Thursday, 7 January 2021

Forty-two years ago today, Cambodia and its people were liberated from the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime (the so-called “Democratic Kampuchea”).

At the age of 9, forcing to live and work in what is now known as Region 3 (the rural areas of Battambang province, Cambodia), I could clearly remember every single day of my life under the Khmer Rouge regime which no words could ever describe the agony, the suffering, the pain, the loss, the violence, the atrocity, and ultimately the genocide of the greatest proportion in the world, while the international community stood in silence.

Despite the fact that the international community had clearly known of the Khmer Rouge’s crimes against humanity, they had continued to actively support the Khmer Rouge in all forms and dimensions (political, diplomatic, military, economic, etc.)

Today, as a survivor of the Khmer Rouge’s genocide and totalitarianism, I, like my other Cambodian people who had survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, owe my life to those who had sacrificed their lives to liberate us from the evil and the genocide of the Khmer Rouge. In particular, I wish to respectfully express my profound gratitude to Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, for his visionary and strong leadership, his personal sacrifices, and his historic leadership role: (1) in liberating Cambodia from the tyranny of the Khmer Rouge; (2) in negotiating and securing peace for the country through the win-win policy; and (3) in rebuilding the country from “ground zero,” despite the international isolation, sanctions, and embargoes in the period after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Therefore, every Cambodian and the whole world should learn from the history of the Khmer Rouge’s genocide as well as the genocides and mass murders in other places and times in the world. We should never allow the genocide to take place again anywhere, anytime in this world!

Today, we all should be happy with what Cambodia has achieved so far and at the same time we should not take everything for granted. Of course, we also should continue to work even harder to maintain and to further contribute to the progress and transformation of Cambodia in all dimensions. Thanks to peace, stability, security and development!