Law Paves Way for Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Cambodia took a big step toward obtaining justice for victims of the murderous Khmer Rouge as King Norodom Sihanouk signed a law Friday enabling the establishment of a U.N.-assisted genocide tribunal.

Sihanouk’s action brings the prospect of a trial closer than ever, but the timing and nature of such a proceeding remain open to questions.

Cambodia and the United Nations must work out details of international involvement in the tribunal, in which foreign judges and prosecutors would participate along with Cambodians.

The world organization took a cautious approach to news of the signing, saying it wants to review the law and an official translation.

The Khmer Rouge is blamed for the deaths of more than 1 million people when it ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, but most of its former leaders live freely here.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998, and no one has been tried for the regime’s atrocities.

Under the law, surviving leaders of the group could be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes.

“About the judgment and condemnation of those Khmer Rouge archcriminals, I don’t have any objection,” Sihanouk said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge officer who defected at an early stage of the group’s brutal rule, has said Cambodia would hold the trial alone if the U.N. refuses to participate.

Human rights groups in the country and abroad believe that Cambodian courts by themselves cannot deliver real justice because of a relative lack of competence, along with a history of being open to corruption and a willingness to do the bidding of Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party.