Category Archives: Cambodia

December 8, 2009 · 12:37

And I thought Burma’s courts were bad…

One theme I regularly discuss on this blog is the constitutionalization or legalization of undemocratic rule in Southeast Asia. As despots have known for centuries, legal formalities can shroud anti-democratic and grossly illiberal tactics. In the Wall Street Journal, Carlyle Thayer professor of politics at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, recently discussed how Hun Sen‘s Cambodian People’s Party is beginning to rely upon courts to undermine political opponents rather than military coups (such as his 1997 coup against Ranariddh).
According to Thayer:

the country is once again on the brink of another political upheaval. This time, the battle lines are being drawn in courts rather than in the streets, but the effect will be the same—the slow but sure consolidation of authoritarian rule.

CPP-influenced courts regularly dismiss lawsuits brought against the government while convicting opposition deputies of defamation.

The immediate concern is (as always) Sam Rainsy. The CPP-dominated legislature recently stripped opposition leader Sam Rainsy of his parliamentary immunity, clearing the way for a provincial court to charge him with willfully destroying property (based on an odd incident at the Vietnamese border last month).

Generally, when a single-party or authoritarian government uses courts to prosecute political enemies, that is a strong indication that the regime is confident about its influence over the courts. Generally, after revolutionary or military juntas come to power, the leadership will purge the courts as much as possible. This sometimes involves establishing “special” security courts to handle politically sensitive cases that the regime doesn’t yet trust judges to handle. However, after gaining control over the courts, either by corrupting judges or replacing them, the regime then often utilizes courts against political dissidents to cover their actions in a thin veneer of legal legitimacy. The most prominent and obvious case of this has been Aung San Suu Kyi’s ongoing trial in Burma. However, I’ve seen similar patterns in China, Iran, and Brazil. There, the military junta knew far in advance how the judge would rule. It appears Cambodia under Hun Sen is taking a similar route to legalizing autocracy.

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Filed under authoritarian, Cambodia, Carlyle Thayer, Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy

December 7, 2009 · 14:49

More on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal…

The American Society of International Law has published an interesting ASIL Insight that focuses on disputes between national and international prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. International prosecutors want to open investigations into Khmer Rouge leaders beyond the original five already in the dock, while national prosecutors argue it would fall outside the KRT’s jurisdiction (and possibly lead to civil strife). Needless to say, both must agree in order for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to function effectively. Unfortunately, the article concludes that the entire process might become (or appear) compromised as prosecutors make decisions based on the political interests of their stakeholders rather than the law. This would diminish its credibility severely among the Cambodian people, as well as donors (the KRT’s budget is already pitiful compared to other international tribunals).

You can download the entire article here.

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December 5, 2009 · 00:48

Will the Rule of Law Bring Back the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia?

Hun Sen has periodically warned the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) risks reigniting reopening old wounds if it expands its jurisdiction beyond the five Khmer Rouge leaders already on the docket.* According to The Straits Times, he claimed:

I am not interfering with the court. But it is not the court that stopped the war. Be careful – the court will create war, causing division of society again,’ Hun Sen said in a speech in the capital Phnom Penh.

Obviously, this claim is self-serving, as many suspect Hun Sen fears the KRT could upset his allies, both among the ruling elite, local villages, and abroad. However, does he have a point? Could international criminal courts actually prevent political and societal reconciliation? 

I’ve always been a bit disturbed by the fact that  it seemed to be Western lawyers, rather than Cambodians themselves, who really demanded justice for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. Despite the KRT’s many problems, there probably isn’t much evidence to support the claim that post-conflict justice might actually reopen old wounds. Many international criminal courts actually face the opposite problem. For example, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda suffers from local credibility problems, especially because most Rwandans do not have TV or radio and cannot follow court proceedings (the ICTR is located in Arusha, Tanzania). The International Criminal Court has run into its own credibility problems, such as being unable to enforce an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Bashir. 
Certainly, the Cambodian people do not support impunity – in fact, if the data in this poll are still accurate, upwards of 97% of Cambodians support trials against Khmer Rouge leaders (I apologize, I couldn’t find more recent polls). However, the KRT seems destined to suffer its own credibility problems. First of all, the delay – it is now over 30 years since the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge. Second, the KRT’s hybrid structure means that Western and Cambodian prosecutors and judges must agree on whether to initiate more prosecutions against other Khmer Rouge leaders – and very often they haven’t agreed. Public participation also seems low. Of the 17,000 victims at Duch’s S-21, only 169 civil parties have come forward to the prosecution. It seems the real fear isn’t, as Hun Sen claims, renewed civil war, but rather the gnawing sense that the KRT will not satisfy public demands for justice.
* Prison Chief Kaing Guek Eav (a.k.a. Duch), whose trial concluded last week, as well as propagandist Nuon Chean, former president Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary, and his wife, former minister of social afairs Ieng Thirith.

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Filed under Cambodia, Khmer Rouge Tribunal