Cambodia approves Khmer Rouge trial

Cambodia's legislature agreed Monday to prosecute former Khmer Rouge leaders for their role in the deaths of nearly two million people in the late 1970s.

• INDEPTH: Cambodia

The lawmakers voted to establish a United Nations-assisted tribunal. The move is not expected to face any resistance from the Senate or Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"This is a very big outcome the Cambodian people and international community have been waiting for," Hun Sen told reporters after the vote. "Let's accept this outcome."

None of the regime's top leaders have been brought to justice.

The Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998. But several top officials from the regime still live freely in Cambodia.

The communist regime ruled the country from 1975 to 1979 and is blamed for the deaths of nearly two million Cambodians from starvation, disease, overwork and execution.

A venue and budget must be obtained before a trial is held. Hun Sen said he expects the international community to fund most of the tribunal.

Despite challenges that some former leaders may escape prosecution because of their ties to Hun Sen, the government has vowed that no one will be exempt, including people who had previously received pardons.