Jailed Leader Offers Cooperation to Tribunal

Khieu Samphan, right, former head of state, is seen in the video screen set up in the press center of the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, June 30, 2011. The tribunal on Thursday held its fourth day trial on top four surviving members of the Khmer Rouge regime, blamed for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians in the 1970s. The court is expected its initial hearing to end Thursday, said a court officer. (Photo: AP)

Thursday, 30 June 2011
Reporters, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

Jailed Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan told judges at the UN-backed tribunal on Thursday he was “ready” to cooperate with the UN-backed court and to explain some of the actions of the regime while he was nominally president.

Khieu Samphan spoke on the fourth day of a preliminary hearing that opens the way for a full trial of four Khmer Rouge leaders later this year. Many Cambodians who attended the hearing said they hope they will receive some justice for the atrocities perpetrated by the regime more than 30 years ago.

“I think this is a very important moment for me and for my fellow Cambodian citizens who are hungry to understand what happened between 1975 and 1979,” Khieu Samphan, who is nearing 80, told the court.

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