Phnom Penh (FN), May 22 – Cambodian Senate President, Samdech Techo Hun Sen stated that every time he met with foreign friends, he reminded them not to make a third mistake on Cambodia, speaking on Wednesday (May 22) at the closing of the conference on the “Future of Cambodia Without Genocide” at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

The lessons of history from the two mistakes that foreigners made on Cambodian soil are destructive. First, foreigners supported the coup to overthrow the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, which led to a genocidal war, and second, they supported the Khmer Rouge's seat at the United Nations and imposed diplomatic sanctions on the legitimate government, causing hardship to Cambodia. Therefore, Samdech Techo urged them to not make a third mistake on Cambodia.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen underlined that had the international community imposed sanctions on the Lon Nol regime similar to those on Myanmar's current military regime, Cambodia might have been spared from falling into the hands of the Khmer Rouge, thereby preventing the deaths of millions of innocent people.

At the same time, Samdech Techo Hun Sen questioned and expressed regret over countries that internally acknowledged recognising the Lon Nol regime as a mistake due to its undemocratic nature. He added that Cambodia's military coup was recognised by nations claiming to be fathers of democracy. Foreign entities seldom admit to their serious mistakes in Cambodia.

Samdech Techo expressed his anguish over certain countries persisting in supporting representatives of the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime, responsible for the massacre of millions of innocent Cambodians, enabling them to maintain their United Nations presence for 12 years. In contrast, these nations imposed diplomatic sanctions and a 12-year economic blockade on the government that liberated the people from the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen continued that the Royal Government of Cambodia, under the leadership of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), must exercise the highest caution to prevent any element in society from cultivating a culture of extremist politics. This includes avoiding the promotion of ideologies and incitement that could lead to movements against legitimate authorities and attempts to bring about changes, contrary to the principles of democracy and human rights.

On the occasion, Samdech Techo Hun Sen proposed that the international community must collaborate to forestall any actions that could precipitate a resurgence of the Cold War and potentially ignite conflicts or physical warfare. This is crucial to avoid the loss of wealth, development opportunities, and, most importantly, the loss of human lives, as is happening in some parts of the world today.
=FRESH NEWS