KR Peace Deal

27 August 1998
Far Eastern Economic Review

Khmer Rouge Peace Deal
The Cambodian government and the remaining Khmer Rouge guerrillas holed up in the northern jungle near Thailand are nearing a settlement in quiet negotiations to end nearly two decades of warfare. Questions over the fate of several senior Khmer Rouge officials wanted for crimes against humanity during their rule in the late 1970s are the only unresolved issue. Military officials from both sides acknowledge that they have been in constant contact; before the July elections, secret meetings between Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh and senior guerrilla leaders almost resulted in a deal.

Officials say the rebels have agreed to lay down their guns and to live in and administer their former territory, with guerrilla troops formally integrated into the government army. But the Khmer Rouge are wary of calls by Phnom Penh, opposition leaders and the international community -- led by the United States -- for the arrest of two senior leaders: military commander Ta Mok and former Khmer Rouge No. 2 Nuon Chea. Khieu Samphan, political leader of the Khmer Rouge, is likely to be offered amnesty, but not the other two men, widely believed to have participated in mass murders during their rule. "They say peace one day and they want to arrest us the next day and send us to court," says a senior guerrilla official. "Before we join with the government we just want to know whether we will be safe." Scores of other guerrilla officials implicated in similar crimes have already been given senior government and army positions. But government leaders are extremely sensitive to recent calls for an international tribunal to judge the remaining architects of the so-called killing fields, led by Pol Pot, who died in April. A team of United Nations-sponsored legal experts will arrive in Phnom Penh in September to assess the evidence for the formation of such a court. Both sides say they expect a deal to be cut before the end of the year, after the international spotlight dims.