PHNOM PENH: The last living leader from the inner circle of Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime launched his courtroom appeal Monday, seeking to convince a long-running international tribunal to overturn his conviction on charges of genocide.
Khieu Samphan, 90, was the former head of state for the Khmer Rouge, the radical communist regime that ruled Cambodia with an iron fist from 1975-1979 and was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.
His defense team is seeking to overturn a 2018 verdict finding him guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, questioning the evidence and arguing there were procedural mistakes.
Kong Sam Onn told the judges of the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, or ECCC, that his client had been given inadequate time to prepare an initial defense, and that the original panel failed to provide the grounds for its ruling in a timely fashion, among other things.
“It should be null and void, and so I am requesting the Supreme Court chamber to ... reverse the judgment,” he said.
Khieu Samphan sat in a chair behind his attorneys, appearing to listen intently as they addressed the court. Kong Sam Onn said his client would address the chamber at the end of the four days of hearings.
Observers say it’s unlikely for the conviction to be overturned, and even if it is, he is already serving a life sentence for a 2014 conviction of crimes against humanity connected with forced transfers and disappearances of masses of people. That conviction was upheld on appeal in 2016.
“The appeal hearing is quiet important for both sides, the Cambodian victims and the accused,” said tribunal spokesman, Neth Pheaktra.
The verdict won’t come until next year.
Under the leadership of the late Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge sought to eliminate all traces of what they saw as corrupt bourgeois life, destroying most religious, financial and social institutions, and forcing millions out of cities to live in the countryside.
Dissent was usually met with death in the Khmer Rouge’s notorious “killing fields” or elsewhere, while starvation, overwork and medical neglect took many more lives.
Only when an invasion by Vietnam finally drove the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979 did the magnitude of the killings become truly known.
Khieu Samphan’s 2018 conviction was largely connected to crimes committed against Vietnamese and Cham minorities in Cambodia.
He was found not guilty of genocide against the Cham, a Muslim ethnic minority whose members had put up a small but futile resistance against the Khmer Rouge, for lack of evidence. But he was found guilty of genocide of the Vietnamese under the principle of joint criminal enterprise, under which individuals can be held responsible for the actions of a group to which they belong.
His crimes against humanity conviction covered activities at work camps and cooperatives established by the Khmer Rouge. They included murder, extermination, deportation, enslavement, imprisonment, torture, persecution on political, religious and racial grounds, attacks on human dignity, forced marriages and rape.
He was “found to have encouraged, incited, and legitimized criminal policies and to have made a significant contribution to crimes committed” by the Khmer Rouge.
Former Khmer Rouge official appeals genocide verdict in Cambodia
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Former Khmer Rouge official appeals genocide verdict in Cambodia
- Khieu Samphan was the former head of state for the Khmer Rouge, the radical communist regime that ruled Cambodia with an iron fist from 1975-1979
Russian troops are advancing fast along Ukrainian frontline, defense minister says
- Some 427,000 servicemen have signed contracts with the army this year
MOSCOW: Russian troops have pushed Ukrainian forces out of almost 4,500 square kilometers of territory this year and are advancing an average 30 square kilometers per day, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said on Monday.
Some 427,000 servicemen have signed contracts with the army this year, Belousov told a meeting of defense officials and President Vladimir Putin.
Military spending had reached 6.3 percent of gross domestic product, he said, a figure in line with Russia’s budget proposals.
Philippines eyes Gulf investors in bid to diversify investment partners
- Philippines is currently in negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the UAE
- Manila seeks Gulf investment in food processing, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy
Manila: The Philippines is prioritizing efforts to attract investors from the Gulf region, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority said on Monday, as Manila seeks to diversify its investment partners.
PEZA, an agency under the Department of Trade and Industry, has been working to attract Gulf investors as part of a broader economic growth strategy, and to increase cooperation with more partner nations beyond the US and Japan.
The Philippines is seeking Gulf investments in various fields, including food processing, pharmaceuticals and renewable energy, PEZA’s Director-General Tereso Panga said on Monday.
“For investments coming from the Middle East, especially UAE and even Saudi (Arabia), we are looking at food processing, agro-based industries, renewable energy development.
“And there’s also a potential to bring some pharmaceutical companies into the Philippines from those countries,” Panga said. “We will continue our investment promotions in the Middle East … It’s a priority.”
The DTI’s Secretary Cristina Roque previously said that UAE investors were looking to invest PHP25 billion ($425 million) in the Philippines, including on ports development, following her visit to the Gulf nation in October.
The Philippines sees an opportunity “to position itself as an attractive destination for more Gulf investors” as Middle East nations diversify away from oil to agriculture and manufacturing, PEZA said in a statement.
Manila has been in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE since the beginning of this year. Once finalized, it will be the Philippines’ first free-trade pact with a Gulf nation.
EU ‘not there yet’ on sanctioning Georgia over crackdown
- Georgia has been in turmoil since the governing party claimed victory in contested parliamentary elections
- Georgian Dream party-run government also announced it would delay EU membership talks for four years
BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday Brussels had put forward a list of Georgians to sanction over a crackdown on pro-Western protesters, but Hungary was set to block the measures.
“We have proposed the list for sanctions for these people who are... using really force and violence against the opposition,” Kallas said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“But everybody needs to agree to the list, and we are not there yet.”
Georgia’s authorities have forcefully clamped down on pro-EU demonstrators taking to the streets in recent weeks to protest the government’s decision to shelve its push to join the bloc.
The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in contested October parliamentary elections and then announced it would delay EU membership talks for four years.
Riot police have used tear gas and water cannons against largely peaceful demonstrators who fear that Georgian Dream is dragging the country back into Russia’s orbit.
Brussels says there are “credible concerns” of torture and has called for the immediate release of detainees after more than 400 were arrested.
But despite a raft of EU states seeking to take a tougher line, Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban — a staunch supporter of Georgia’s government — has rejected attempts to sanction Tbilisi.
The EU has already suspended some support for the Georgian government and said in June the country’s membership bid had “de facto” been frozen after authorities pushed through Kremlin-style laws targeting NGOs.
EU officials said the bloc was also eyeing the possibility of imposing restrictions on Georgian diplomatic passport holders.
But there was not yet consensus on what would be a largely symbolic move.
At least 30 North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine
KYIV: Ukraine said Monday that its troops killed or wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers who had been deployed by Russia to its western Kursk region, where Ukraine has seized territory.
Thousands of troops from North Korea have come to reinforce Russian forces, including in the Kursk border region where Russia has been clawing back territory after a surprise offensive from Ukrainian forces this summer.
“On December 14 and 15, army units from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) suffered significant losses near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, Martynovka in the Kursk region of Russia — at least 30 soldiers were killed and wounded,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said.
The units are “being replenished with fresh personnel” from North Korea, which Western officials estimate has sent at least 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow.
Russia and North Korea have boosted their military ties since Moscow’s invasion.
Russia has begun deploying “a noticeable number” of North Koreans in assaults to push Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, Zelensky said on Saturday.
He said that according to his information, “the Russians include (North Koreans) in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” where Ukraine launched an incursion in August.
Zelensky said he has also heard the North Koreans “may be used in other parts of the front line,” and that “losses among this category are also already noticeable.”
Russia’s defense ministry said last week its troops recaptured some small settlements in the Kursk region.
Last month a Ukrainian army source told AFP that Kyiv controls 800 square kilometers of territory there, down from previous claims it controlled around 1,400 square kilometers.
Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte
- The cyclone has left French Indian Ocean territory’s health services in tatters
- Officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas
SAINT-DENIS DE LA REUNION: Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead.
Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and ruled from Paris, showed scenes of devastation, with homes reduced to piles of rubble.
The crisis, which erupted at the weekend the day after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou as the sixth prime minister of his mandate, poses a major challenge for a government still only operating in a caretaker capacity.
The cyclone has left health services in tatters, with the hospital extremely damaged and health centers knocked out of operation, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq told France 2.
“The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” she said, adding that “medical centers were also non-operational.”
Macron was due to chair a crisis meeting in Paris at 1700 GMT, the Elysee said.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, whose super ministry is responsible for Mayotte, arrived on the island.
Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte’s airport and cut off electricity, water and communication links when it barreled down on France’s poorest territory on Saturday.
Asked about the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on the territory, told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere “I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand.”
With roads closed, officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas.
The mayor of Mayotte’s capital Mamoudzou, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, said the storm “spared nothing.”
“The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated,” he said.
Some 160 additional soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already deployed.
The nearby French island of La Reunion was serving as a hub for the rescue operations.
Chido was packing winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour when it slammed into Mayotte, which lies to the east of Mozambique.
At least a third of the territory’s 320,000 residents live in shantytowns, where homes with sheet-metal roofs were flattened by the storm.
One resident, Ibrahim, said of “apocalyptic scenes” as he made his way through the main island, having to clear blocked roads himself.
As authorities assessed the scale of the disaster, a first aid plane reached Mayotte on Sunday.
It carried three tons of medical supplies, blood for transfusions and 17 medical staff, according to authorities in La Reunion.
Patrice Latron, prefect of Reunion, said residents of Mayotte were facing “an extremely chaotic situation, immense destruction.”
Two military aircraft are expected to follow the initial aid flight, while a navy patrol ship was also due to depart La Reunion.
There have been international pledges to help Mayotte, including from the regional Red Cross organization PIROI.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is “ready to provide support in the days to come.”
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the WHO “stands ready to support communities in need of essential health care.”
With around 100,000 people estimated to live clandestinely on Mayotte, according to France’s interior ministry, establishing how many people have been affected by the cyclone is proving difficult.
Ousseni Balahachi, a former nurse, said some people did not dare venture out to seek assistance, “fearing it would be a trap” designed to remove them from Mayotte.
Many had stayed put “until the last minute” when it proved too late to escape the cyclone, she added.
Chido is the latest in a string of storms worldwide fueled by climate change, according to experts.
The “exceptional” cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters, meteorologist Francois Gourand of the Meteo France weather service said.
Chido blasted across the Indian Ocean and made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday, where officials said the death toll stood at three.
The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, warned 1.7 million people were in danger and the remnants of the cyclone could also dump “significant rainfall” in Malawi through Monday.
