Cambodian tribunal staff on strike
Source: Agencies |
March 5, 2013, Tuesday
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CAMBODIAN translators angry that they have gone without pay for three months stopped working at the UN-backed genocide trial of former Khmer Rogue leaders yesterday, a new setback for an international justice effort that has been hobbled by conflicts with the Cambodian government.
Khmer Rouge tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra said that about 30 Cambodian staff members from the translation section announced they were going on strike just before the court was to hear testimony from a foreign expert. Testimony that had been scheduled to be given this week and next has been postponed until the dispute can be resolved.
Neth Pheaktra said local staff members who worked at the tribunal have not been paid since December because the countries that have agreed to fund the tribunal have not contributed on time. Foreign workers involved in the trial are paid through a separate budget.
The court has appealed to donors for more money, Neth Pheaktra said, but he added that it was unclear when the workers might be paid.
The tribunal, which formed in 2006, is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during its four years in power in the late 1970s. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the regime from forced labor, starvation, medical neglect and execution.
Neth Pheaktra said translators are essential to the proceedings, which used three languages: English, French and Cambodian. About US$9.3 million is needed for salaries and daily operating costs in 2013 for the Cambodian component of the operation, he said.
The tribunal, which spent US$141.1 million from 2006 through 2011, has warned that it faces severe budgetary shortfalls.
Khmer Rouge tribunal spokesman Neth Pheaktra said that about 30 Cambodian staff members from the translation section announced they were going on strike just before the court was to hear testimony from a foreign expert. Testimony that had been scheduled to be given this week and next has been postponed until the dispute can be resolved.
Neth Pheaktra said local staff members who worked at the tribunal have not been paid since December because the countries that have agreed to fund the tribunal have not contributed on time. Foreign workers involved in the trial are paid through a separate budget.
The court has appealed to donors for more money, Neth Pheaktra said, but he added that it was unclear when the workers might be paid.
The tribunal, which formed in 2006, is tasked with seeking justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge during its four years in power in the late 1970s. An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the regime from forced labor, starvation, medical neglect and execution.
Neth Pheaktra said translators are essential to the proceedings, which used three languages: English, French and Cambodian. About US$9.3 million is needed for salaries and daily operating costs in 2013 for the Cambodian component of the operation, he said.
The tribunal, which spent US$141.1 million from 2006 through 2011, has warned that it faces severe budgetary shortfalls.
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