Agence France-Presse
Khmer Rouge survivors reacted with dismay Tuesday as a top regime leader walked out of his genocide trial for a second day and a co-defendant sought acquittal under a 15-year-old amnesty.
The elderly suspects’ defiant attitude underlined the challenges facing Cambodia’s UN-backed warcrimes court in a case long awaited by victims of the 1970s totalitarian movement, which wiped out nearly a quarter of the population.
“Brother No. 2″ Nuon Chea, wearing a woolly hat and his trademark sunglasses, refused to stay for the second day of proceedings focused on preliminary legal objections by his co-defendant, Ieng Sary.
Nuon Chea said he would only return to “actively participate” when his own case was discussed, and was escorted out of court by security guards.
On Monday, the 84-year-old had left the courtroom after only half an hour in protest at the handling of the investigation and legal proceedings.
The four accused face charges, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, over the deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork, torture or execution during the Khmer Rouge’s brutal 1975-79 rule.
“Nuon Chea is a bad person. I am quite disappointed with his behaviour,” said farmer Thein Ouen, one of hundreds of people watching the hearing from the public gallery.
“I think he does not want to take part in the trial. We want him to tell us the truth about the Khmer Rouge, but he is trying to hide it.”
The four elderly defendants, who also include former head of state Khieu Samphan and one-time social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, are allowed to be absent if they refuse to co-operate.
Ieng Sary, a former foreign minister, further angered victims of the regime with his claim that he should not be tried because he was granted a royal pardon and amnesty in 1996 in exchange for leading a mass Khmer Rouge defection.
The complex trial, expected to take years, is seen as vital to healing the traumatized nation’s deep scars.
But Va Chhorn, who was also watching from the public gallery, said of the defendants: “They are trying to avoid their responsibilities. This is not good.”
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