Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge court is on the "right track" and the US may eventually decide to help fund the proceedings

Cambodia's KRouge tribunal on right track: US official
Fri Dec 7, 9:04 AM ET



PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge court is on the
"right track" and the United States may eventually decide to help fund
the proceedings, a top US diplomat said Friday.

"Everything that I've seen reinforces my idea that (the tribunal) is
making progress and is moving in a very positive direction," said
Clint Williamson, the State Department's top official for war crimes
issues.

Williamson was in Cambodia to assess the tribunal's progress, and
spoke to reporters after meeting with officials from the court, the
government and the United Nations.

Five top Khmer Rouge leaders have been detained to face charges for
crimes committed by the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

"The arrest of the five suspects is a very, very positive move... and
within the court itself there is a very positive outlook," Williamson
said.

The joint Cambodian-UN tribunal was intended to last for three years,
but officials have indicated that its operations could run another two
years.

The United States has not directly funded any of the 56.3 million
dollars allocated to the court, mainly by other foreign donors.

Williamson said the US government was reconsidering whether to help
fund the tribunal.

"The court is on the right track. A decision about funding is
something that ultimately has to be taken," he said.

"There is an ongoing process, ongoing analysis and continuous
assessment" on whether to fund the court, he said.

Established in July 2006 after nearly a decade of negotiations between
Cambodia and the UN, the long-stalled tribunal seeks to prosecute
crimes committed 30 years ago by senior regime leaders.

Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation and
overwork as the communist regime emptied Cambodia's cities, exiling
millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia
during its rule.

The Khmer Rouge also abolished money, religion and schools.
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