Cabinet Minister Sok An told donors Wednesday that talks between Cambodia and the UN on the Khmer Rouge tribunal law are not stalled, saying he received a note from the chief UN negotiator just two days ago.
“It is no stalemate. We are still working and communicating [with Hans Corell],” Sok An said.
He said he would send a letter to Corell before Jan 23, when Corell is expected to return from a trip to Sierra Leone.
The government has increasingly blamed the slow pace of the trial negotiations on foot-dragging by the UN. But Corell has said the Cambodian government has yet to answer some of his questions about the trial law, and that he will not schedule another visit to Cambodia until he gets answers.
Sok An said his letter to Corell will address those questions. “I think affairs are moving forward. I never say who is right and who is wrong in this slowness, because each official is busy with other business,” he said.
Sok An said he hoped a trial agreement will be finalized this year, but would not say when he expected a tribunal to convene.
