Cambodia, a «window for Japanese diplomacy»

A decisive step has been taken towards setting up the Extraordinary Chambers to try Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia. Thirteen countries pledged a wide range of contributions at a fundraising conference organised by the United Nations secretariat on 28 March. The Japanese government's massive financial investment in the future trials may not be unrelated to its regional struggle for influence with China.
In all, donors pledged $38m. This leaves only $5m to complete the United Nation's portion of the provisional budget of $56.3m total required. France pledged $4.8m, followed by Australia with $2.3m. The United States pledged nothing. In spite of longstanding US support for setting up the chambers, Congress wants to signal its disapproval of the Cambodian government's current political policies. Japan takes the lion's share, with its pledge to hand over $21.6m. This was announced back in February, and it is reported that the funds have already been paid into the UN bank account. «Without the involvement of Japan, the trials would never take place», admits Takahashi Fumiaki, the Japanese ambassador to Cambodia. «The contribution that was announced at the beginning of the year has mobilised the support of other actors. By pledging to cover half of the [UN] budget, we have launched a movement and incited other donor countries to contribute to making the Extraordinary Chambers a reality.» For its part, Cambodia must finalise its contribution by securing $13m in bilateral donations.
In 2002, after the UN secretary general broke off relations with Cambodia after failing to reach an agreement on the form the court should take, the former Japanese representative at the UN, Hisashi Owada, played a key role in persuading the two parties to restart negotiations. Fumiaki explained his country's interest in the creation of the Chambers: «For us, the 1991 Paris accords were our first experience of sending our protection force as part of a UN operation. Since then, we have been helping Cambodia with its reconstruction efforts. This is not about responsibility, but rather to pursue a coherent policy. Cambodia is a little like a window of Japanese diplomacy.»

Embarrassing China, which supported the Khmer Rouge

Yet the president of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO), Kek Galabru, is still surprised by Japan's determination. «Yes, the Japanese are indeed working on the reform of the Cambodian justice system, but they have never been critical of human rights violations,» she says. «They are a permanent support for Prime Minister Hun Sen's government. Their interest in creating the Extraordinary Chambers revolves around geographical considerations. They want to embarrass China, who for a long time supported the Khmer Rouge.»
Since the end of the 1990s, China has increasingly asserted its influence in Southeast Asia, challenging Japan's strong commercial and political hold over the region. A trial of the main Khmer Rouge leadership could embarrass Beijing by highlighting the active participation of Chinese officials in the former regime of Democratic Kampuchea. A member of the Cambodian government considers that Japan intends to use the trials to reassert its place on the Asian stage. «That is an over-interpretation of our intention,» stressed the Japanese ambassador. «China has nothing to fear from these trials. Indeed to show our good will towards *China+, we have invited our Chinese colleagues to participate in financing the Chambers.» For the moment, Beijing has not indicated any willingness to do so.