President Truong Tan Sang has stated that the victory over thegenocidal regime 35 years ago closed the darkest chapter in Cambodia’s history and opened up a new era of independence, freedom, peace,neutrality and development for the Cambodian people. The Vietnamese President made the statement on January 5 whiledelivering a speech at a meeting in Hanoi to mark the 35thanniversary of the victory in the southwest border defence war and thejoint victory of Vietnam and Cambodia over the Khmer Rougegenocidal regime (January 7, 1979-2014). PresidentSang reiterated that the Vietnamese and Cambodian people shared the deepwish for peace to recover and reconstruct their nations after manyyears of war. However, the Khmer Rouge led by PolPot, Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan betrayed the Cambodian people andsabotaged the tradition of solidarity and friendship between the twopeoples. They carried out a genocidal policy in Cambodia andlaunched an invasion of Vietnam’s southwestern border region.

    

     The Pol Pot genocidal regime killed nearly 3 million Cambodians from 1975-1979.

      (Source: VNA)

Reigning from 1975-1979, the genocidal regime killed nearly 3 millionCambodian civilians in only 3 years, 8 months and 20 days, destroyed allsocial facilities and pushed the Cambodian nation to the brink ofperdition, he recalled, adding that their crimes were strongly condemnedby international community. The regime alsodistorted the history of Vietnam and mobilised most of its militarystrengths, including dozens of divisions and many local regiments, tolaunch an invasion into the southwestern border of Vietnam. They ravaged villages, brutally killed local people, including theelderly, children and women, and seriously violated the independence,sovereignty and territorial integrity of Vietnam. President Sang said their crimes towards the Vietnamese people areunpardonable. The Vietnamese Party, State, people and army practicedtheir legitimate self-defence rights and defeated their invasion. Together with the armed forces and people of Cambodia as well asthe support of international friends, the Vietnamese army overthrew thegenocidal regime on January 7, 1979.

Many locals in Ba Truc commune, Tri Ton district, An Giang province (Vietnam) were
brutally killed by the Khmer Rouge
(Source: VNA)

Following thevictory, thousands of Vietnamese experts and voluntary soldierscontinued standing side by side with the Cambodian people in thecountry’s revival and reconstruction. Since 1979,the Cambodian Government and people under the leadership of theCambodian People’s Party has achieved great progresses, making it acountry of peace with an increasing role in the region and the world,the President noted. “We would like to express ourdeepest gratitude towards Vietnamese and Cambodian heroic martyrs whosacrified their lives for independence, freedom and the common fate ofboth nations, for the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship and solidarity, aswell as for peace, stability and development in Southeast Asia and theworld”, President Sang said. The Presidentunderscored that the pure solidarity between people of Vietnam andCambodia will be inscribed forever in the history and can not bedistorted by any forces, he stressed. TheExtraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), with thesupport of the United Nations, have launched trials against theringleaders of the genocidal regime. This is a vivid evidence forjustice and the pure and fair-minded help of the Vietnamese voluntarysoldiers in Cambodia during the 1979-1989 period, said thePresident. “Looking back to the past 35 years, weare proud that the good neighbourliness and traditional friendship, andthe comprehensive, sustainable and long-standing cooperation betweenVietnam and Cambodia, nurtured by generations of leaders andpeople of both countries, have been growing unceasingly”, he said. Economic, trade, investment and tourism cooperation between the twocountries has also developed rapidly, he noted, adding that Vietnamis one of the top 10 foreign investors in Cambodia . President Sang stressed that Vietnam always treasures and attachesmuch importance to the development of the traditional friendship andcomprehensive cooperation with Cambodia for the interest of both peoplesand for the sake of peace, stability, cooperation and progress in theregion and the world.-VNA