A Cambodian government high ranking official reacts to a U.S. international war crime expert's criticisms on Khmer Rouge tribunal jurists selection, saying they are baseless, and should not be considered as teaching tools.
In a press conference in Phnom Penh, Mr. David Scheffer, former US ambassador at large for war crimes and current CNN International analyst for Saddam Hussein's trial in Iraq, presented a list of criteria the Khmer Rouge tribunal should meet for it to be up to international standards.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith says that Mr. Scheffer should not criticize the jurist selection, but rather wait to see whether or not this tribunal lives up to international standards or not.
The national and international judges and prosecutors officially selected by the Supreme Council of the Magistracy headed by King Sihamoni are being criticized by national and international human rights officials.
These officials allege that hese jurists are being criticized of being selected by their political parties.