Ven Rathavong / Khmer Times
General Nem Sowath, of the Ministry of National Defense, speaks at the press conference on Friday. KT/Ven Rathaong
The government and the Defense Ministry have elected Dec. 29 as the day to annually commemorate the win-win policy that brought peace to Cambodia by putting an end to the civil war in 1998.
December 29, 1998 Prime Minister Hun Sen said that defecting Khmer Rouge leaders should not stand trial before Cambodian courts. This offered them the opportunity to end hostilities without loss of face and allowed peace to return to the Kingdom.
Speaking at the Defense Ministry on Friday, General Nem Sowath, director-general of the ministry’s general department of policy and foreign affairs, said “Today is a third birthday for each of us,” he said, noting that Jan. 7 is the second birthday. January 7, 1979 marks the end the Khmer Rouge regime ended.
Defense Minister Tea Banh announced that there will be an event every year to mark Win-Win Policy Day. Gen. Sowath said that officials of the ministry are giving thought to the 20th anniversary of that day (next year), but did not go into detail.
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s posted on Facebook that after the Paris Peace Accords (Jan. 27, 1973) the civil war in Cambodia continued until he implemented the win-win policy on Dec. 29, 1998. “Win-win policy meant that all Khmer win together. All of Cambodia has peace and the citizens have more opportunities to build family and develop country.”
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