Five months after the entry into force of the accord between the United Nations and the Cambodian government, there has been little sign of progress in setting up the extraordinary chambers to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. Michelle Lee, who was appointed by the secretary-general to coordinate legal assistance on 25 August, is still not in post. Kofi Annan is not set to assign international judges until the end of October. A growing number of observers are openly pessimistic about holding the trials 25 years after the fall of the Pol Pot regime. Concerns have been raised over how the court is to be financed. In April, when donors pledged to pay 38.5m USD out of a three-year budget of 56.3m, Cambodia - which is supposed to contribute 13.3m from its own funds, but has never committed to doing so other than relying on bilateral agreements - launched an appeal for contributions. Japan suggested using a portion of its bilateral aid to Cambodia to fill the financial gap. In June, the Cambodian foreign affairs minister Hor Namhong was upbeat: "We hope that the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders will take place as soon as possible. The issue of funding is no longer a problem."
But at the beginning of August, Sean Visoth, the general secretary of the government committee responsible for preparing the trials turned tables, declaring: "We will only use Japanese funds as a last resort. We will try and find money from other countries in order to keep Japanese bilateral aid for our development." The about-turn cast a chill. "After the agreed funding was received, there was no initiative to speed up the process, so I started having my doubts" says Lao Mong Hay, a legal officer at the research and training group Centre for Social Development. In addition to the financial deadlock, there is no specific timeframe, no transparency in the selection of Cambodian judges and little credibility in the legal system.

In such a context, international pressure has not been forthcoming, and the UN and the US are busy fighting internal battles. "For some years, the UN's Office of Legal Affairs has been sceptical of the tribunal even though the Assembly General mandated the secretary-general to cooperate with the royal government in setting it up. In the US, representatives of the Bush Administration in the Department of State continue to argue that the tribunal should go forward as planned. In Congress, however, senior Republican Senators have blocked US financial participation in the court, arguing that they believe the royal government cannot orchestrate credible trials," explains the American researcher Craig Etcheson.

In a succinct response, the Japanese ambassador in Phnom Pehn, Takahashi Fumiaki said: "We hope the process will accelerate." So far, his country has earmarked a total of 21m USD for the trials. But for Lao Mong Hay, Japan is really angling for a seat on the UN Security Council and is taking great pains to show that "it is a member that can be counted on for ensuring justice and peace in the world." Says Etcheson: "The trial is only one minor dimension of the much larger regional and global strategic competition between Japan and China."

Beijing is not keen for the trials to go ahead as they could throw light on its longstanding support of the Khmer Rouge regime. It has some very dissuasive arguments. In 2004, China alone injected more money than all the other investors put together. In the first quarter of 2005, it tripled its investments compared to the previous year. On returning from his second trip to China this year, Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen brought back 400m USD in aid. "There is no doubt that [China] will devote significant attention to ensuring that any Khmer Rouge tribunal will not have a negative impact on their interests," says Etcheson. But in an interview with RFI during his visit to Paris on 20-22 September, Hun Sen denied this, adding ironically: "If the trials are also supposed to concern China, then the UN itself should be put on trial."