By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Attorneys at the Khmer Rouge tribunal asked judges for permission to interview Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and former King, Nordom Sihanouk.
Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge member, became the Prime Minister of a Vietnamese-installed communist government after the fall of the regime. Hun Sen ruled Cambodia for two decades and is currently serving as Prime Minister.
The defense team for Nuon Chea asked for the testimonies. Nuon Chea is believed to be the main ideologist for the Khmer Rouge Regime that killed nearly 2 million Cambodian people from 1975-1979. Nuon Chea is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity and faces life imprisonment as the tribunal does not issue the death penalty.
The defense team said that Nordom Sihanouk, the former King who served as a symbolic head of state after the Khmer Rouge took power had “rare access of the Khmer Rouge leadership, their strategies and policies” and was “privy to a range of sensitive information.”
The Associate Press obtained confidential court documents that requested the testimony of current senate president Chean Sim and assembly president Heng Samrin. Chean Sim, Heng Samrin, and Hun Sen were all former Khmer Rouge members who defected to Vietnam before the regime was ousted. “They are likely in possession of much relevant information to the pending judicial investigation,” one of the documents said. All have denied any role in atrocities.
Nuon Chea’s attorney, Son Arun confirmed the authenticity of the documents but said he did not file the requests personally. The Associate Press understood his comments as an apparent move to distance himself from putting Cambodia’s prominent officials on trial.
After long delays, the United Nation backed tribunal begins later this month with Kaing Guek Eav better known as “Dutch” on trial on March 30th. Nuon Chea’s trial is expected to begin later this year.
For information, please see:
AP – Cambodia PM testimony sought at Khmer Rouge trial– 2 March 2009
Asia News –Hun Sen could testify at trial of Khmer Rouge– 2 March 2009
The Star – Politics delays international justice – 3 March 2009
