Press Conference by Deputy Secretary Negroponte in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

John D. Negroponte, Deputy Secretary of State
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
September 16, 2008

QUESTION: When you talk about the 1.8 million in funding to the KRT, will it be contributed directly to the UN side or the Cambodian side – this is the first question. Secondly during you talk with the Prime Minister Hun Sen, did he ask for UN intervention on the issue of the border problem with Thailand.

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: On the first question subject to correction by the Chargé d’affaires I believe that the contribution will be made to the UN side – the 1.8 million and I would stress again that this is an initial contribution and I think the important point about the contribution is that it represents a threshold contribution by the United States to provide material support to the tribunal.

 

Your second question I believe related to the dispute with Thailand over the temple, and what I would like to say here is that we think that this is a dispute a difference that should be resolved peacefully between Thailand and Cambodia and that it should be preferably resolved bilaterally between the two countries. We think that is the most effective way of dealing with this problem, and we think that it is important that the use of force or coercion be avoided at all costs because that would risk undermining some of the great progress that has been achieved in this region in terms of peaceful economic development.

 

QUESTION: Good morning Deputy Secretary – my name is Douglas from the Cambodia Daily and I’ll try and be brief. I have two questions regarding the Khmer Rouge tribunal. One was that as you well know there has been a congressional ban on funding the tribunal pending a finding by the State Department that the Cambodian judiciary is free and fair and that the court meets international standards. If you could tell us about that review – whether or not it has been completed.

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Let me first say that my understanding is that that ban no long exists – it expired about two years ago. That would be the fist point – the second is that I think I’ll ask the Embassy to put out a fact sheet about the tribunal so that some of the details that I may not have complete mastery of can be made clear but I think what my point that I would make is that we believe that the conditions are both appropriate and opportune to make this contribution and we have been talking to our congress and those who are interested in the tribunal and I think there is generally a consensus that this is a good time to move forward in support of the tribunal.

 

QUESTION: Just quickly my second question concerned the fact that the funding for the court would soon expire this would appear to be one moment where donors have the greatest leverage to request changes in the court. Could you tell us how the US feels about the possible investigation of corruption claims in the court and any changes that need to be made?

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Well as I mentioned in my prepared statement we think it is important that the court be managed properly and we will certainly spare no effort on our part to ensure that not only our resources but the resources of the international community as a whole are put to good use and this is certainly one of the themes that we will be emphasizing with those concerned. There have been some issues about the management of the court but they have not risen to the level where we felt that it justified withholding any contribution to the court. We think it is a good time to go ahead, we’ll have as a result of that a voice along with the other donors and certainly when we see issues and problems we’re going to be sure that they are called to the attention of the right people.

 

QUESTION: Ker Munthit from AP – can you elaborate a little bit whether there will be conditions or a mechanism that the US will attach to the contribution to make sure that the money…

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: I think I said – at the risk of being repetitive I really believe that I’ve said all that I can say. If you want further background from the Charge d’affaires or the Embassy I would refer you to them after the press conference.

 

Question: Good morning to you sir – I am Madra from Reuters – sir you said Washington is going to fund 1.8 million for this year – will the US look to further contribute to the tribunal in the future?

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Yes – I think that is our hope, it definitely is in our planning and we have included a proposal in the budget for future years that calls for continued contributions to be made to the court. That of course will require, any budget in any system requires the approval of the legislature but that is certainly the position of the executive branch so we’ll make this initial contribution but in future fiscal years we hope to be able to continue to make a contribution and hopefully even increase the size.

 

QUESTION: Hello sir – another quick question. Why the US want to give funds to the KRT now, why not before.

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Well I mean I think one of the reasons that was mentioned is there had been reservations in the past on the part of our Congress but I think the point to make here is first of all we have decided to go forward, and secondly I think that like many other people we think it is important that this tribunal be able to carry out its work and succeed. There have been a number of people arrested now who are awaiting trial. There is a trial that is about to take place perhaps as early as November. I had the opportunity to meet a Canadian prosecutor. So this seems to be a distinctly opportune moment to make an announcement about our contribution but I think the main thing is that we want to help this tribunal succeed, and we think it definitely has the chance to succeed.

 

QUESTION: Just today you met the opposition leader and what did you talk about with them and what about the compromise between the opposition leaders and Hun Sen’s government

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Well I think it would probably not be very prudent of me to comment in any detail about questions that have to do with the relationship between the government and the opposition I did have a opportunity to meet with a couple of opposition leaders, those who had members elected to the national assembly and in the election that took place in July I also had a chance to meet with members of civic society both here and when I was up in Siem Riep. I think the point that I would make is that in July Cambodia had it’s fourth national election since 1993. You’ve had elections for a national assembly in 93, 98, 2003 and now in 2008 and this for a county that emerged from such difficult circumstances this is a very positive track record a very positive development and each of these elections have been progressively less violent and have been carried out under better and better conditions so we welcome that and we think that that bodes well it augers well for the future of Cambodian democracy.

 

QUESTION: Did you advise them to go to the swearing in ceremony in the palace?

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Look – I didn’t offer any particular advice frankly. I listened more than I gave advice. I haven’t been to Cambodia in many many years and for me this was an opportunity to listen and learn about what is happening here and certainly it is not for me to give advice, specific tactical advice to the political actors here. We certainly favor democracy, we favor human rights, we support elections and we want them to be fair and free but I think that our concerns and the kind of advice we give is at a more general level than what is being suggested by your question.

 

QUESTION: Good morning, my name is (inaudible) – I would like to ask you could you please tell us about FBI progress in the investigation of the journalist’s killing in July, Mr. Kim Sambo from Mnesekah Khmai?

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Right – I’m aware of the fact that the FBI is cooperating with the Cambodian authorities in investigating this killing, and I think that is a positive thing I think it is a welcome development and we want to be as helpful as we can but I happen not to know what progress is being made and normally as you can appreciate even if I was aware of some of the details we would probably not reveal them at this stage because investigative matters are usually kept confidential until they are ready until the investigators or the investigative authority is prepared to make its findings public, so even if I did know any of the details it would not be appropriate for me to reveal them publicly. I think perhaps I’ll take one more question.

 

QUESTION: I’m from thePhnom Penh Post – for military relations between the US and Cambodian government – what further developments can we expect, and can we expect the US to provide lethal material to Cambodia.

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: I think that the focus of our effort is in such areas as peacekeeping, support for peacekeeping efforts and we welcome Cambodia’s role in that, especially as I said in my statement they have been the beneficiaries of peacekeepers in the past, and they have peacekeepers in the Sudan. Demining efforts, perhaps some officer training in exchanges, so it’s that kind of focus that we have at this particular time. Another would be ship visits, visits by some of our naval vessels, we’ve had several in the past year and we can imagine, we can visualize those continuing and perhaps increasing but those would be the kind of areas in which we contemplate a military cooperation between the two countries. I want to thank you for this opportunity – ok – one last question.

 

QUESTION: Just would like to know will the White House invite Prime Minister Hun Sen. Is there any plan for that to happen?

 

DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE: Well I’m not aware of any such plan and at the moment as you know we’re in the final stages of our own electoral campaign between now and the 4^th of November and we will have a new administration in January so I would think that any possible meetings at that level and in Washington would probably have to wait till the next administration although I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that our leaders might meet one way or another during the course of some of the international meetings that are taking place between now and the end of this year.

 

Thanks you very much.

Source: US Department of State

US pledges US$1.8 million for Cambodian tribunal

The Associated Press

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The United States will give US$1.8 million to Cambodia’s genocide tribunal to aid its work in trying former Khmer Rouge leaders for their alleged crimes against humanity, a top U.S. official said Tuesday.

The pledge will be the first direct U.S. contribution to the U.N.-assisted tribunal, which inches toward convening a trial for its first suspect later this year.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said the U.S. government believes “the conditions are both appropriate and opportune to make this contribution.”

The tribunal has detained five former Khmer Rouge leaders on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“We want to help this tribunal succeed, and we think it definitely has a chance to succeed,” Negroponte said at a press conference at the end of a three-day visit to Cambodia.

The money will be given to the tribunal’s U.N. side, which is staffed by international personnel. The tribunal, which is seeking justice for atrocities committed in the 1970s under the Khmer Rouge’s rule, is jointly run by Cambodian and U.N. officials under a pact both sides signed in 2003.

The radical policies of the ultra-communist Cambodian group, which ruled from 1975 to 1979, caused the death of some 1.9 million people from starvation, diseases, overwork and execution.

Negroponte also toured the S-21 prison, the largest Khmer Rouge torture center in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, to see what he called “a reminder of the holocaust.”

It is now known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, and holds exhibits of prisoner’s mug shots, skulls, and other traces of the crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge’s brutal rule.

“It’s a very moving experience to see this museum, to see the reminiscence of the holocaust,” Negroponte told The Associated Press after touring the museum early Tuesday morning.

He said the site is “a reminder of the holocaust that took place, and I think it’s important to document it.”

Up to 16,000 men, women and children were held at the prison before being taken out for execution before the Khmer Rouge’s regime was ousted from power by a Vietnam-led invasion in 1979.

Washington has spent more than US$7 million over the past decade to support the work of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, an independent group that collects evidence of Khmer Rouge crimes.

The group has given many documents to the tribunal to assist it in investigating cases against the Khmer Rouge suspects.

More U.S. funds would also be available for the tribunal in future fiscal years, Negroponte said.

But he added that the U.S. “will certainly spare no effort” to ensure that all donor contributions “are put to good use,” following recent mismanagement and corruption scandals faced by the tribunal.

The pledge came at a useful time as the existing funds for the U.N. side of the tribunal’s operations are expected to be completely exhausted in December, said Peter Foster, a tribunal spokesman.

He said Cambodia and the international community have invested a great deal of time and money in making the tribunal happen and it would be “a real tragedy for it to fail now.”

Germany to sign 50-million-dollar aid agreements with Cambodia

The Earth Times – August 12, 2008

Phnom Penh – Germany was scheduled to sign two aid agreements with Cambodia Wednesday that would allocate more than 50 million dollars to the impoverished Asian nation, embassy officials said. The two agreements were worth 24.7 million and 26.7 million dollars, an embassy official said Tuesday. 

The first is an agreement on technical cooperation that includes technical support on social welfare projects and developments in electricity supply, agriculture and irrigation. 

The second is for financial cooperation for projects including social welfare, reproductive health, electric power programmes in rural areas and rural infrastructure. 

“This is direct bilateral cooperation,” the embassy official said. “It does not include the substantial amounts being provided by Germany through various non-government organizations.” 

Negotiations on the development aid agreement were concluded in October and a signing ceremony scheduled Wednesday at the Foreign Ministry would formalize them, the embassy official said. 

Germany is an important donor to Cambodia and donated millions to the joint UN-Cambodian court set up in July to try former Khmer Rouge leaders.

Cambodian tribunal indicts Khmer Rouge jailer

August 12, 2008 – By KER MUNTHIT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s genocide tribunal formally indicted a former prison chief of the country’s notorious Khmer Rouge on Tuesday, paving the way for a historic trial.

The U.N.-assisted tribunal said in a statement Tuesday that its investigating judges issued the indictment upon ending their investigation of Kaing Guek Eav — also known as Duch — whose Phnom Penh prison was used as a torture center.

Duch, charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, is the first suspect to be indicted by the tribunal. He and four other former senior members of the Khmer Rouge, who held power in the late 1970s, were taken into custody last year.

The radical policies of the communist group are considered responsible for the deaths of some 1.7 million people from starvation, disease, overwork and execution. No senior member of the group has ever stood trial for the atrocities.

The tribunal’s announcement marks another “important moment in the history of the court,” said Peter Foster, a spokesman for the U.N.-assisted tribunal.

He said the indictment sets the stage for the first trial of the tribunal, which began its work in early 2006. No date has yet been set for a trial, but tribunal officials have previously said it was expected to begin in late September.

Duch, 66, headed S-21 prison, the Khmer Rouge’s largest torture facility, which used to be a school and is now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. About 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been held there. Only 14 are thought to have survived.

When Duch was detained by the tribunal in July last year, he was charged only with crimes against humanity, with the war crimes charge being added with the end of the investigation against him.

Duch will be tried by a panel of five judges — three Cambodian, one French and one New Zealander — according to a 2003 pact between Cambodia and the United Nations establishing the tribunal.

The other four suspects being held by the tribunal are former top lieutenants of late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, who died in 1998. They are former head of state Khieu Samphan, former chief ideologist Nuon Chea, ex-Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who served as the Khmer Rouge social affairs minister.

They also face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Cambodian politics and disagreements between the government and the U.N. delayed the establishment of the tribunal for years. Its work was further delayed by disagreements among judges over the procedural rules and controversies involving allegations of kickbacks among Cambodian staffers.

The tribunal, which is mostly funded by donations from foreign donors, is facing a budget crunch. The $56.3 million that was originally earmarked proved inadequate because the tribunal has had to recruit more staff and expand its work.

A revised budget estimated the cost of carrying out the tribunal’s work through 2010 to be $143 million. The tribunal is $86.7 million short of that goal.

Judges preparing for first trial on genocide in Cambodia

The Associated Press - July 31, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Cambodian and international judges are making final preparations to begin the trial of the former commander of a Khmer Rouge torture center who is charged with crimes against humanity, a tribunal official said Thursday.

The trial of Kaing Guek Eav, 65, alias Duch, who headed the notorious S-21 prison and torture center, is scheduled for late September, said Helen Jarvis, a spokeswoman for the United Nations-assisted tribunal.

The trial is a key step in Cambodia’s long wait for justice for atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge rule in the late 1970s. Some 1.7 million people perished.

“To have the director of that institution on trial for crimes committed will be of enormous importance in understanding the Democratic Kampuchea regime,” Jarvis said, referring to the Khmer Rouge’s official name at the time.

The prison in Phnom Penh was the Khmer Rouge’s largest torture facility, and has now become the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

About 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been held there. Only 14 are thought to have survived.

The tribunal has been set up under Cambodia’s court system, which follows the French model in which case files are handled by investigating judges before being handed to other judges for the actual trial.

The five judges who will try Duch’s case include three Cambodians and one Frenchman, Jean-Marc Lavergne, who took up their positions in July. A fifth judge from New Zealand, Silvia Cartwright, is to arrive in Cambodia later this week, Jarvis said.

Duch is one of five suspects being held for trial. The others are former top lieutenants of late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

They are former head of state Khieu Samphan, former chief ideologist Nuon Chea, ex-Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who served as the Khmer Rouge social affairs minister.

They face charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.