KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL "FRIENDS GROUP" MEETS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000316 CORRECTED COPY //TO CORRECT PARA CLASSIFICATION MARKINGS// SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, D, P, DRL, IO, S/WCI TOKYO PASS TO AMBASSADOR WILLIAMSON USUN FOR M. SIMONOFF E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV KJUS PHUM CB SUBJECT: KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL "FRIENDS GROUP" MEETS FOR FIRST TIME IN A YEAR: SOLID JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE MEETS EXTERNAL SHOCKS REF: A. PHNOM PENH 297 ¶B. PHNOM PENH 264 PHNOM PENH 00000316 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES A.I. THEODORE ALLEGRA FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In its first meeting in a year, the "Friends Group" of donors at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) focused May 6 on the substantive work of the court and the array of administrative challenges the court faces to meet external problems. The judicial proceedings were reported to be going smoothly, with one trial under way and another planned. The Friends Group -- which includes donors and the UN and Cambodian administrators -- heard about investigations into Khmer Rouge atrocities hampered by historic KR policies of mass relocation and records destruction. The court's hybrid nature has led to significant language interpretation difficulties, and its inclusion of victims as civil parties means more management tasks. While international media attention was phenomenal for Duch's trial (the S-21 torture center head),the court's sustained reach to either local or international audiences was reported as weak. Perennial budget difficulties -- labeled by the UN deputy as a "constant threat of bankruptcy" -- are a chief impediment to tackling these external shocks effectively. The Charge urged the UN and Cambodian partners to urgently settle on an anti-corruption mechanism (Ref B) once and for all. In the meantime, as the French co-chair underscored, it is time for the ECCC to put an end to looking backward at past acts of corruption and instead look ahead to the real challenges facing the court in order to maintain the international standards expected of it. Deputy Prime Minister Sok An indicated to Charge in a separate May 6 meeting that he was seeking a way forward in stalled negotiations with the UN on the anti-corruption mechanism. END SUMMARY. Cases Going Well, but Face External Setbacks -------------- ¶2. (C) Cambodian Acting ECCC Director Tony Khranh began the Friends Group meeting with an impressive account of the judicial progress over the past year. In addition to opening the first case against Duch in February, the judges held their fifth plenary in March, the Supreme Court Chambers assembled for the first time, and the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) has rendered over 50 procedural and final decisions, reported to form "a firm foundation for the jurisprudence of the ECCC." The PTC will also rule on an appeal to prosecute additional suspects in early June (Ref B). The first case will likely extend until September, according to the administrators. In the second case against four senior Khmer Rouge leaders, the evidence is amassing, but investigations in the provinces were slow and sometimes faced significant difficulties in tracking down witnesses. ECCC Deputy Director Knut Rosandhaug opined that the second case would not have a closing order (indictment) until near the end of the first quarter of 2010, and the actual trial would not start until mid-2010. ¶3. (C) The court was still short-staffed in the interpretation section by one third of the required staff, especially French interpreters. Since most Cambodians now choose English as a second language, the court had to revert to a relay system (Khmer to English to French and vice versa) to provide on-the-spot interpretation to the international lawyers on the defense teams. Given that the proceedings were digitally recorded and a written transcript was provided later, the effect on the fairness of the proceedings was not considered to be material. Nonetheless, the ECCC was working to upgrade this area, notwithstanding the difficulties in recruiting posed by an unpredictable future budget. Donors also heard that document translation needs were being met for the investigation teams, and that the second case did not have significant backlogs. Talented Recruits Balk, Question If Jobs Will Remain PHNOM PENH 00000316 002 OF 003 -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) ECCC Chief of Personnel M. Rong Chhorn reported that the court was operating efficiently with 252 Cambodian staff members, less than the 321 positions allocated. He noted that this efficiency would continue as the court re-allocated filled positions to meet current needs as they were identified, and that UN staff has helped to choose Cambodian national staff since early 2008. Chhorn also stated that some highly talented Cambodian nationals selected for positions did not accept the jobs because they questioned whether the court would still be operating in a year's time. Rumors of the court's budget difficulties were having an impact on the recruiting, he concluded. (NOTE: When informed of this difficulty later that evening, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An appeared surprised to learn of it. END NOTE.) ¶5. (C) The court's financial report showed that both the UN and the Cambodian sides had sufficient funds until the end of 2009. The Cambodian side reported the budgeted cost of operations from 2006 to the end of 2009 as $19.1 million but would spend only the amount of $18 million by year's end. Given the savings realized of $1.1 million in 2008, the Cambodian side could operate until the end of the year without additional donations. Nonetheless, the Cambodian side requested that the UNDP release the $885,000 in funds frozen since last year. UNDP's Jo Scheuer noted that the UNDP could not release the funds absent a credible anti-corruption mechanism, adding that three communications to DPM Sok An on this matter had not yet been answered. The UNDP remained open to further discussions on the matter, he said. Bankruptcy and the Need for an Anti-Corruption Mechanism -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) With "bankruptcy just around the corner" during most of its operating life, ECCC Deputy Knut Rosandhaug urged the donors to pay more attention to the court's operating budget for the sake of a smoothly operating judicial process. The Charge, noting the sense of urgency that this precarious financial situation raised, urged both sides to tackle afresh the anti-corruption measures and reach an agreement in as expeditious manner as possible on such a mechanism. While most other donors nodded in agreement, none spoke up to add points of their own to the Charge's presentation on this issue. Victims and Civil Parties -------------- ¶7. (C) Victim Units Head Keat Bophal reported that 94 civil parties to the Duch case were represented by 4 groups of lawyers. However, she said the real difficulty remained with the 3500 forms presented to the court by victims in the second case. So far, 37 lawyers had presented themselves in the second case, and more would join, all of whom would be formed into three teams. Bophal said that it might not be until September before all the victims in the second case were properly registered at the ECCC. The French Ambassador noted that the court had not yet provided for handling of foreign victims. (NOTE: We know of one U.S.-registered lawyer in the second case who has several clients from among the Cambodian refugee community in the U.S. END NOTE.) ¶8. (C) The UN's Rosandhaug referred to an ongoing debate among the judges about how to handle the civil parties who were allowed to participate as a means to better incorporate Cambodian victims into the court's proceedings. The Australian Ambassador emphasized the importance of the meaningful participation by the victims. The Charge stressed that NGO's could play a vital role in facilitating participation of victims and civil parties. Bophal agreed that intermediary organizations could help provide quality information to the victims and assist their participation in the court's proceedings. PHNOM PENH 00000316 003 OF 003 Public Relations -------------- ¶9. (C) Cambodian ECCC Public Affairs officer Helen Jarvis touched on the international media attention at the beginning of the Duch trial (240 journalists attended) and noted that local television and radio picked up the proceedings some of the time. In addition, a video streaming feed is available on-line (http://www.cambodiatribunal.org) and DVD's of each day's proceedings are made available, usually within 24 hours. The court had the largest public gallery among international tribunals, with 494 seats. Ironically, Cambodia's digital backbone could not sustain the videostreaming very effectively, but it works well in most modern-equipped nations, she said. The modern courtroom facilities, with computer hookups at every desk and the ability to present evidence electronically from a state-of-the art case management system, was also noted. Nonetheless, most donors appeared to expect more in terms of public outreach from the court, as expressed by the Australian Ambassador who remarked on the public's "high expectations." ¶10. (C) In wrapping up the presentations, the French Ambassador noted that the anti-corruption mechanism must be resolved soon. Only by solving this problem could the donors and staff of the ECCC squarely face the challenges of the court's judicial proceedings, especially since perennial budget worries gave the court a constant sense of emergency. (A text of the ECCC Cambodian national side's remarks has been sent to the Desk.) Sok An on the KRT -------------- ¶11. (C) The evening of May 6, Sok An met Charge to review a human rights case about to enter the courts (Ref A),but spent more than half of the time talking about the corruption allegations in the ECCC. Sok An indicted that he was upset about international press coverage of allegations against former ECCC Director Sean Visoth, who reportedly ran a salary kickback scheme at the ECCC. (NOTE: Sean Visoth has since left the court in a politically expedient maneuver by the Cambodians, and is off the ECCC payroll. END NOTE.) Sok An reviewed past UN dissembling during the 1997-2002 negotiations on a UN-Cambodian agreement to form the ECCC, and painted the current tactics of UN/OLA ASYG Peter Taksoe-Jensen in that light. He pitched his own most recent offer to Taksoe-Jensen (sent to donors on April 10) -- referring to the principles of confidentiality and anonymity -- and noted that he had received Taksoe-Jensen's last written proposal via an April 17 letter. But most of all, Sok An expressed exasperation with the process and a clear disinclination for negotiation by letters back and forth. Charge noted S/WCI Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Clint Williamson's upcoming visit and recalled how previous USG officials had helped Cambodia break through stalled negotiations. ¶12. (C) COMMENT: We agree that the good work of the KR Tribunal has too much at stake to ignore the many administrative challenges it faces or to under-fund the court's operations. Getting a credible anti-corruption mechanism in place must remain a top priority so that all can re-focus energies on the real and pressing needs of the court. Sok An seemed very tired of the negotiation process and very eager for creative and specific advice on how to move forward on that issue. We believe that Sok An thrives on personal interactions and that Amb. Williamson's visit is a perfect opportunity to engage creatively on how to break the current deadlock. We are seeking two meetings with Sok An -- at the beginning and end of Amb. Williamson's visit -- to pursue just such an effort. ALLEGRA