US position on Khmer Rouge  is not working

By Jim Miklaszewski and Tammy Kupperman
NBC NEWS
WASHINGTON, May 21 — NBC news has learned
that the United States has entered into
discussions with the Thai and Cambodian
governments about bringing to justice some 30
deputies of Pol Pot, the late one-time leader of
the Khmer Rouge guerrillas whose regime is
blamed for the death of more than 1 million
people in the mid-1970s.

WHILE THE U.S. would not apprehend these
individuals, Washington is prepared to transport them to a
holding location until an international crimes tribunal is
convened to consider their cases.
Right now, in the words of one source, efforts are
underway to get the Thai or Cambodian governments to
grab them and then "cough them up."
Administration sources say that the most likely scenario
is that the Thai government, which is in a stronger position
on the border than the Cambodian government, would take
these individuals into custody. The Thais would then turn
them over to the U.S. for transport aboard military aircraft
to a holding location in the Pacific — probably U.S. bases
at Palau or Guam — or possibly a base in Europe.
The deputies would be held in that location while a
tribunal is organized. Cambodia has asked to be allowed to
try them if such a plan is arranged, but there is some
concern about the wisdom of this because Cambodian
leader Hun Sen led a coup d'etat last July that effectively
ended a U.N. peace plan there. Canada and some other
neutral countries have offered to host such a tribunal.
Another complication is the fact that among the 30-odd
individuals sought are officials in the Cambodian
government. The 30 people include a top tier of about eight
deputies, among them former President Khieu Samphan and
Foreign Minister Ieng Sary.
Despite the death of Pol Pot, April 15, considerable
pressure from human rights organizations has persisted and
may in fact result in the apprehension of deputies to Pol Pot.
In the words of one source, "If we can get his deputies,
we'll get them."

Jim Miklaszewski and Tammy Kupperman cover
military issues for NBC News.

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