BKKanalist Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 I think this belongs in the Thai news section as this man had such an impact on Thailand over the years. ............................................... Former Khmer Rouge forein minister detained, taken to Cambodia genocide tribunal KER MUNTHIT, Associated Press Writer November 11, 2007 8:17 PM PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Police detained the ex-foreign minister of the brutal 1970s Khmer Rouge regime and his wife Monday and brought them to Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal Monday to face charges, an official said. Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, are both accused of involvement in the slayings of political opponents during the 1975-79 radical communist regime, according to documents from prosecutors seen by The Associated Press. Ieng Thirith served as the regime's minister for social affairs. Police detained the couple at their Phnom Penh residence at dawn. Officers later brought them to tribunal offices, where they were to make an initial appearance before the judges later Monday, said tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath. He did not elaborate on the charges they would face. The radical policies of the Khmer Rouge blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million people from starvation, disease, overwork and execution. None of the group's leaders have faced trial yet. Both are accused of involvement in the slayings of political opponents, according to documents from prosecutors seen by The Associated Press. The arrests of Ieng Sary and his wife had been widely anticipated, as they were believed to be two of five unnamed suspects earlier listed by tribunal prosecutors. Two others have already been taken into custody. Ieng Sary, thought to be 77, was not available for comment. But like other surviving Khmer Rouge leaders, he has repeatedly denied responsibility for any crimes. The tribunal was created last year after seven years of contentious negotiations between the United Nations and Cambodia. Critics have warned that the aging suspects could die before ever seeing a courtroom. Ieng Sary served as a deputy prime minister as well as foreign minister in the Khmer Rouge regime. Ieng Sary, ''promoted, instigated, facilitated, encouraged and/or condoned the perpetration of the crimes'' when the Khmer Rouge held power, according to a July 18 filing by the prosecutors to the tribunal's judges, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. It said there was evidence of Ieng Sary's participation in crimes included planning, directing and coordinating the Khmer Rouge ''policies of forcible transfer, forced labor and unlawful killings.'' ''I have done nothing wrong,'' Ieng Sary told The Associated Press in October in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was visiting for a medical checkup. ''I am a gentle person. I believe in good deeds. I even made good deeds to save several people's lives (during the regime). But let them (the tribunal) find what the truth is,'' he said without elaborating. The alleged crimes of his wife, Ieng Thirith, who is believed to be 75, included her participation in ''planning, direction, coordination and ordering of widespread purges ... and unlawful killing or murder of staff members from within the Ministry of Social Affairs,'' the prosecutors' filing said. Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998, and his former military chief, Ta Mok, died in 2006 in government custody. Nuon Chea, the former Khmer Rouge ideologist, and Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge S-21 torture center, were detained earlier this year on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=WORLD&ID=565120462657815298 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 I am a gentle person. I believe in good deeds. I even made good deeds to save several people's lives (during the regime). But let them (the tribunal) find what the truth is,'' he said without elaborating. Yeah right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 Cambodia is like Thailand, not much will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 Cambodia is like Thailand, not much will happen. Khmer Rouge leader 'very sick' Khieu Samphan, who wrote the manifesto for the Khmer Rouge killing fields, was flown from his Pailin home to hospital today, after reports he was about to be arrested for war crimes. He was placed under military guard after reports he had collapsed at his home in Pailin, near the Thai border. His family claimed he had tried to get to Thailand because of the superior medical care but that he had been refused permission to cross the border. http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=123579 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 Maybe they can re-open Tueol Sleng and give these guys a taste of what they gave to others...then maybe one or 2 last sets of bones in the killing fields...if you ask me, Pol Pot got off easy. No real ideas why all this took so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 Maybe they can re-open Tueol Sleng and give these guys a taste of what they gave to others...then maybe one or 2 last sets of bones in the killing fields...if you ask me, Pol Pot got off easy. No real ideas why all this took so long. maybe we should ask Mr. Kissinger? :evil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 He's in hiding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 Maybe they can re-open Tueol Sleng and give these guys a taste of what they gave to others.. Maybe they could find some holding cells to put the yanks in that created the situation in the first place. By ousting prince Sihanouk and replacing him with an animal like Lon Nol they created the basis for the Khmer Rouge takeover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 I just knew it was all those damned Yanks' fault. Wikipedia: "In 1966 and 1967, Sihanouk unleashed a wave of political repression that drove many on the left out of mainstream politics. His policy of friendship with China collapsed due to the extreme attitudes in China at the peak of the Cultural Revolution. The combination of political repression and problems with China made his balancing act impossible to sustain. He had alienated the left, allowed the North Vietnamese to establish bases within Cambodia and staked everything on China's good will. On March 18, 1970, while he was travelling out of the country, Lon Nol, the prime minister, convened the National Assembly which voted to depose Sihanouk as head of state and give emergency powers to Lon Nol." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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