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Cambodia makes first step to K Rouge justice

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia took the first step on Thursday towards bringing leaders of the notorious 1970s Khmer Rouge "killing fields" regime to justice when the government approved a draft law to set up a special tribunal.

But the key question of a United Nations role in a trial of the aging leaders remained open. A senior official said changes could still be made to the law to satisfy U.N. requirements on justice and enable it to participate.

Senior minister without portfolio Sok An said the cabinet endorsed the draft law on Thursday and it would be sent to parliament and the country's top constitutional body for approval.

"This is the final draft law from the government and the next step is the job of the National Assembly (and) the Senate," he told a news conference.

Cambodia and the United Nations have been discussing a tribunal for the Khmer Rouge for months but have been unable to agree on who would control it.

Cambodia insists it should be in charge, but U.N. legal experts have said the Cambodian judicial system is too weak and prone to interference to guarantee proper justice.

The draft allows foreign judges and prosecutors to participate but leaves their Cambodian counterparts firmly in charge.

A coalition of 17 local human rights groups on Thursday criticised the law and said it could fail to deliver justice.

"While the most recent draft provides for certain important elements...it does not ensure the most essential characteristic -- the independence of the court -- and leaves numerous procedures and definitions unlear," the groups said in a statement.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has said Cambodia is ready to go ahead with a trial without U.N. blessing if the world body cannot accept Cambodia's conditions.

An estimated 1.7 million people were killed during Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979 but none of those held responsible has ever faced trial.

Notorious Khmer Rouge chief Pol Pot died as government troops were closing in on his jungle hideout on the Thai border in April 1998. Most of his old comrades are still alive and living freely after surrendering.

Hun Sen said last month that up to five old Khmer Rouge leaders held reponsible for the slaughter during their rule would be put on trial. He declined to identify them all, but two are already in prison and have been charged with genocide.

Former Khmer Rouge military chief Ta Mok was captured in northern Cambodia last March and the group's chief executioner, Kang Khek Ieu, better known by his revolutionary name "Duch", was arrested in May.

Late last month the government postponed final approval of its draft to give the United Nations more time to offer recommendations on how a tribunal should be set up.

But Sok An, who heads the government team negotiating with the United Nations on the tribunal, said recommendations only arrived on Thursday and the government did not have time to consider them before approving its law.-Reuters