Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The U.N. this week finally received enough donations to set up a tribunal to try Khmer Rouge members for genocide. The followers of Pol Pot will be charged with creating Cambodia’s infamous “killing fields,” in which more than 1.5 million died of starvation, forced labor, disease, and executions in just four years. Piles of skulls are still being discovered. The regime was overthrown in 1979, when the Vietnamese invaded, but Cambodia has been reluctant to agree to internationally supervised trials—partly because the prime minister, Hun Sen, was himself a low-ranking Khmer Rouge member. Many Cambodians fear the tribunal comes too late. Pol Pot died in 1998, and other top Khmer Rouge leaders are ailing.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.