Funds pledged for KRT wages

Prime Minister Hun Sen has promised additional payroll funding for the Khmer Rouge tribunal in a sidelines meeting at the ASEAN Summit in Myanmar’s capital city Naypyidaw, Cambodian state-run media said yesterday.

According to state television station TVK, the premier met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, pledging a donation of $1.15 million to cover Cambodian court staffers’ salaries for the months of October through December this year.

Hun Sen said that the donation would be sufficient to cover salaries for the rest of year, and promised to secure another donation to cover six months’ worth of salaries at the beginning of next year.

Under the administrative framework of the hybrid court, the Cambodian government is responsible for covering the salaries of Cambodian nationals.

Ban, in turn, reportedly expressed his appreciation for the new pledges.

The court’s national side has seen multiple budgetary shortfalls in recent years, often at the expense of its staffers, which at times have gone unpaid for months at a time. The salary problems have given rise to two national staff walkouts that effectively halted proceedings at the time.

Neth Pheaktra, spokesman at the ECCC, confirmed the funding announcement, saying staff at the court had been made aware of the news yesterday.

“We were already told by the government about the donation of $1.15 million to pay for salaries through December; so, from now on, there are no problems, and all the staffers are happy,” he said.