Reporters on the Job

Khmer Rouge Tracker: Contributor Adam Piore first met Youk (pronounced Yook) Chhang in 1998 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. "I was there when they first announced that they might have a tribunal. The civil war was just ending," says Adam. "If you wanted to see documentation about atrocities under the Khmer Rouge, he was the guy to talk to."

Adam says that Mr. Chhang is a humble man. "He kept talking about his staff and all the other people who had suffered. Since he has studied the atrocities, he has met many victims' families. He wasn't sure the spotlight should be on him when others had suffered more."

Sunday, Adam traveled north to Anlong Veng, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold, to see preparations for the funeral of former Khmer Rouge military chief Ta Mok, who was captured in 1999 and died Friday, ending any chance of prosecution. "People have come from miles around to pay their last respects," says Adam. "They told me that Ta Mok built roads and gave them food. I also interviewed his son-in-law, a former deputy of his. He told me, 'We should not use the past as a stick to stir the water. It's hard to make the water clear; it's easy to make it dirty.' "

This week's look ahead

Monday, July 24:

Baghdad – Defense scheduled to resume final arguments in trial of Saddam Hussein and seven codefendants, following two-week recess.

Moscow – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrives for two-day visit to Moscow and Volgograd.

Manila, Philippines – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gives state-of-nation address.

Washington – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice scheduled to visit the Middle East, then Asia.

Tuesday, July 25:

Washington – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki meets President Bush.

Beijing – Deadline reportedly set by court for verdict in trial of Chinese researcher for The New York Times charged with leaking state secrets.

Kiev, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko gets the right to dissolve parliament and call new elections if the new parliamentary majority fails to form a government by this date.

Thursday, July 27:

Washington – Romanian President Traian Basescu meets President Bush.

Friday, July 28:

Lima, Peru – The inauguration of President-elect Alan Garcia.

Washington – President Bush meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Sunday, July 30:

Kinshasa, Congo – Congolese elect president and National Assembly.

Amelia Newcomb
Deputy world editor

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