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Ieng Sary Says
He's for Peace
Role in Killings Denied, Wants KR
Trial Abandoned
PAILIN - Ieng Sary, the
former deputy prime minister of the Khmer Rouge regime, said
Tuesday he was satisfied with his role in bringing about peace and
reconciliation in Cambodia, and vowed he will continue to help
rebuilding the war-torn country.
Ieng Sary, who was also
foreign minister in the Khmer Rouge government, said he has been
contributing to national rebuilding and reconciliation since he
defected to the government in 1996.
Prime Minister Hun Sen
has repeatedly said that Ieng Sary made a significant
contribution to reconciliation by leading about 70 percent of
Khmer Rouge forces to the government side, a move that led to
elimination of the Pol Pot-led military organization.
Ieng sary's statements
came as the government tires to deal with intense pressure,
notably from the UN and the US, to set up an internationally
accepted tribunal to try former Khmer Rouge leaders blamed for the
deaths of more than 1 million Cambodians.
His comments to the media
were his first in almost two years.
Ieng Sary said he was not
responsible for the genocide, claiming he was only in charge of
foreign affairs and was never involved with security matters.
He said he thought the
proposed trial should be abandoned so the government can focus on
pressing economic and political issues.
Ieng Sary, 70, lives in
Phnom Penh, but regularly travels to his hometown of Pailin to
stay in touch with his former followers and the town's leaders.
In August 1996, Ieng Sary
and the Khmer Rouge forces that controlled Pailin and Malai
defected to the government and negotiated a peace settlement.
He was sentenced to death
in absentia in 1979, along with Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. He
denied responsibility for the atrocities committed under the
regime and was granted an amnesty in September 1996 by King
Norodom Sihanouk.
Ieng Sary then formed the
Democratic National United Movement, an organization he said works
on unity and peace rather than political issues.
He said he met with 30
government officials Sunday in Pailin and told them not to get
involved in any armed movement that might bring chaos to the
country.
"I also advised them
to work closely with people in their areas to better agricultural
harvests."
He said local people
should not depend on imported daily necessities, including
vegetables, mostly from Thailand.
Pailin was once famous
for gams, lucrative minerals and timber resources.
Whether Ieng Sary would
be eventually brought to trial is unclear. Hun Sen has said in the
past that he will not be tried because of his key role in
initiating peace and national reconciliation.
Any possible Khmer Rouge
tribunal is made difficult by split opinions about its structure,
including the involvement of foreign judges and prosecutors.
By Joe Stephens, Cambodia
Daily 20-Dec-00
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