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Judges for Khmer Rouge prosecution

P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: A tribunal was set up in Phnom Penh on Monday to begin the long-awaited investigation and trial of the surviving leaders of Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rouge. Under the auspices of the U.N. and Cambodia as a sovereign member, 17 Cambodian judges and 10 out of the 13 foreign judicial nominees were sworn in.

The trials may begin in a year's time after the completion of procedures. With Pol Pot dead and with only two among his lieutenants now in jail, the priority is to short-list key suspects. Diplomats said the delay in forming the tribunal was caused by Cambodia's eagerness to avoid a witch-hunt for the crimes that claimed nearly two million lives in the 1970s.

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