6 May, 2011
AFP
PHNOM PENH - SURVIVORS of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime have urged Cambodia's UN-backed court to be more transparent about two politically sensitive new cases against war crimes suspects.
The court, dogged by allegations of political interference and strapped for cash, has yet to announce whether it will go ahead with a third and fourth case against five unnamed members of the brutal 1975 to 1979 regime.
Despite 20 months of investigations, the court 'remains weak in providing meaningful information to the victims' about these two cases, prominent Khmer Rouge survivor Youk Chhang told AFP.
'The millions of Cambodian survivors of the regime deserve to know what the (court) is doing in their name,' said Mr Youk, the head of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which researches Khmer Rouge atrocities.
Frustrated with the lack of transparency at the court, another regime survivor took the unusual step of publicly naming all five suspects in a press release on Thursday. The move puts author and human rights activist Theary Seng at risk of being in contempt of court, legal experts said.
Tribunal monitors have in recent weeks said they expect both cases to be dropped though the court has remained tight-lipped about any new developments. 'The court is being too secretive in relation with these cases,' Clair Duffy from the rights group Open Society Justice Initiative told AFP. -- AFP
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