Former Cambodian defence minister Tea Banh has accused opposition politicians living abroad of attempting to drive a wedge between Cambodia and Vietnam by criticising Hun Sen’s trip to Vietnam in 1977.
Speaking at a ceremony on Saturday marking the 49th anniversary of what the government describes as the start of the struggle to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime, Mr Tea Banh said allegations that Hun Sen had brought Vietnamese troops into Cambodia amounted to incitement aimed at damaging relations between the two countries.
He said such efforts had “always failed” and described Hun Sen’s journey to Vietnam 49 years ago as a historic step that ultimately led to the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot.
Mr Tea Banh’s comments came after Um Sam An, a member of the self-styled 23 October Government of Independent Cambodia led by exiled opposition figure Sam Rainsy, criticised Hun Sen’s departure to Vietnam in 1977.
In a Facebook post on 15 June, Mr Um Sam An said Hun Sen’s move to Vietnam was an attempt to escape execution under the Khmer Rouge rather than an act motivated by patriotism.
He also questioned agreements signed between Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1980s and criticised what he said was the continued settlement of Vietnamese nationals in Cambodia.
Responding to those claims, Mr Tea Banh said Hun Sen’s journey represented a “sacrifice of blood and flesh” to free Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge regime and lay the foundations for rebuilding the country.
Hun Sen’s trip to Vietnam in 1977 and the role played by Vietnamese forces in toppling the Khmer Rouge in 1979 remain subjects of political debate between the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and critics of the government.
