Cambodian amnesty bid

Cambodian amnesty bid

The haste with which Cambodian leader Hun Sen is moving to
secure an amnesty for Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary is in striking
contrast to the long wait for justice for the victims of the
Killing Fields.

The Maoist guerrilla group has appeared on the brink of
collapse several times over the last two decades but on each
occasion foreign maneuvering and domestic political interests
have combined to save it, rehabilitate it and perhaps most
cruelly, even give it international legitimacy despite its
crimes.

Hidden away on the border with Thailand, the movement lost its
last remaining political relevance after it boycotted the 1993
election. Nevertheless, the leaders continued to organize
seasonal killing campaigns and grew rich on border trade.

But now the revolution looks closer than ever to sputtering to
its death, ironically in part because of an unseemly turf war
over the gem and timber riches around Pailin.

And some of the leaders want an amnesty. A pardon for some of
the worst crimes against humanity this century. Redemption from a
death sentence passed by a Cambodian Court in 1981. It is an idea
Hun Sen fully supports.

'Why do I prefer to grant him amnesty?' Hun Sen asked on
Saturday. 'Because I strongly need to stop the war.'

After 30 years as a member of the central committee, Ieng Sary
now claims that he was not involved or even aware of the Khmer
Rouge's worst atrocities, saying he was only No. 6 in the lineup.
It is a defense that is disingenuous and incredulous.

After decades of turmoil, war and revolution Cambodia is
rebuilding. The Khmer Rouge tried to obliterate the past, wipe
out existing culture and religion and start anew. They succeeded
in part which makes the process of rehabilitation that much more
difficult.

If Cambodia is to have any sort of future it must be built on
principles, not political shortcuts. The dead, and the young who
will inherit this scarred country, are owed at least that.

-- The Nation, Bangkok