Saturday, 11 April 2009

Justice Still Possible for 1997 Attack: Opposition

Sam Rainsy, president of Cambodia's opposition party, SRP.




By Poch Reasey, VOA Khmer
Washington
10 April 2009

The ongoing trial for jailed prison chief Duch has demonstrated that in Cambodia, though the wait may be long, the pursuit of justice is possible, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Thursday.

The UN-backed tribunal trial of Tuol Sleng prison chief Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, which began March 30, was part of a trend that started some 20 years earlier to punish those responsible for Khmer Rouge crimes, Sam Rainsy said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

Similarly, he said, the investigation into the perpetrators of a grenade attack on opposition supporters in March 1997 is still underway.

“When the Khmer Rouge tribunal is all over, I believe we will be able to bring those responsible for the grenade attack in 1997 to justice,” Sam Rainsy said.

At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 were injured, when unknown assailants threw grenades into a crowd amassed in front of the old National Assembly building on March 30, 1997.

No one has been arrested for the attack.

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