News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Bob Necci & Carol Hrdlicka, Andi Wolos
(POW-MIA FaxNetwork)

Re: Pol Pot

Date: June 21, 1997

Cambodian officials are confirming that Pol Pot, former leader of the brutal Khmer Rouge, has indeed been captured. This announcement comes on the heels of a flurry of reports yesterday that Pol Pot may have eluded his captors.

Cambodian officials have reported that both Pol Pot and Khieu Samphan, who was an architect of Khmer philosophy, are being held and will be produced for a war crimes tribunal. Cambodia has requested that the UN create an international tribunal to insure that Pol Pot and Khieu Samphan account for their Killing Fields policy in 1975 through 1979.

Human Rights Watch released the following statement on 16 June:

(New York, June 16, 1997) Amid rumors that Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was approaching the Thai border, Human Rights Watch today expressed fears that the man responsible for one of the greatest mass murders of the twentieth century could be summarily executed before being brought to justice before the Cambodian people. It urged the co-prime ministers of Cambodia and the Thai government to ensure his safety so that he can be brought to account before an impartial tribunal on charges of crimes against humanity. It also called on leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to use their influence with Cambodia, ASEAN's newest member as of this July.

The call came as the situation and exact whereabouts of the Khmer Rouge leader remained unclear. Press reports placed him near the Thai border with some 200 supporters, surrounded by some 1,000 Khmer Rouge defectors led by two lieutenants of the notorious Khmer Rouge general, Ta Mok. The Cambodian co-prime ministers, Hun Sen of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and Prince Ranarridh of FUNCINPEC, were said to be bitterly divided over the issue, with Ranarridh trying to send ammunition to the defectors and Hun Sen eschewing any alliance with Khmer Rouge factions, "defector" or not. The division could hamper efforts to capture Pol Pot and hold him safely until adequate preparations for a tribunal could be arranged.

The dangers to Pol Pot and those remaining with him come primarily from the Khmer Rouge fighters who have renounced his leadership. But because Hun Sen reportedly wishes to see the Khmer Rouge self-destruct through internal fighting and Prince Ranarridh is seeking to aid Pol Pot's enemies, there would appear to be little in the way of anyone out for summary justice.

"It is precisely because of Pol Pot's murderous past and present that the world must not be denied a chance to see him on trial," said Sidney Jones, executive director of Human Rights Watch/Asia. "A public tribunal could help reveal the truth about the Khmer Rouge years. This is crucial to enabling the Cambodian people to render a judgement on the atrocities that took place, and begin a healing process."