Cambodian Khmer Rouge trial judges protest graft allegations

Mar 9, 2007, 8:59 GMT

Phnom Penh - Cambodian judges appointed to the Khmer Rouge tribunal sent an open letter Friday requesting the withdrawal of allegations made by a respected international human-rights organization that they paid kickbacks to obtain and keep their positions.

The letter - signed by Kong Srim, president of the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and issued through the tribunal's press department on behalf of all Cambodian judges involved in the upcoming trial - said the February 14 claims of corruption by the George Soros-funded Open Society Justice Initiative were untrue and deserved an apology.

'This unsubstantiated allegation, which has been published by a number of national and international media, creates public confusion and seriously undermines the reputation and integrity of all national judges appointed to the ECCC,' the letter said.

It added: 'All national judges of the ECCC hereby affirm to you and the public at large that our decisions to work for the ECCC were made without being subject to any pressure or promise as mentioned in your statement.

'We all clearly understand that bringing justice to the people of Cambodia, especially victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, is a mission that requires the highest level of professional responsibility. Therefore, we request you correct by appropriate means this unsubstantiated allegation.'

On Wednesday, local media published an open letter from Open Society Justice Initiative executive director James Goldston urging the tribunal to mount a thorough and transparent investigation into the allegations for the sake of the credibility of the hearings both at home and abroad.

Goldston acknowledged that his New York-based organization had not provided concrete proof to back the allegations but said it was the group's job to bring the matter to public attention.

He said it was the job of the tribunal to investigate and to show the public and donors to the 56-million dollar trial set up to bring a handful of former top leaders of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge to justice that it was capable of handling such allegations and stamping out corruption if it existed rather than ignoring it.

Days after the organization made the allegations, the tribunal announced it would not deal with the group any further. Sources close to the court said there was suspicion among some government officials in the former Communist nation that the timing of the allegations was political with nationwide commune elections scheduled for April 1.

Friday's letter was issued as the tribunal's local and international judges continued to try to thrash out differences between a number of different legal systems and come to agreement on internal rules for the court, without which proceedings cannot move forward.

The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, during which time up to 2 million Cambodians perished under one of the most brutal regimes of the past century.

Several prominent members of the current Cambodian government were Khmer Rouge cadre before defecting and overthrowing that regime, and some groups have expressed doubt that Cambodia, with its endemic corruption and complex political past, is capable of holding a trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders to international standards and on budget.