The international
Co-Investigating Judge Siegfried Blunk unexpectedly announced his resignation
from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on 9 October
2011. This serious blow to the Court interrupts its current process to issue
the Closing Order on Cases 003 and 004 and will result in further delays and
difficulties.
The unique formula of the
ECCC, agreed through many long years of negotiation from 1997 between the
United Nations and the Cambodian Government, is setting a new model for
international justice. In Cases 001 and 002 the ECCC has achieved unprecedented
records of public support and victim participation, without jeopardising peace
and security throughout the country.
The United Nations General
Assembly resolution of 18 December 2002 recognised “the legitimate concern of
the Government and people of Cambodia in the pursuit of justice and national
reconciliation, stability, peace and security”, and this was reaffirmed in the
Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia
signed in Phnom Penh on 6 June 2003, approved unanimously by Cambodia’s
National Assembly and ratified on 19 October 2004. The Cambodian Government is
obliged under the Constitution to safeguard this precious state of peace and
national reconciliation, achieved only in the past decade after years of
conflict and genocide.
Judge Blunk placed the blame
for his resignation on the Cambodian Government , citing “pressure by
Government officials” and “ perceived ... attempted interference by Government officials”
as evidenced by statements by several senior members of the Government,
including the Prime Minister, expressing their opinion that the ECCC can and
should complete its mandate with Cases 001 and 002. However, the Government has
taken no action to hinder the investigation into Cases 003 and 004 and has left
the decision in the hands of the ECCC as to whether to proceed with or dismiss any
cases.
Blunk’s cited reason for
resigning is belied by the fact that he assumed office on 1 December 2010, over
a month after the Prime Minister’s statement to United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-Moon, and he continued to work for almost a year in full cooperation with his counterpart, Cambodian Judge You
Bunleng, towards a mutually agreed decision on Cases 003 and 004 even after
the statement by the Minister of Information in May 2011, to which Blunk
also refers in his resignation statement. Repeatedly and publicly throughout
this year, Blunk stated that the two Co-Investigating Judges were working
together well (see, for example, their statement of 26 May 2011: “The Co-Investigating
Judges have worked independently from outside interference, will continue to
resist all such attempts, and are resolved to defend their independence against
outside interference, wherever it may come from.”)
In his complete volte-face
from mutual collaboration to sudden resignation, accompanied by a denunciation
of the Cambodian Government, strangely enough Blunk does not mention the recent
crescendo of statements calling for the
Co-Investigating Judges to resign because they were believed to be moving
towards a decision to dismiss Cases 003 and 004. This was the culmination of a sustained
campaign by international organisations (including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty
International and the Open Society Justice Initiative) alongside persistent
media interference (led by the arch-conservative US newspaper Wall Street
Journal) that have long opposed the ECCC, and over the past two years have exerted
increasing pressure to discredit and undermine the ECCC, attempting to force it
to charge more suspects.
Now Judge Blunk has bowed to
their wishes and handed a victory to this long-standing campaign. This is no
victory for the Cambodian people, who have put so much faith in the ECCC to
bring long-awaited justice for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge.
Press
and Quick Response Unit
The
Office of the Council of Ministers
13
October 2011