Catharsis or Cruel Again

Debate about the merits of a U.N. backed tribunal has been an on-going subject for examination in this blog.

Although now almost 16 months old, this CBC News Radio report by Stephen Puddicombe makes some interesting points. Here are some key extracts:

International human rights officials believe the war-crimes tribunal can be a catharsis for people like Sokon, and help Cambodians come to terms with what happened.
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There are plans for a war-crimes tribunal in Cambodia. The details of the tribunal are still being worked out. But there will be at least five judges, three from Cambodia and two international. There has been no decision on who will be tried or when the trials will start. So far only two former Khmer Rouge leaders are in jail.
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For some Cambodians, no amount of Christian atonement, or Buddhist forgiveness, or even justice at the hands of a tribunal, can ever be enough.
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Steven Park believes all Cambodia suffered under the Khmer Rouge. Many who committed acts of brutality were also victims of equal cruelty. How can you pass sentence on a bloodbath?
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He's not sure if anything can help the victims of those crimes erase the memories and give his people a night of peaceful sleep at last.

Link