US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday the reason the US supports the proposed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia is because “it’s the only judicial game in town,” news agencies reported.
Speaking to US lawmakers at a congressional hearing, Powell reportedly addressed a question by a Republican senator who asked why Washington supported a “flawed” tribunal based on “Cambodia’s broken judicial system.”
“I have the same concerns you have about the preponderance of justices being Cambodians who might not mete out justice in the way we would like to see it meted out,” Powell was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
“But we will have international judges on the court as well, so at least these aging defendants will be brought before a tribunal.”
The UN and Cambodia reached an agreement nearly a year ago to form a mixed tribunal to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. However, Cambodia’s National Assembly has yet to ratify the trial agreement with the UN.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to soon present a report to the General Assembly that will ask donors to fund the often criticized tribunal plan, estimated to cost about $50 million.
“Whether or not [the defendants] will be convicted or not I can’t say and I wouldn’t even suggest that they would be convicted,” Powell said, according to AFP.
“But they will be brought before a court if this court gets up and running and functioning.”
CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith declined to comment Friday.
The UN and the government agreed last year to a tribunal with two chambers. The Trial Chamber will have three Cambodian judges and two international judges, while the Supreme Court Chamber will consist of four Cambodian judges and three international judges.
Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said Friday that international judges were a must.
“The tribunal cannot be credible without international judges. Without international participation, the tribunal is meaningless,” he said.
