VZCZCXRO2552
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #1362/01 2080903
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270903Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7086
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2164

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 001362 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, S/WCI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KJUS PREL CB
SUBJECT: KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL BUILDING MOMENTUM 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 1275 
 
     ¶B. PHNOM PENH 941 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary.  Following initial criticism of a slow 
start, progress of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal on a variety of 
fronts has picked up in July, according to the Open Society 
Justice Initiative (OSJI).  OSJI believes the most 
significant new development is the court's adoption of the 
ICC Code of Ethics.  A number of issues remain to be 
resolved, however, including whether international defense 
counsel will be permitted in the court to participate in the 
defense of their clients.  A major step will be the National 
Assembly's passage of a Criminal Procedure Code, which will 
be an indicator of the commitment of the Cambodian government 
to the process.  OSJI believes now that some international 
judges and prosecutors plus their staff are on the ground, 
the ECCC is coming together faster then any previous 
international tribunal.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
International and Cambodian Judges Meet For The First Time 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On July 17, A/DCM and Pol/Econ intern met with 
Heather Ryan and Tracey Gurd from the Open Society Justice 
Initiative (OSJI) to obtain their perceptions of the joint 
judicial training sessions organized in early July for the 
international and Cambodian judges and prosecutors.  The 
following represents OSJI's observations.  Ryan highlighted 
both positive developments and specific gaps in 
administration as upcoming challenges. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  OSJI said that almost all of the Extraordinary 
Chambers (ECCC) observers commented that the initial training 
sessions went better than expected.  The entire group 
appeared heavily committed and engaged in the process of 
drafting the procedures, in contrast with other tribunals in 
which court officials were only involved in the conduct of 
the trial itself and not with issues that define the nature 
and procedures of the court.  For example, court officials 
discussed issues dealing with the "super majority," 
participation of international defense counsel, victim 
participation, and the role of pretrial hearings.  OSJI's 
Heather Ryan praised these discussions as an unprecedented 
achievement in judicial cooperation. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In OSJI's view, the most important development was 
the decision to adopt the ICC Code of Ethics, which Ryan said 
was another step toward reaching international standards. 
The court has also formed two committees: a rules committee 
and a committee which serves to liaise between judges and 
administrators.  In upcoming months, court officials will 
finalize internal rules with a goal of further meeting 
international standards.  In October, there will be a formal 
vote to decide on which rules to adopt.  Following the 
adoption of rules, the Extraordinary Chambers (ECCC) will 
move cases to the investigating judges. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Prosecutors will decide between two approaches: 
either to evaluate evidence based on geographical regions or 
by key figures.  Prosecutors also discussed the scope of 
their indictments.  Though they will follow the mandate of 
finding evidence against senior leaders and those most 
responsible for the crimes, Ryan believed it was possible 
that prosecutors might go after officials at the district 
level, many of whom were responsible for numerous deaths. 
Ryan commented that the Khmer Rouge officials at the district 
level were often the ones who committed gross crimes against 
humanity. 
 
---------- 
Challenges 
---------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Ryan said French judicial officials complained 
that training sessions were conducted in English and Khmer, 
omitting the French language.  They demonstrated their 
unhappiness by answering questions at the press conference in 
French without translation.  There has been some concern over 
the issue of participation from international defense lawyers 
within the court (see reftel B).  However, the ECCC is urging 
the Cambodia Bar Association to change the Association's 
internal rules to allow foreign counsel to defend the accused 
in the court.  Overall defense counsel coordination and 
liaison with the ECCC will be handled by Rupert Skilibeck, an 
Englishman with experience in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, who is 
a UN hire loosely affiliated with the ECCC's Office of 
Administration.  Skilibeck hopes to use the trial to raise 
the standards for defense counsels and help overall reform in 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001362  002 OF 002 
 
 
the Cambodian judiciary. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  OSJI confirmed reports that DC-CAM was reluctant 
to turn over documents to the ECCC (reftel A).  DC-CAM's 
draft MOU requires that a fee of five dollars will be charged 
to view an original document in addition to filling out forms 
that would indicate who wanted to see what form.  Prosecutors 
and defense counsel found this to be problematic due to the 
sensitive nature of litigation and believed it was 
unnecessary.  (Note:  Since reftel A, Chhang has turned over 
microfilmed documents to the ECCC, but he is still seeking to 
negotiate the MOU.  End Note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
ECCC Coming Together Quicker than Previous Tribunals 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Ryan said that some of the professional staff 
hired by the ECCC was excellent, including Steve Heder and 
Craig Etcheson, who are currently assisting international 
prosecutor Robert Petit.  She noted that OSJI has hired a 
technical advisor, Wanda Hall, to assist the ECCC with 
educational outreach.  She singled out Peter Foster, who has 
created innovative media projects for public outreach which 
are far superior to those used in other international 
tribunals.  On the negative side, the Cambodian prosecutor's 
office has taken on three staff, two of whom are considered 
politically biased and easily influenced by the government. 
Cambodian Prosecutor Chea Leang told Ryan that she had no say 
in the selections and the RGC was responsible for the 
choices. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In the next few months, OSJI anticipates that the 
Code of Criminal Procedure will be passed by the National 
Assembly.  In Ryan's view, the relative speed with which it 
is passed will be an indicator of how much traction the ECCC 
has gained with the Cambodian government. 
 
¶10.  (U)  Comment.  OSJI believes that now that the judges 
and prosecutors are on the ground and committed to the task, 
this tribunal is coming together faster than any other past 
international tribunal.  The death in the last few days (see 
septel) of one of the principal defendants in the ECCC, Ta 
Mok, begs the question whether it will come together fast 
enough to ensure none of the other elderly defendants eludes 
justice. 
 
 
MUSSOMELI