Khmer Rouge Tribunal Is Too Broke to Pay Staff

Gov't out of money, 300 Cambodians won't be paid this month
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2012 2:00 AM CST
Khmer Rouge Is Too Broke to Pay Tribunal
Khieu Samphan, former Khmer Rouge head of state, sits in the dock during a trial at the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in the outskirt of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 13, 2011.   (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia)

Money problems are threatening the UN's Khmer Rouge trials in Cambodia, reports the AP. The tribunal employs 480 people, and while the international staff is getting paid, the 300 Cambodians who work there have not been paid this month. The tribunal's judges and prosecutors have not been paid since October. The Cambodian government says it relies on international donations to finance expenses, but that money has dried up, leaving it unable to pay the workers. But "despite the fact that no key donor countries have pledged any new financial assistance, the court pursues its work as normal," says a spokesman. (More Cambodia stories.)

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