The four most senior surviving members of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime
went on trial for war crimes on Monday, three decades after its "year zero" revolution
marked one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century.
The former President,
the ex-Foreign Minister, a former social affairs minister and "Brother Number Two"
are now all elderly and infirm, and showed no emotion as opening statements to the
UN-backed tribunal were read before a packed auditorium.
The four are charged
with committing crimes against humanity and genocide and accused of a litany of crimes
under both international and Cambodian laws, including murder, enslavement, religious
and political persecution, inhumane treatment and unlawful imprisonment.
Although
this week's court sessions will be strictly procedural, with testimony and presentation
of evidence expected to begin in August or September, it will mark the first joint
appearance of the defendants in court 32 years after the Khmer Rouge were kicked out
of power in 1979.
Nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population were wiped out
under the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979 through torture, execution, starvation
and exhaustion.