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The spectre of the Khmer Rouge over Cambodia.

Article Excerpt
After 27 years of international amnesia over bringing the Khmer Rouge to justice, and following six years of intense negotiations between the United Nations and the Government of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge tribunal, officially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), was established in 2006. The tribunal is a UN-assisted national court, with international participation of prosecutors and judges.

On 4 February 2008, the Khmer Rouge's second in command, Nuon Chea, now 81 years old, made his first appearance in court. He is being held at the Khmer Rouge tribunal's facility outside Phnom Penh, along with four other senior leaders, including former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and then Head of State Khieu Samphan. For many of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, the court appearance of Nuon Chea, though 29 years delayed, was highly significant--the best proof that justice, denied for so long, would at last be achieved. Everyone hoped that the spectre of the Khmer Rouge, which had haunted Cambodia since the 1960s, would finally disappear. However, many of them and those in the international community are still...

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