Leaders of the ruling CPP on Tuesday celebrated the anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge 24 years ago and called on Cambodians not to forget the lessons of the nation’s bitter past.
“We all pay our humble respect to the souls of the millions of innocent people who unjustly lost their lives under this genocidal regime and pray that they may rest in peace,” CPP President Chea Sim said, according to a copy of the speech he was to give at a CPP gathering Tuesday evening.
“This victory reflects clearly that any administration which does not reflect the people’s will cannot last long,” Chea Sim said.
Chea Sim lauded the accomplishments of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the CPP, which grew out of the communist regime installed by the Vietnamese government after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge.
But Chea Sim also called on the party to “strengthen internal unity and solidarity,” saying, “Each Party member must act in good faith which commands the respect and support of the people and absolutely avoid any wrongdoing which goes against the interests of the nation and people.”
He reiterated that Hun Sen will remain premier if the CPP wins the upcoming national elections. “[The CPP] has unanimously decided to appoint Samdech Hun Sen, vice-chairman of the Cambodian People’s Party, as the sole candidate for the position of Prime Minister for the coming Third Mandate of the Royal Government of Cambodia,” he said.
He also called on all eligible voters to register and vote in July’s polls.
The CPP “strongly supports” the establishment of a war crimes tribunal for former Khmer Rouge leaders, Chea Sim said. In New York on Monday, the government and UN restarted stalled talks toward a tribunal.
The party also “firmly adheres” to its government coalition with Funcinpec, Chea Sim said. “This ongoing cooperation is both an obligation and a demand for the two parties which will result in more new achievements for our people,” he said.
Tuesday’s holiday is a sensitive point for residents of the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin, said Keo Horn, the municipality’s CPP deputy governor.
“We are careful what we say on the anniversary of the Jan 7 victory,” Keo Horn said. “We don’t use the words ‘cruel,’ ‘genocide’ or ‘Khmer Rouge regime’ in our speeches. We just say that Democratic Kampuchea’s leaders led our country to disaster in the past.”
Pailin will celebrate the anniversary two days late, on Thursday, to allow top CPP officials, including Honorary President Heng Samrin to attend, Keo Horn said.
Mey Mak, Pailin’s cabinet chief and a former Khmer Rouge member, said people’s memory of the regime was beginning to fade. “People have become numb to hearing about the Khmer Rouge regime and the genocide perpetrated by its leaders,” he said.
“People had no right to kill people, but their leaders ordered them to do it,” he said. “If they did not follow the orders, they would be killed.”
Mey Mak said he regretted his involvement in the rebel force. “I am very sorry I spent more than 20 years of my life on the battlefield,” he said. “I should have been feeding my family and enjoying life in society.”
Vietnamese troops fronted by Khmer Rouge defectors—including Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin—began their assault on eastern Cambodia in December 1978 and took Phnom Penh on Jan 7, 1979, according to “When the War Was Over,” Elizabeth Becker’s history of modern Cambodia.
