KRT appoints new chief of troubled personnel department

By Craig Guthrie
The Mekong Times
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) has appointed a new chief of personnel to the Cambodian side of the UN-backed court, which was rocked by corruption allegations earlier this month.

Keo Thy Vuth has been replaced by Rong Chhorng, the former secretary general of the National Com­mittee for Population and Development (NCPD) at the Council of Ministers, KRT Public Affairs chief Helen Jarvis said yesterday.

"I am happy to have this opportunity to contribute to this institution which is of significant historical importance," said Rong Chhorng.

Sean Visoth, the KRT's chief of administration, said that he believed the appointment would strengthen the court, which is about to move into its crucial trial phase.

Helen Jarvis said that the court believes the ap­pointment will strength­en the court's human re­sources management.

Allegations of corrup­tion among the Cambodian staff at the court recently resurfaced following pre­vious accusations made by legal watchdog NGO the Open Society Justice Initiative.

The allegations, which prompted the UN Development Program to last week halt its funding to the court, are currently being reviewed by a UN oversight committee in New York.

The court is expected to hold its first public trial in September or October, with former S-21 torture center chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, facing the charge of crimes against humanity.


Extracted from the Mekong Times
Issue No. 131
Tuesday, August 12, 2008