Tribunal to hold talks on reparation projects

THE Khmer Rouge tribunal will host a meeting on funding reparations projects on Thursday, though one project organiser yesterday said he has “limited expectations” that the meeting will result in increased funding for his venture.

The tribunal has been unique among similar courts for its pursuit of “moral and collective reparations”, with past projects in the now-completed Case 002/01 taking the form of works of public art, memorials and victim support efforts. However, some of the projects have struggled to obtain funding, and some survivors of the regime have insisted they deserve financial reparations instead.

Thursday’s meeting, according to a tribunal release, “is to inform potential donors and relevant stakeholders of proposed reparation projects in Case 002/02 . . . and opportunities to contribute to them”.

“Twenty-three projects have been identified, five of which have been requested to the Royal Government of Cambodia for support,” the court release says.

However, John Shapiro with Khmer Arts Academy, which has formulated an arts-based reparations proposal for victims of forced marriage, said his organisation had taken it upon itself to ensure it was “fully funded right now”, independently of the court. Though his organisation will need funding to expand to more provinces, he said he didn’t expect it to come from the court.

“I don’t have high expectations of gaining more support from this meeting,” Shapiro said, adding that his project is funded by foreign governments.