The New York Times

Saturday, August 2, 1997

A PERMANENT TRIBUNAL

To the Editor:

You rightly call the trial of Pol Pot by the Kmer Rouge "grotesque" (editorial, July 30). But no answer is to be found in the proliferation of ad hoc tribunals beyond those for Bosnia and Rwanda.

Two years as European Commissioner for humanitarian aid have convinced me the weorl needs to move fast on an effective, permanent deterrent against genocide and war crimes. The International Criminal Court can be such a deterrent, but the battle for its creation is still far from won.

EMMA BONINO

Brussels, July 31, 1997