Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said prevention of the return of any possible genocide is a main priority of the Royal Government.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the First Conference on “The Future of Cambodia Without Genocide,” held at the Army Command (administration office of Khmer Rouge Tribunal) in coincidence with the National Day of Remembrance, Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet said that reminiscing about the [Khmer Rouge] genocide is a trauma for Cambodia, but this pain put us in charge of protecting our society and the next generations from genocide so that they will not suffer such indescribable pain again.
“This is also our obligation to ensure that this atrocity act will not happen again in other countries,” he underlined.
Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet also laid stress on the importance of consensus on the interpretation of national history, including the national liberation on Jan. 7, 1979, the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement on Oct. 23, 1991, and the achievement of complete peace thanks to the Win-Win policy with Samdech Techo Hun Sen as the founder, since Dec. 29, 1998, to avoid any story fabrication for political gains by violating the justice of the victims and efforts in national unification.
“The future of a country depends on its willingness to face the past. But to do so, the nation has to have a consensus on the interpretation of its past and key historical events related to the country’s war and peace,” he said. “The search for internationally recognised justice is an effective way to create a common history of genocide for all, regardless of political affiliation.”
In addition, the Cambodian Premier emphasised the significance of education on genocide, a mechanism to prevent genocide, and of maintaining the hard-earned peace at all costs.
Samdech Thipadei took the opportunity to thank the United Nations and friendly countries for their technical and financial support for the success of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia or the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.
