Cash crunch threatens Cambodia's war crimes court

Phnom Penh, Feb 10 (AFP) Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes court has been dogged by controversy since its creation but now the UN-backed tribunal faces a potential threat to its very existence -- it has run out of money. The court's 2013 budget still has not been approved by international donors, who have appealed in vain for Cambodia to provide extra funding before they inject more money themselves. While the contracts of the tribunal's international staff have been extended until June, about 270 Cambodian employees -- including drivers, prosecutors and judges -- have received no pay since November. The court, whose top donors include Japan, the European Union, Australia, France, Germany and Britain, urgently needs USD 9.5 million for 2013. A relatively small amount on paper but a fortune given the strained relations between the donors and the government, accused of doing nothing to save the court, which is trying top leaders of the murderous, hardline communist regime that ruled the country in the late 1970s. "There is a certain weariness among donors who are fighting to finance the tribunal and often have the impression that the government is not fully mobilised on the issue," said a foreign diplomat who did not want to be named. "Nobody seems to have money to pay." Other court observers talk of a standoff between the donors and the government of strongman Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge cadre who defected and went on to become prime minister in 1985. "There are two cars driving full speed at each other to see who will be the one who makes a turn first to avoid the crash," a foreign official at the court said on condition of anonymity. Set up in 2006 after years of negotiations, the tribunal has so far survived controversy over allegations of corruption, political interference and slow progress in achieving justice, as well as a string of high-profile resignations. Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of the population through starvation, overwork or execution in a bid to create an agrarian utopia. Ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary, "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea and one-time head of state Khieu Samphan are on trial and deny charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Health fears have long hung over the court with the octogenarian defendants all suffering from varying ailments. (AFP) DGA HAZ 02101149 NNNN