Tuesday, March 20, 2012

War crimes judge quits in disgust

CAMBODIA's UN-backed war crimes court has been rocked by another resignation of an international judge. 

March 20, 2012
AFP

It was the second resignation of an international judge in recent months amid a row over whether to pursue more former regime members.

Swiss co-investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet said that his authority to investigate possible third and fourth cases at the tribunal had been constantly thwarted by his Cambodian counterpart.

"The situation is completely blocked," Mr Kasper-Ansermet said.

In October, German judge Siegfried Blunk quit the court, blaming government interference in two potential new cases, in which five mid-level Khmer Rouge members face a string of allegations including mass killings and forced labour during the regime's 1975-1979 reign of terror.

The United Nations named Mr Kasper-Ansermet, the reserve judge, as Mr Blunk's replacement.


But Cambodia refused to recognise the appointment, prompting an unprecedented row and forcing the Swiss to work without the support of his Cambodian counterpart You Bunleng.

In a statement released by the court, Mr Kasper-Ansermet said that "You Bunleng's active opposition to investigations into cases 003 and 004 has led to a dysfunctional situation".

The judge will stay in his role until May 4. It is unclear whether the UN has a replacement ready, but observers said any future judge would likely face similar difficulties.

"I'm surprised by the resignation but I'm not surprised at what has led to it," said tribunal monitor Clair Duffy from the Open Society Justice Initiative.

"The UN and donors have to address the heart of the problem: that the Cambodian government is trying to control who this court investigates and prosecutes."

The court, set up to find justice for the deaths of up to two million people under the hardline communist Khmer Rouge regime, has for years been dogged by claims of political meddling.

The Cambodian government, which includes many former Khmer Rouge members, strongly opposes pursuing more suspects of the regime beyond the current second trial.

The tribunal has so far completed just one trial, sentencing former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, to life in jail on appeal last month for overseeing the deaths of some 15,000 people at a torture prison.

Duch told the court yesterday that he would help to discover "the truth" in an ongoing second trial against the regime's three most senior surviving leaders who are accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

"I am ready to cooperate with the court," said the 69-year-old, clad in the country's standard blue prison uniform, when asked if he understood he was there to provide "information concerning the truth" about the brutal regime.

The court's potential third and fourth cases were widely expected to be dismissed in the face of government objections, though observers had hoped Mr Kasper-Ansermet would breathe new life into the moribund cases.

You Bunleng, who came under fire last year for closing the probe into the third case without quizzing the suspects or visiting the crime scenes, has repeatedly stated that Mr Kasper-Ansermet's actions are not legally valid because he is not officially accredited.

"I haven't recognised his rights from the beginning. Everything has to be conducted in accordance with the law," You Bunleng said, reacting to the news of Mr Kasper-Ansermet's resignation.

Cambodia said earlier this year it objected to the Swiss because he had used the microblogging site Twitter to draw attention to the controversy surrounding the cases.

Observers have however voiced suspicions that the government may have used the spat as an excuse to keep stalling on the investigations.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

this fired judge looked like he got bad attitude by being disgusted, etc. no wonder they don't want him there. he's not a mellow type of judge, now that's he's mad, who knows what he will do against the rule of law, etc. glad to see he resigned. he's probably real rude to the other judges there.

Anonymous said...

To 12:53 AM, you are stupid and uneducated. Pack your stuff and go back to your Communist Vietnamese brainwashed OK!, REALLY!

How many times have you been posting your nonsense comments on here to support the Vietnamese government puppet under the Vietnamese dog Hun Sen?

You are not talking straight and keeping to show how stupid you are with your stupid expressions are.

Your English is very bad. As someone said before, "Go away and suck your thumb." Do you remember that?

How long have you been tortured or detained by Communist Yuon/Vietnamese CPP officials led by Yuon/Vietnamese dog Hun Sen under the Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi?

Anonymous said...

12:53 AM. Vietnamese WHORE. FUCKING GO AWAY! FUCKING retard. you got anything else to do?

FUCKING WHORE, this judge is fair and decisive. We need this type of judges unlike AH Chkae You Bunleng, only interested in serving your FUCKING CPP!

Understand Vietnamese WHORE? FUCK OFF.