Cambodia marks Khmer Rouge downfall, prepares for genocide trial

Thousands of Cambodians are celebrating the fall of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime 30 years ago as a UN-backed tribunal prepares to finally try some of its key leaders for crimes against humanity.

More than 40,000 people packed Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium for speeches and a parade on Wednesday to mark the day Vietnamese forces entered the capital to oust the ultra-communists from power.

Despite the deaths of 1.7 million or more Cambodians during the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge rule, none of the surviving leaders have yet faced justice.

The tribunal says one of the accused, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, who headed the Khmer Rouge’s largest torture center, is expected to take the stand in the first half of the year.

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