No khmer rouge trial

Cambodian Premier Hun Sen said a Khmer Rouge trial was a “fait accompli,” indicating there was no need for a trial because the genocidal movement had already been dismantled. “To me, the trial of the Khmer Rouge is a fait accompli,” he said. “We have dismantled the political and military organisation of the Khmer Rouge already.”

Fait accompli is a French expression for something that has already been done. No Khmer Rouge criminals have gone on trial, however, and Hun Sen appeared to be saying a trial was no longer needed. He was speaking to a news conference after major world powers and institutions pledged $470 million in new aid to Cambodia, asking in return for economic reform, a smaller Army and human rights protection.

Addressing the start of the donors’ meeting in Tokyo the previous day, Hun Sen also appeared to reject widespread calls at home and abroad for Khmer Rouge criminals to be brought to justice. Calls for a genocide trial have mounted since the December defection to the government ofKhmer Rouge leaders Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, both architects of the 1975 to 1979 regime which claimed up to two million lives.