Judge: Cambodian genocide court faces funds crunch

By SOPHENG CHEANG

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Funding for some operations of Cambodia's genocide tribunal, already tarnished by corruption allegations, may dry up by the end of the month and cause local staff to walk out, a judge said Monday.

The warning by Judge Kong Srim, president of the Supreme Court Chamber, raised the prospect of yet more disruption to the long-delayed U.N.-assisted tribunal, which is seeking justice for the estimated 1.7 million Cambodians who died during the brutal 1975-79 reign of the communist Khmer Rouge.

Political and procedural disputes between Cambodia and the United Nations have delayed the tribunal's launch . It has been 13 years since Cambodia asked the U.N. to help establish the special court, which still has not heard any testimony, and many fear the defendants — already old and infirm — could die before they face justice.

The judge's statement came as it was revealed that defense lawyers want to question the country's prime minister and former king, which could revive an uncomfortable debate about the roles each played during Cambodia's holocaust.

Kong Srim told reporters the tribunal would not have sufficient funds to pay Cambodian staff salaries this month.

"It hardly seems reasonable for judicial officers and staff to be expected to continue working without remuneration," Kong Srim said. He added, however, that Cambodian and U.N. officials "are confident that this problem will shortly be resolved." He did not explain how.

The U.N. Development Program, which manages the funds contributed by international donors for the Cambodian side of the court, froze disbursements last July pending an investigation into allegations that the Cambodian personnel were forced to pay kickbacks to obtain their positions,

Aid donors have warned they will reconsider their pledges if the allegations of corruption are not satisfactorily resolved.

The allegations, which were originally leveled two years ago by the Open Society Justice Initiative, a New York-based watchdog group monitoring the tribunal, have been publicly denied by Cambodian and most U.N. officials.

A report surfaced last week on the German legislature's Web site alleging that a top U.N. tribunal official had acknowledged the kickbacks and accused a senior Cambodian administrator of corruption.

The head of public affairs for the tribunal refused to comment on the report, which has been removed from the Web site.

"I can't comment on a document I haven't seen about a meeting I was not at," Helen Jarvis said Monday.

Legal maneuvering ahead of the trials meanwhile continued.

According to confidential documents obtained Monday, the defense team for Nuon Chea, the main Khmer Rouge ideologist, is seeking court permission to interview Prime Minister Hun Sen and former King Norodom Sihanouk.

The documents also request testimony from Senate President Chea Sim and Assembly President Heng Samrin. Both men, along with Hun Sen, were members of the Khmer Rouge but defected to Vietnam before the regime was ousted.

"They are likely in possession of much relevant information to the pending judicial investigation," one of the documents said. All have denied any role in atrocities.

The defense team said that the 86-year-old former King Sihanouk, who briefly served as a symbolic head of state after the regime took power, had "rare access to the Khmer Rouge leadership, their strategies and policies" and was "privy to a range of sensitive information."

Son Arun, Nuon Chea's Cambodian attorney, confirmed the authenticity of the documents but said he had not personally filed the request.

The tribunal's first trial, scheduled to begin March 30, is for 65-year-old Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge's largest torture center. Later trials will be held for Khieu Samphan, the group's former head of state; Ieng Sary, its foreign minister; and his wife Ieng Thirith, who was minister for social affairs.