justice for the victims because it has already spent millions of dollar without concrete results in return. And the corruption allegations are not solved yet.
New Administrative Deputy Director to Be Sworn In
According to a source in Khmer Rouge tribunal, Michelle Ly has resigned as the deputy director of the tribunal’s Office of Administration, due to political suppression and her own reason, for she is a Chinese, a chief supporter of the Khmer Rouge regime, which caused the death of as many as almost 2 million Cambodians for more than 3 years. She is scheduled to leave Cambodia on June 1st.
Mr. Knut Rosandhaug, a Norwegian, was the former UN chief responsible for the Kosovo Property Claims. He used to work as an Assistant Law Professor and serve as a Legal Officer under the Norwegian Defense Command at the UN. The presence of Knut Rosandhaug as the deputy director of the tribunal’s Office of Administration is believed to strengthen the hybrid tribunal. The good thing is that Rosandhaug is not a Chinese, who is difficult to make decision when he knows that the deaths of millions of people in Cambodia was due to the material and ideological supports from China.
The news of Michelle Lee’s resignation last year created chaos and was believed to be part of the obstacle for the process of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, commenced with interruptions. However, Michelle Lee claimed that it was actually her normal retirement.