Former Khmer Rouge leader, wife to face genocide charges

PHNOM PENH – Former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and his wife
Ieng Thirith were arrested yesterday, bringing to four the number of
regime leaders now facing Cambodia’s United Nations-backed genocide
court.

A French-educated communist, Ieng Sary, also known as “Brother Number 3″
emerged as the public face of the secretive Khmer Rouge. His wife became
the regime’s Social Affairs Minister and continued to defend its policies
long after its demise.

The elderly couple, who were seized in their villa in Phnom Penh, will
face charges of crimes against humanity. Ieng Sary, who also served as the
regime’s Deputy Premier, will face additional war-crimes charges,
officials said.

They are among five former top cadres currently under investigation for
their role in crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge’s rule from 1975 to
1979 over Cambodia, as efforts intensify to bring ageing regime figures to
justice.

Under the Khmer Rouge, up to 2 million people died from starvation and
overwork or were executed. The regime abolished religion, schools and
currency and exiled millions to vast farms in its bid to forge an agrarian
utopia.

During his rule, Ieng Sary, now thought to be 78 years old, convinced many
educated Cambodians who had fled the country to return. They were then
killed in the regime’s purge of intellectuals. Many of the victims were
diplomats taken from Ieng Sary’s foreign ministry with his knowledge.

The alleged crimes of his wife, Ieng Thirith, believed to be 75 years old,
includes participation in the “unlawful killing or murder of staff members
from within the Ministry of Social Affairs”, according to a report filed
by prosecutors with the tribunal’s judges on July 18.

Regime leader Pol Pot died in 1998, but his deputies Nuon Chea and Duch,
who oversaw the notorious Tuol Sleng torture centre, were arrested by the
tribunal earlier this year.

The fifth suspect under investigation has not been named, but some believe
it to be former head of state Khieu Samphan, 76 years old.

The court got under way last year after a decade of tense negotiations
between the UN and Cambodian government. Trials are expected next year.

Despite receiving a royal pardon for a 1979 genocide conviction after his
surrender to the government in 1996, Ieng Sary could face other charges.

Like other surviving Khmer Rouge leaders, he has repeatedly denied
responsibility for any crimes.

“I have done nothing wrong,” Ieng Sary told AP last month. “I even made
good deeds to save several people’s lives (during the regime)”, he said. -
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