The Manila times
January 19, 2008
WASHINGTON: The United States confirmed Thursday that it would consider contributing funds to Cambodia’s cash-strapped tribunal established to try former Khmer Rouge leaders.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack did not say, however, whether Washington had requested an advisory role in the court as a condition for giving financial help.
“The US strongly supports bringing to justice senior leaders responsible for the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime,” McCormack told reporters.
“The department is currently reviewing all the facts about the tribunal and its operations, including whether or not it is capable of meeting international standards of justice prior to making a decision regarding funding,” he said.
The spokesman noted that President George W. Bush’s administration has not made specific funding request to the US Congress for Cambodia’s UN-backed tribunal, which was established in July 2006 with a $56-million budget.
A Cambodian official said earlier that Washington wants an advisory role in Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge tribunal and would consider helping fund the cash-strapped court if given the post.
“This is a condition if Cambodia wants the US to provide funds for the tribunal. Cambodia is considering the request,” said Kao Kim Huorn, a secretary of state with the foreign ministry.
The United States is a key Cambodian donor but has not pledged funding for the tribunal, which has come under fire amid allegations of political interference, corruption and fiscal mismanagement.
Already burdened by a multimillion-dollar shortfall when it opened in 2006, the tribunal is set to run out of funds by March without another cash injection from the international community.
Court officials have said they would embark on a major fund-raising drive early this year as the prosecution of former regime leaders looks set to go forward.
Five top cadre have been arrested so far, with the first trials expected to begin in mid-2008.
Up to two million people died of starvation, disease and overwork, or were executed under the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge, which emptied Cambodia’s cities, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia.
-- AFP
January 19, 2008
WASHINGTON: The United States confirmed Thursday that it would consider contributing funds to Cambodia’s cash-strapped tribunal established to try former Khmer Rouge leaders.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack did not say, however, whether Washington had requested an advisory role in the court as a condition for giving financial help.
“The US strongly supports bringing to justice senior leaders responsible for the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime,” McCormack told reporters.
“The department is currently reviewing all the facts about the tribunal and its operations, including whether or not it is capable of meeting international standards of justice prior to making a decision regarding funding,” he said.
The spokesman noted that President George W. Bush’s administration has not made specific funding request to the US Congress for Cambodia’s UN-backed tribunal, which was established in July 2006 with a $56-million budget.
A Cambodian official said earlier that Washington wants an advisory role in Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge tribunal and would consider helping fund the cash-strapped court if given the post.
“This is a condition if Cambodia wants the US to provide funds for the tribunal. Cambodia is considering the request,” said Kao Kim Huorn, a secretary of state with the foreign ministry.
The United States is a key Cambodian donor but has not pledged funding for the tribunal, which has come under fire amid allegations of political interference, corruption and fiscal mismanagement.
Already burdened by a multimillion-dollar shortfall when it opened in 2006, the tribunal is set to run out of funds by March without another cash injection from the international community.
Court officials have said they would embark on a major fund-raising drive early this year as the prosecution of former regime leaders looks set to go forward.
Five top cadre have been arrested so far, with the first trials expected to begin in mid-2008.
Up to two million people died of starvation, disease and overwork, or were executed under the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge, which emptied Cambodia’s cities, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia.
-- AFP
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