Khmer Rouge tribunal’s operations in peril?

Students from Prey Veng province visited the Khmer Rouge
tribunal Jan 4, 2013. Photo courtesy: ECCC

The national staff at the Khmer Rouge tribunal threatened that they would stop work in February if they don’t get their salaries.

Over half of the national staff at the UN-backed tribunal said that they haven’t got their December salaries and demanded an explanation, according to a court official. 

The court’s spokesman, Neth Pheaktra, said more than 300 national staff including drivers, prosecutors and judges, at the Khmer Rouge tribunal haven’t got their salaries since December.

The spokesman said late salaries for the national staff have so far affected their livelihoods.

The national side of the hybrid court needs around 9.5 million US dollars for its 2013 operation. 

However, so far, the national side has received a pledge of only 1.8 million dollars from the Cambodian government and 700,000 US dollars from Germany.

Recently, the Japanese government announced a 2.5 million dollar contribution for the international side of the tribunal.

If things aren’t getting better anytime soon, the ongoing operations of the court might be in peril. 

That might sound somewhat pessimistic but the future of the court, at least for the national side, looks bleak.