Cambodia, U.S. upbeat after Havana talks

Cambodia, U.S. upbeat after Havana talks

PHNOM PENH (AP): Cambodia and the United Nations appear closer to a deal to jointly try Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide following a meeting between UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodian and U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The United Nations announced after the Wednesday meeting in Havana that the two leaders agreed to a new round of negotiations as soon as possible to solve outstanding differences on the proposed tribunal.

A senior negotiator of Hun Sen's reacted positively to the UN statement, saying the two sides were inching closer to an agreement to find justice for the 1.7 million victims of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in the late 1970s.

"After each meeting we get some results," negotiator Om Yentieng said. "The door is still open."

Cambodia and the United Nations have bickered for more than a year over which side would hold effective control of indictments and judgments in an unprecedented joint tribunal.

The main remaining sticking point appears to be how co- prosecutors - one Cambodian, one UN-appointed - would resolve disputes over who should stand trial.

The United Nations initially demanded an independent foreign prosecutor, but Cambodia rejected the formula, fearing that too many indictments of former Khmer Rouge could upset the country's newfound peace.

The Khmer Rouge seized power 25 years ago, forcing Cambodian's entire population into slave-like farming collectives. Resulting starvation, disease, overwork and mass executions caused the deaths of one in four Cambodians.

The brutal regime was toppled in 1979 by a Vietnamese invasion, but the group survived until the late 1990s in guerrilla bases on the jungled border of Cambodia and Thailand.

The United States has acted as an informal go-between during the drawn out talks for a tribunal. U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts traveled to Havana this week, conferring with Annan before his meeting with Hun Sen.

The U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, Kent Wiedemann, said that Annan and Hun Sen "covered a lot of additional ground" and appeared closer to solving the prosecution impasse.

"But they didn't quite get there all the way," Wiedemann said. "Clearly both sides continue to strive for closure and agreement."

Cambodian and UN negotiators, who last met in Phnom Penh in March, will meet again "in the shortest amount of time" either at UN headquarters in New York or in Phnom Penh, according to the UN statement.