Wednesday, 25 February 2009

The Phnom Penh Post News In Brief

In Brief: Hun Sen says un as guilty as pol pot

Written by Sam Rith
Wednesday, 25 February 2009

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday said that the United Nations and countries that supported Pol Pot at the United Nations from 1979 to 1991 should be tried by the Khmer Rouge tribunal. "[The UN] realised that Pol Pot killed people, but they still supported Pol Pot," Hun Sen said. "Supporters of Pol Pot should be punished more than members of Pol Pot's regime." But the law does not allow trying them because their crimes are too broad, he said. He added that UN delegates who came to Cambodia during early negotiations about the tribunal were the ones who supported Pol Pot.

In Brief: KRT lawyers call to Ban Ki-Moon

Written by Georgia Wilkins
Wednesday, 25 February 2009

International defence lawyers for detained Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea have written to Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, to request the UN's cooperation in investigating corruption at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Delivered via top legal officer Peter Taksoe-Jensen, who met with the government over the issue Monday, the letter urges the government to waive an immunity clause in order to confidentially disclose a report regarding the allegations of kickbacks at the court. "Any individual who has demanded and/or provided money in exchange for employment ... does not possess the requisite integrity to ensure the fairness of the Khmer Rouge trials. "We submit, therefore, that a failure to waive the UN's privileges and immunities at this juncture ‘would impede the course of justice'," the letter states. The lawyers filed an appeal to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court after the court dismissed their request for a domestic investigation into the allegations.

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