直面殘暴歷史

????很多村莊和城市都埋藏著一段柬埔寨人現在才開始得知的大屠殺歷史；它影響了整整一代人和他們未出生的孩子們。“這里的罪行規模超過了我處理過的任何案子，”一位擁有博茨瓦納、盧旺達和其他一些動亂地經驗、訓練有素的國際特別法庭法官表示。“每個家庭都受到了影響。巨大傷害帶來的社會問題讓我工作過的其他任何法庭都相形見絀。”

????今天，紅色高棉的作惡者們與受害者比鄰而居。當年紅色高棉招募了兒童、農民和狂熱分子攻擊婦女和孩子，直接謀殺專業人士、學生、教育家、企業主、戴眼鏡的人、體弱的人，這份名單可以列得很長。

????最近的大選宣傳中充斥著否認之詞，但最讓人刺痛的可能是洪森威脅稱，任何對他的正義討伐都可能帶來內戰。

????著名戰地記者和作者伊麗莎白?貝克出現在特別法庭證人名單中，但法庭已四次延后她的出庭。貝克說：“看上去好像得等上25年。這場審判本應在1980年舉行。一旦它不再是一個政治問題，問題就變成了誰能拿出最多的錢買通法官。”

????不過，她說：“雖然這個法庭不健全，有時候很羸弱，但ECCC仍然是獨立司法的典范……而且開啟了很多途徑。”如果貝克的直覺沒錯，那么在壓力、媒體曝光和萬眾期待下法治已在柬埔寨扎下了根。

????或許趕不上今年的大選，但“相當多的柬埔寨人會像東南亞鄰國的人們一樣提出更多要求。”美國戰略與國際研究中心的鮑爾表示，“企業家們將呼吁必要的法治和經濟自由以打造有價值的高產出企業……日益團結在一起的、受過教育的公民們將對政府打擊和控制反對言論的容忍度大大下降。”

????與此同時，還有一些交易要達成。柬埔寨商務部長毛托拉聲稱，今天的柬埔寨“早已達到了……(一些外國投資者的)要求”，包括政治和宏觀經濟的穩定，保護性的投資法規以及有力的獎勵優惠措施。他勾出了一些金邊希望吸引海外政府和機構投資的行業，總額超過10億美元。并稱，柬埔寨的大門已經敞開，希望能夠吸引到更多的投資。（財富中文網）

????譯者：早稻米

Staring down a brutal past

????Layered underneath hardships in villages and cities is a genocidal past that Cambodians are only starting to come to terms with; an entire generation and its unborn children were affected. "The level of criminality here is larger than anything I've ever dealt with," says one of the many highly skilled international Tribunal jurists recruited for his experience in Bosnia, Rwanda, and other trouble spots. "Every single family is affected. The social problems derived from the enormous amount of damage [pales] compared to any other court that I've worked in."

????Today, Khmer Rouge perpetrators live next door to victims. The Khmer Rouge enlisted pre-adolescents, peasants, and ideologues to attack women and children, commit categorical murders of professionals, students, educators, business owners, people who wore eyeglasses, the infirm, the list is long.

????Recent election campaign rhetoric was rife with denial, but the most stinging may have been Hun Sen's threat that any pursuit of justice against him threatens civil war.

????Celebrated war correspondent and author Elizabeth Becker is on the Tribunal witness list; the Court has postponed her appearance four times. "This is what happens when you're forced to wait 25 years. This trial should have been held in 1980. When it's not a political issue, then it's who has the most money to pay off the judge," Becker says.

????Yet, she says, "Wounded as this Court is, weak as it sometimes appears, the ECCC is an example of independent justice ... and has opened up a lot of avenues." If Becker's hunch is right, the rule of law has gained a foothold in Cambodia through pressure, exposure, or public expectation.

????Perhaps not in time for this year's election, but "a critical mass of Cambodians will, like their Southeast Asian neighbors, demand more," says CSIS's Bower. "Entrepreneurs will call for the rule of law and the economic freedom necessary to create valuable, productive businesses ... An increasingly connected and educated citizenry will become less tolerant of government crackdowns and control of opposing opinions."

????Meanwhile, there are deals to be made. Cambodia today "already meets ... requirements" that foreign investors seek, asserts Ministry of Commerce Secretary of State Mao Thora, including political and macroeconomic stability, protective investment laws, and strong incentives. He ticks off a list of industries in which the nation's capital Phnom Penh entices both international sovereign and corporate finance, topping $1 billion. The door, he says, is wide open for more.