On January 7, 1979, Cambodian revolutionary armed forces and Vietnamese volunteer soldiers liberated Phnom Penh capital (Photo:VNA) People of Ratanakiri province in northeastern Cambodia welcome Cambodian revolutionary armed forces and Vietnamese volunteer soldiers (Photo:VNA) The mass graves of innocent civilians who were killed under the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime were discovered after the liberation day January 7, 1979 in Choeung Ek, about 17km south of PhnomPenh (Photo:VNA) Vietnamese and Cambodian troops protect Angkor Wat temple (July 1982) (Photo:VNA) Cambodian revolutionary armed forces and Vietnam volunteer soldiers coordinate to improve combat techniques (Photo:VNA) Cambodian revolutionary armed forces and Vietnam volunteer soldiers coordinate to improve combat techniques (Photo:VNA) Vietnamese and Cambodian female soldiers share joys (Photo:VNA) Khmer Rouge troops at the Ta Sanh base surrender to the revolutionary Cambodian army and the Vietnamese volunteer … [Read more...] about 40th anniversary of Cambodia’s victory over Khmer Rouge
Khmer rouge
Cambodia celebrates 40th anniversary of Khmer Rouge ouster
Tens of thousands of Cambodians packed a stadium in Phnom Penh Monday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the expulsion of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime -- a day strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen called the country's "second birthday". Thousands attended the ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime The ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, installed a reign of terror in 1975 that left two million Cambodians dead from starvation, hard labour, torture and mass executions. It ended on January 7, 1979, when Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge cadre, led Vietnamese forces into the capital to expel the murderous regime. The 66-year-old premier hailed the day as Cambodia's "second birthday" at an elaborate ceremony in Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium, where he was joined by traditional Khmer apsara dancers and marching bands. "Today we celebrate this ceremony in order to recall unforgotten memories of the most heinous crimes of Pol Pot's group," Hun Sen … [Read more...] about Cambodia celebrates 40th anniversary of Khmer Rouge ouster
Two former Khmer Rouge leaders convicted for genocide
Former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan (Photo: AFP) Phnom Penh (VNA) - The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on November 16 sentenced two most senior surviving leaders of the country’s former Khmer Rouge regime to life in prison for committing genocide. Nuon Chea, 92, was the chief ideologist of the Khmer Rouge and second in command to Pol Pot. Khieu Samphan, 87, was head of state during the brutal regime, which ruled from 1975 to 1979. Spokesman of the trial chamber of the ECCC Neth Pheaktra told the press on November 16 that the verdicts in Case 002/02, which charged both men with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, were announced with the presence of representatives from the United Nations, the ambodian Government, foreign embassies, and local people. “The pronouncement of the verdict on Friday is a historical event for the Khmer Rouge tribunal, for Cambodia and for the world, as well as for international justice”, … [Read more...] about Two former Khmer Rouge leaders convicted for genocide
Khmer Rouge leaders found guilty of genocide in landmark ruling
The Khmer Rouge's former head of state Khieu Samphan, 87, and "Brother Number 2" Nuon Chea, 92, are the two most senior living members of the ultra-Maoist group that seized control of Cambodia from 1975-1979. The reign of terror led by "Brother Number 1" Pol Pot left some two million Cambodians dead from overwork, starvation and mass executions but Friday's ruling was the first to acknowledge a genocide. The defendants were previously handed life sentences in 2014 over the violent and forced evacuation of Phnom Penh in April 1975. But Friday's judgement at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) also found Nuon Chea guilty of genocide against the ethnic Vietnamese and Cham Muslim minority group, among a litany of other crimes. "The chamber finds that Nuon Chea exercised ultimate decision-making power with Pol Pot and... therefore finds Nuon Chea is responsible as a superior for all the crimes," presiding judge Nil Nonn said. "This includes the crime of genocide by … [Read more...] about Khmer Rouge leaders found guilty of genocide in landmark ruling
Convicted Khmer Rouge prison chief hospitalised
A Khmer Rouge-era jailer who was the first to be convicted in an ongoing Cambodian war crimes tribunal is ill in hospital, a prison official told AFP Wednesday. Kaing Guek Eav is serving out a life sentence for his role in managing a Phnom Penh detention centre where thousands were incarcerated, tortured and sent to their deaths Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, is serving out a life sentence for his role in managing a Phnom Penh detention centre where thousands were incarcerated, tortured and sent to their deaths in nearby "Killing Fields". The "factory of death" called S-21 was at the heart of the security apparatus of the Khmer Rouge, an ultra-Maoist regime that ruled from 1975-1979 and killed almost a quarter of the population through enslavement, overwork and execution. Duch was sent to a prison in Cambodia's Kandal province after an appeal extended his original decades-long sentence to life in 2012. Chat Sineang, director of the Kandal prison, told AFP that Duch had … [Read more...] about Convicted Khmer Rouge prison chief hospitalised