Cambodian judges urged to end squabbling

A U.N.-backed tribunal urged Cambodian and foreign judges on Wednesday to overcome internal differences so that long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide trials can begin.

"The eyes of the world are on us once again," the tribunal office said in a statement as judges began a 10-day meeting aimed at hammering out an agreement on judicial rules that will govern proceedings _ a crucial step that has bogged down the tribunal for months.

Wednesday marked the nine-judge panel's third session since November to try to resolve what they have called "substantive disagreement" in their goal to adopt 110 draft rules for running the proceedings.

The rules cover every phase of the process _ preliminary investigations, judicial investigations, the trial and appeals. They also delineate the roles of all parties, including prosecutors, defense attorneys and defendants.

The tribunal, scheduled to begin later this year, cannot start until the rules are in place.

Prosecutors are expected to indict about 10 defendants, including the few surviving top Khmer Rouge leaders.

A 2003 agreement between Cambodia and the United Nations created the tribunal after years of difficult negotiations seeking justice for crimes committed when the Khmer Rouge held power from 1975-79.

The radical policies of the now-defunct communist group led to the deaths of some 1.7 million people from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition.

In a joint statement Wednesday, Sean Visoth, the tribunal's Cambodian director, and Michelle Lee, his U.N.-appointed deputy, said that all the parties involved and the international community hope "for definitive progress toward bringing justice to the Cambodian people."