I'm posting some excerpts from a news story about current political events in Cambodia, a country that I visited in 2002. I was particularly interested in this story because of the reference to a war crimes tribunal for the Khmer Rouge.
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Cambodian 'caretaker' takes his prize
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appears days away from ditching the tag of "caretaker" and laying claim to the official mantle of head of the country's government, putting an end to the deadlock that has left Cambodia without a functioning parliament for nearly a year.

The action follows a deal struck last week between the country's two major parties - the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the royalist Funcinpec party (Front Uni National pour un Cambodge Independent, Neutre, Pacifique--or National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia).

Under the deal agreed between the two parties, Hun Sen will continue as the country's prime minister, while Prince Norodom Ranariddh will take over as chairman of the 123-member National Assembly.

Hun Sen first became prime minister of his war-ravaged country in 1985, when it was under Vietnamese occupation. Then, after a United Nations-brokered peace deal in 1991, since which two elections have been held, Hun Sen muscled his way into the premier's post.

The coalition governments that were formed after the 1993 and 1998 elections were made up of Hun Sen's CPP and Ranariddh's Funcinpec.

The 11-month absence of a functioning government has put on hold a range of vital programs for battle-scarred Cambodia, since laws could not be passed in the legislature. Among them is legislation to create a UN-backed war-crimes tribunal to prosecute former leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. Such legislation requires the approval of the new parliament.

Good news came on Friday, however, when Ranariddh announced that the deal his party forged with the CPP calls for a rapid approval of the war crimes tribunal law in the National Assembly.

"Most of the laws have been discussed so there is little that is unknown," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a Phnom Penh-based group that is gathering evidence about the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime. Between 1975 and 1979, when the Khmer Rouge was in power under the leadership of Pol Pot, more than 1.7 million Cambodians died from either torture, starvation or illness. "I am optimistic that if things continue smoothly from now, the tribunal should start by mid to late 2005," said Youk.

But he said funding remains an outstanding issue in addition to the laws being passed. According to current estimates, the trial, to be held in the Cambodian capital, is expected to cost US$50 million.

The war-crimes tribunal will only examine the brutality that occurred between April 17, 1975, and January 6, 1979 - the years when Pol Pot unleashed his reign of terror on the country. Although Pol Pot died in 1998, thus escaping the hands of justice, other Khmer Rouge leaders are due to face the judges at the tribunal. They include Ieng Sary, Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ta Mok and Kaing Khek Iev.

The analyst Kao said delays in passing the war crimes tribunal law and in approving much-needed development projects in parliament were to be expected due to the fractious nature of Cambodia's political culture. "This was part of a political process we had to respect in a country like ours, but a lot of people were never prepared for the negotiations to set up a government to take this long," he said.

Whatever the delay, the script now appears perfect for Hun Sen, who has been faulted by rights groups for the tough and, at times, autocratic methods used to achieve his political ends. The Cambodian prime minister continues to be the region's longest-serving head of government, having stepped into the position of prime minister 19 years ago.

(Inter Press Service)