TAKHMAU – A trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders must be held and is “unavoidable,” Prime Minister Hun Sen told teachers and students on Monday.
Hun Sen also asked political parties not to use violence or intimidation ahead of July’s scheduled general elections.
The prime minister’s comments on the Khmer Rouge came the same day as a team of government negotiators, led by Minister of Cabinet Sok An, was due to meet with UN officials to discuss a possible joint UN-Cambodian government tribunal to prosecute the top leaders of the Pol Pot regime.
“We have been waiting for 24 years. Right now [the world community is] acknowledging that what Pol Pot did was wrong,” Hun Sen said. “The genocide trial has to be held.”
In past speeches, Hun Sen has noted that the UN recognized the Khmer Rouge in the 1980s as Cambodia’s official government. He has also threatened to hold trials of top Khmer Rouge leaders without the UN’s involvement.
The government and the UN have been involved in negotiations to form a tribunal since 1997. The UN announced in February 2002 it was pulling out of talks, saying the government could not guarantee the court’s independence. But a resolution approved by the UN General Assembly last month has sent UN officials back to the negotiating table.
Hun Sen on Monday also urged Cambodians to avoid all violent acts, including using weapons and verbally attacking other people or political parties. Parties which use force to win votes act “stupidly” and show that their political skills are “young” and undeveloped, he said.
“We have to respect [voters’] decisions. To love political parties is the people’s right. We can’t force them,” he said.
In December, the US State Department released a statement that said at least 14 politicians and activists have been killed since the beginning of 2002. The statement also urged the government to step up efforts to bring perpetrators of those crimes to justice.
Ministry of Interior Spokesman General Khieu Sopheak said in response last month that the statement was only a “partial assessment.” But he said the government also shares the US’ concerns of political and election-related violence.
Committee for Free and Fair Elections President Koul Panha praised Hun Sen’s appeal to stop political violence on Monday. But he also urged the government to punish those who use force.
“I think the government should take measures against intimidation because offenders are always free,” Koul Panha said.
Koul Panha asked the government to uphold the Cambodian law, which declares that civil servants must remain politically neutral.
“The government has to punish officers who use their duties to serve political parties,” he said.
Acts of intimidation in the national elections will be a topic of discussion for the National Election Committee and the ministries of Interior and Defense, NEC spokesman Leng Sochea said Monday. The three bodies will provide recommendations on how intimidation can be stopped for the elections, he said.
Any act of intimidation related to the elections will be investigated by the NEC, said Legal Service and Dispute Department Director Keo Phalla Monday.
Government officials who misuse their power to influence voters will be suspended or fired from their jobs, he said. Candidates who intimidate voters will be stripped of their candidacy.
Hun Sen also said on Monday that today’s holiday commemorates “the birthday for all Cambodian people”—the day in 1979 that Phnom Penh was liberated from the Khmer Rouge regime by Vietnamese and Cambodian troops.
“If there is no January 7, there is no everything,” he said.
Hun Sen said that some political parties also felt intimidated by political leaders when recognizing the importance of Jan 7. He said some parties did not dare to praise the anniversary because they would be praising Hun Sen as well.
