NEW YORK: Prime Minister Hun Sen has told the Secretary-General of the United Nations that the 43-year wait for justice has finally come to an end.
The justice that the Prime Minister was referring to is the completion of the trials involving the leaders of the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime, by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) or the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. The trials formally came to an end on Thursday, 22 September, with the final verdict sentencing the last remaining Khmer Rouge leader to life in prison.
Speaking at a meeting with UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in New York on Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen stated that 43 years ago, Cambodia escaped and overthrew the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime with the help of the Vietnamese army and today, the Khmer Rouge tribunal has finally found justice for the victims of this dark regime.
"The Prime Minister has been waiting for 43 years to seek justice today," said the Prime Minister’s assistant, Kao Kim Hourn, after the meeting between the two leaders.
Secretary-General Guterres has hailed the success of the ECCC and recognized that the liberation from the Khmer Rouge was achieved through the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen with the help of the Vietnamese Army.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has stated that justice served through the ECCC court trials is to also prevent genocide from ever occurring again in the future.
The Supreme Court of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on Thursday, 22 September, sentenced the Head of State of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge), Khieu Samphan, to life in prison under Case 002/02. He is the last surviving top Khmer Rouge leader to be tried.
