PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The United Nations-backed tribunal trying
former Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide said Saturday that it would pay several
months of overdue salaries for its Cambodian staffers, in rare good news for
the troubled body.
The tribunal has been beleaguered
by political and financial considerations since its establishment in 2006. It
spent $141.1 million through 2011, and so far has completed only one trial,
finding the head of a Khmer Rouge torture center guilty of crimes against
humanity and other offenses.
The tribunal said in a statement
that it would provide funds covering January through April this year, but did
not specify how much would be given. Foreign and Cambodian personnel are paid
under separate budgets.
The tribunal is tasked with
seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during its 1975-79
reign of terror, when an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died from forced
labor, starvation, medical neglect and execution.
In mid-2011 it began trying four
former top members of the Khmer Rouge for genocide. Last year, one defendant,
former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, was ruled mentally incompetent to
stand trial, and was freed from custody. Her husband and co-defendant, Ieng
Sary, the Khmer Rouge’s foreign minister, died earlier this month.
The two remaining defendants in
the current trial are former head of state Khieu Samphan, 81, and the group’s
chief ideologist, Nuon Chea, 86.
The defendants’ age and poor
health have raised concerns that they may not live long enough to hear a
verdict. The tribunal ruled Friday that a medical exam determined that Nuon
Chea was fit to stand trial, but expressed concern about the state of his
health.
Tribunal officials are seeking to
prosecute other former Khmer Rouge leaders, but Cambodian Prime Minister Hun
Sen has warned that more trials will “not be allowed,” claiming they could
cause unrest. Many people in Cambodia’s government, including Hun Sen himself,
are former Khmer Rouge officials.
The current trial has been
stalled for weeks due to the financial problems as well as the ill health of
the defendants, who have been repeatedly hospitalized.
Translators for the tribunal went
on strike in early March over their pay complaint. They agreed to resume work
after being paid their wages for December.
Tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra
said Saturday that the government, which is responsible for paying the
Cambodian staff, and the United Nations were continuing negotiations about the
shortfall of funds and how to pay salaries for the rest of the year.
Foreign aid donors have provided
millions of dollars for the tribunal, but most of it is earmarked for the
international staff.
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