Cambodia celebrates journey to overthrow Khmer Rouge, expresses gratitude to Vietnam

On June 20, the Kingdom of Cambodia solemnly held an event to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the "Journey to overthrow the Pol Pot genocide regime" at the Techo Koh Thmar X16 military historical relic complex, located in Koh Thmar hamlet, Tonloung commune, Memut district, Tboung Khmum province.

Cambodia held a ceremony to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the “Journey to overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime” on June 20. (Source: VNA)

Friendship in all fields

General Tea Seiha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Cambodia, chaired the event with the participation of many delegates from agencies, ministries, sectors, localities, branches of the armed forces and international guests.

On the Vietnamese side, the event was attended by a delegation from the Ministry of National Defense led by Lieutenant General Nguyen Hong Thai - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense; a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong. Vietnamese Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia Nguyen Minh Vu and leaders of several localities attended the event.

Speaking at the event, General Tea Seiha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Cambodia, emphasized the significance and purpose of the celebration. Affirming the historical importance of the event, he emphasized that without the beginning of the journey to overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime in 1977 and related events, Cambodia would not be where it is today.

In that spirit, General Tea Seiha expressed his gratitude to friends from other countries who have supported and assisted Cambodia's struggle, especially the Vietnamese volunteer army and experts.

Appreciating the continuous development of traditional solidarity and friendship, historical relations and close cooperation between Cambodia and Vietnam under the motto of “good neighbors, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability”, General Tea Seiha expressed his belief that after this commemorative event, the two countries will further promote friendship and good cooperation in all fields, especially promptly resolving outstanding border issues, turning the border area between the two countries into a border area of ​​peace , friendship, cooperation and development.

The Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister shared that in early July, the two countries will hold a Conference of Chairmen of the Cambodia-Vietnam and Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Border Committees (JBC) to promote the above work.

On this occasion, on behalf of the Royal Government and the Ministry of National Defense of Cambodia, General Tea Seiha once again thanked the government, army and people of Vietnam for always supporting and helping the Royal Government, army and people of Cambodia to improve development in all fields.

Delegates plant souvenir trees at the Techo Koh Thmar X16 military historical site. (Source: VNA)

Unforgettable journey

In his welcome message at the ceremony, Mr. Pen Kosal, Governor of Tboung Khmum Province (Cambodia), gave an overview of the local socio-economic development situation, preparations for the event, as well as updated the construction progress of the project items in the Techo Koh Thmar X16 military historical relic complex.

Besides, Mr. Pen Kosal also highly appreciated the good traditional friendship and cooperation relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as between localities sharing borders with Vietnam such as Tboung Khmum province.

This event marks the 48th anniversary of the beginning of the journey to liberate the country by Samdech Techo Hun Sen, President of the Senate, President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), and his close associates, towards liberating the Cambodian nation and people from the genocidal Democratic Kampuchea regime in the land of pagodas in early 1979.

48 years ago, on June 20, 1977, at the age of 25, Mr. Hun Sen and his four comrades, Nuch Than, Nhek Huon, San Sanh and Va Por Ean, crossed the border to Vietnam to seek support from the neighboring country for the cause of liberating the country and the Cambodian people from the genocidal regime led by Pol Pot.

From that beginning, combined with other genuine patriotic forces of Cambodia at that time, with effective and timely support from Vietnam, led to a decisive victory on January 7, 1979, liberating the country and people of Cambodia from the genocidal Democratic Kampuchea regime, moving towards completely ending the war, uniting the nation, building a peaceful and developed Cambodia as it is today.

To commemorate historical relics and emphasize the patriotism and heroism of Cambodia's outstanding sons in the struggle for the Cambodian nation and people, the Cambodian Government has invested in developing the Techo Koh Thmar X16 military historical relic complex, and assigned the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense to organize the annual commemorative event from 2017 to present.

In early April 2023, the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense inaugurated the great tower tomb and performed the burial ceremony of the remains of 49 soldiers of the Cambodian National Salvation Solidarity Armed Forces at the Techo Koh Thmar X16 Military Historical Site, after excavating and repatriating the remains of martyrs who had been resting in Vietnam for decades.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/campuchia-to-chuc-le-ky-niem-hanh-trinh-lat-do-khmer-do-bay-to-su-tri-an-doi-voi-viet-nam-318390.html