Monks march in support of Cambodia trials

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Buddhist monks and nuns numbering in the hundreds marched Tuesday in Cambodia to show support for the trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders.

The Buddhists were joined by Muslim and Christian leaders in their march to the special courts on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Organizers of the demonstration said the trials are an important part of helping Cambodia recover from the wounds of its troubled past. A spokesman for the tribunal told the assembled religious leaders the courts are working for them.

The Khmer Rouge, Cambodia's top political party in the late 1970s, forcibly defrocked Buddhist monks and destroyed temples, churches and mosques. Muslims who refused to renounce their faith were massacred by the regime.

Nearly 2 million Cambodians are believed to have been killed during the four years that the Khmer Rouge was in power.