The Phnom Penh Post

During a press conference at the ECCC Wednesday, national Co-Prosecutor Chea Leang told reporters that her opposition to additional prosecutions at the court was not the product of political pressure. (Chea is the niece of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.)

Of Hun Sen's public remarks that he would rather see the tribunal fail than pursue more suspects, Chea said, "I think it is his right to speak. ... But his speech is not related to our work here."

She said her opposition to additional prosecutions was firmly grounded in Cambodian law, which says prosecutors must "consider the public interest." Chea has contended that pursuing more suspects would lead to civil unrest.

From the start of Comrade Duch's trial, his defense attorneys have argued that their client is a scapegoat, that the former S-21 torture chief does not qualify as one of those "most responsible" for the atrocities committed during the period of Democratic Kampuchea. It is certainly true that there was an extensive network of detention centers throughout the country. Why aren't their chairmen on trial? Why is Duch being singled out for prosecution?

In his testimony before the tribunal last week, Khmer Rouge scholar Craig Etcheson thoroughly addressed these questions. Duch, he said, "was indeed different" from other chairmen. He makes a compelling case.

While there were more than 200 security centers throughout DK, S-21 was unique for a number of reasons, Etcheson said. It was the only prison that could arrest cadre from all echelons (even the all-powerful Standing Committee) and detain prisoners from throughout the entire country. In terms of staff, "S-21 was in a category all by itself," he continued. Over 2,000 people worked at S-21, making it 50 times to 200 times the size of other detention centers.

Because the Cambodian Government, international donors and United Nations have failed to adequately address corruption allegations at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, the court's judges are now the best hope for salvaging the ECCC's legitimacy, scholar John Hall writes in today's Wall Street Journal.

Failing to do so could "deal a fatal blow to the court's credibility," he writes.

In March, defense lawyers for Nuon Chea filed a request with the Co-Investigating, asking that they investigate the alleged kickback scheme at the court. The judges denied the request, saying it was outside of their jurisdiction. The defense teams are appealing that decision.

Co-Investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde told members of the press Wednesday that he hopes the pre-trial investigation of Case 2 will be complete by the end of this year. This case file includes the other four defendants in custody. Case 1, that of Comrade Duch, is being tried now.

The investigation of Case 2 must be finished before indictments can be issued against Duch's co-detainees. But once the investigation is complete, parties can request further investigative action or appeal the findings, delaying the start of an actual trial.

Lemonde said the goal of finishing investigation by the end of 2009 was "a very ambitious one given the complexity of the file."

Journalist and expert witness Nayan Chanda testified at the tribunal Monday and part of Tuesday about armed conflict between Cambodia and Vietnam during the period of Democratic Kampuchea. Throughout the late 1970s, the Khmer Rouge waged repeated "nibbling" attacks across the border into Vietnam, often massacring Vietnamese civilians, he told the court.

While those associated with Vietnam were purged internally, Khmer Rouge leaders called on their people to kill all 50 million Vietnamese. In the end, this virulent hatred led to the regime's downfall.

Convinced that the Khmer Rouge were pawns of the Chinese, the Soviet-backed Vietnamese eventually decided to hit back hard, Chanda said. They drove the Khmer Rouge into the jungle and took control of the country for a decade.

After a long debate last week over how supporting documents should be entered into the court record, Khmer Rouge scholar Craig Etcheson was finally allowed to continue his testimony Thursday afternoon.

The expert witness spent a good deal of time describing the methods of communication used to disseminate party messages throughout the Democratic Kampuchea hierarchy. His testimony suggested more frequent and extensive communication among party echelons than I had previously realized existed under DK.

According to Etcheson, the Standing Committee -- the highest body in DK -- met quite often, sometimes twice a day. Although Khieu Samphan was not a full rights member of the Standing Committee, he was present during a great number of these meetings. Only party Deputy Secretary Nuon Chea attended more, he said.

During Thursday's proceedings at the ECCC, defense attorney Francois Roux once again raised the issue of projecting proper names for audience members to see. I've raised this issue before and still think it would be incredibly beneficial for comprehension of the proceedings.

Since many names referred to in session are Khmer, they can be very difficult for non-Khmer speakers to understand. I would assume the same is true for English and French names.

Judges instructed the tribunal's IT staff to begin looking into the issue this week. I hope they do and it is resolved quickly.

I'm having some trouble with the paper's website right now, but as soon as the problem is resolved, I will post about Thursday's proceedings. Scholar Craig Etcheson was finally allowed to resume his testimony in the afternoon.

In the meantime, check out this piece in the Post about the court's latest warning to controversial defense lawyer Jacques Verges.

During a press conference at the ECCC Wednesday, Deputy Director of Administration Knut Rosandhaug told reporters he was satisfied with the court's progress -- and that he's planning to stay.

Contrary to a public perception that has been fueled by the media, he said, "I'm very happy working at the court." Rosandhaug said he had recently renewed his contract for an additional year.

The press conference marked the start of a new public affairs effort at the tribunal. Recently-appointed Chief of Public Affairs Reach Sambath told reporters that each Wednesday the press office will make a various set of court officials available for questioning.

After a two-week recess, the trial of Comrade Duch continued Monday with testimony from Khmer Rouge scholar Craig Etcheson. But although Etcheson began answering judges' questions late in the day Monday, proceedings were sidetracked Tuesday by trial management issues.

He is expected to resume his testimony Wednesday around 10:30 a.m.