|
By restricting the scope of prosecution to those
crimes committed inside Cambodia during the four horrific years of Khmer
Rouge rule, the Great Powers that supported Pol Pot in the period hope to
avoid embarrassment for the misguided policies that gave raise to the
power of the regime and for the support the gave after the murderous
regime was ousted with Vietnamese support.
Why is the Khmer Rouge tribunal important? Keep
in mind the Buddhist culture of Cambodia: revenge is only an issue for
some of the elite who want to create instability as a way to topple the
current political leaders. In a Buddhist view, the perpetrators "have
already punished themselves." |
The importance of the trial is to establish the
truth. Many Cambodians have no understanding of what overcame them and
their country. Only if the trial can establish that truth, will it be meaningful.
But the restriction on the competency of the court to the infamous four
year that the Khmer Rouge was in power, implies that the court stands no
chance of achieving that.
Considering this, the question remains open if
the millions that will be spent on the trial could not be spent better on
development, rebuilding the country of the destruction, caused by those
same Great Powers that brought the regime in power and later supported it. |
