Prosecutor Defends Further Khmer Rouge Charges

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh03 June 2009
The UN’s Khmer Rouge tribunal prosecutor took issue with statements by Prime Minister Hun Sen Wednesday, as a hearing on whether the court will indict more leaders of the regime was canceled.
Hun Sen has said further indictments beyond the five senior leaders of the regime currently in custody could lead to instability. He has said he would rather see the tribunal fail than see the country return to war.
“I don’t believe that anyone in this country, after so many years of peace, is ready [to make] the worst of the worst of some old murders,” UN prosecutor Robert Petit told reporters outside the court Wednesday.
Tribunal judges were scheduled to mediate a dispute on Friday between Petit and his Cambodian counterpart, Chea Leang, who has echoed Hun Sen’s concerns.
That hearing has been canceled, according to local media.
“I think justice will strengthen stability and reconciliation,” Petit said.