Pol Pot Is Not in Beijing, China Official Says
BEIJING — Reports that former Cambodian leader Pol Pot is undergoing medical treatment in China are false, a Chinese official said Sunday, adding that Beijing no longer has contacts with his Khmer Rouge forces.
Claims Saturday by Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan that Pol Pot had fled Cambodia and was not in Thailand set off rumors about the reclusive leader’s whereabouts.
Surin’s comments followed reports in two Cambodian newspapers last week that Pol Pot had escaped to China.
On Sunday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official who identified himself as Mr. Li said it is “well known” that China no longer has any “contact” with the Khmer Rouge.
“The rumor of the so-called Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot having medical treatment in Beijing is completely unfounded,” the official said.
There has been speculation that China wants to harbor Pol Pot to prevent the possibility of embarrassing revelations if the international community ever succeeds in putting him on trial for genocide.
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