PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A top Cambodian government official has reiterated his government's intention to end the work of the U.N.-backed tribunal that last week convicted the last two surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng, speaking Saturday at a government ceremony, said the tribunal's work had been completed and there would be no additional prosecutions for acts that led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people in the late 1970s. He cited the tribunal's rules limiting its targets to leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime that was in power in 1975-79, and those most responsible for carrying out atrocities.
Long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen has repeatedly declared there would be no more prosecutions, claiming they could cause unrest.
