Khmer Rouge leader 'wanted best for country'

23 Nov 2011, 6:36 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The former head of state in Cambodia's Khmer Rouge government told a court he only joined the communist party to benefit his country.

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Khieu Samphan, the former head of state in the Khmer Rouge government, has told the UN-backed court he joined the communist party to benefit his nation, and has complained that the prosecution "really wants my head on a block".

"What I wanted at that time was the best experience for my country," he said of his time in Paris in the 1950s when he encountered communism while completing his doctorate in economics.

"Today you may see (communism) as a joke," he said, addressing the prosecution on the third day of the trial of the former leaders.

"However, I shall remind you that at that time communism was the one movement that gave hope to millions of youths around the world."

Khieu Samphan and former foreign minister Ieng Sary, who also spoke briefly on Wednesday, have denied charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as has the third defendant Nuon Chea who spoke on Tuesday to refute the charges against him.

Khieu Samphan said the US bombing of Cambodia in the early 1970s had wrought profound damage.

"Could you imagine what my country faced after such a bloody killing?" he asked the prosecutors.

"Whether you like it or not, the majority of the Cambodian people gave their support to us to oppose the Lon Nol regime (then in power)."

He said the prosecution's case, based to some degree on journalists' accounts, was "monumentally biased".

"I have the feeling that you really want my head on a block," he said.

Both Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary told the court they will continue to participate in proceedings.

The prosecution wrapped up its opening statements on Tuesday describing the three accused as "thieves of time and common murderers of an entire generation of Cambodians".

The tribunal says as many as 2.2 million people died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork under the Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule.

This week's session is hearing opening arguments, with the presentation of evidence scheduled to begin December 5.

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