Former Khmer Rouge cadre in the far north of the country met with officials from the UN-backed tribunal on Friday, saying they did not want more cases at the court to go forward.

During a forum at the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Samlot district, Battambang province, said they
were happy to see four senior leaders—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng
Sary and Ieng Thirith—stand trial, they did not want two more cases of
their subordinates to continue.

Those two cases, 003 and 004, which
would require the indictment of five more leaders, have become a
decisive issue for the court. Prime Minister Hun Sen has said the cases
will not be allowed to go forward, because they could destabilize the
country. And the investigating judges have said they have doubts the
suspects were most responsible for atrocity crimes of the regime.

A tribunal official told the
former soldiers in Samlot that the two cases were still under
consideration at the tribunal, but he did not say whether or when
hearings would be held.

The court is currently preparing for the trial of the four senior leaders, already in detention.

In Phnom Penh on Monday, the regime’s
top ideologue, Nuon Chea, told the court he would not be able to stand
for long periods in an upcoming trial because of his age. He made his
statements on the first day of a three-day hearing set to determine the
health of the defendants and how that might impact the work of the
court.

The court will also assess the
fitness of Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister, and his wife, Ieng
Thirith, the former social affairs minister. Defense has aruged the Ieng
Thirith is not mentally competent to stand trial.