UNTAC Left Cambodia in War
I am glad to be able to join, with HE Harry Horinouchi, the Japanese Ambassador, with Samdech, Excellencies, Lok Chumteavs, and our people on this occasion to launch the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of more than 84-km national road 5 connecting the city of Battambang to Serei Sophoan city of Banteay Meanchey. In just weeks, the Japanese Ambassador and I have made our presences on two separate occasions – the inauguration of the last segment of national road 1 in Phnom Penh, and today, the improvement or reconstruction of NR 5. For this project, we will two more events – one in Kompong Chhnang and in Pursat […]
I thank you so much – people from Battambang and Banteay Meanchey – for your hospitality. In fact the two provinces were originally only one province. In 1988, under my premiership too, I divide the original province of Battambang into two – which are Battambang itself and Banteay Meanchey. They are two big provinces. The aim of dividing it was to facilitate territorial management in time of war. As peace has now prevailed in the whole country […] I wish to remind you that UNTAC (the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia), after spending over two billion USD, left us in war, still. Pailin was under the Khmer Rouge. Along this area, Malai, Kamrieng, Phnom Proeuk, Sampeo Loun, Pailin, Samlot were all under the Khmer Rouge […]
Cambodians Ended the War
… In those days, perhaps in March, I came up to Battambang to organize a plan to launch offensive to take back Pailin. We did it. I was scheduled to go to Pailin. In days, Ee Chien fought back and retook Pailin. His troops went after us through to Sdao […] I brought it up for us to see. It was not only for the Paris Peace Agreement but for national reconciliation and process of democracy (for all that we did). At the end of the day, it is the Cambodians who ended the war with their own hands. It is a true story and I wish historians would not overlook this key issue. Most of the foreigners wrote a lot about the Paris Peace Agreement and its implementation but they failed to have clarified finally how peace was achieved and secured? […] facing imbalanced of forces between the Khmer Rouge factions that rebelled and those we did know yet and in absence of unity in Phnom Penh government […] I declared the three-point policy […]
Three-Point Policy
The three-point policy guaranteed our people (to secure peace from then to) the present. It had been 22 years now since the integration of the southern part of national road 5 started from Malai through to Pailin and Samlot. They consist of (1) guaranteeing life and safety to their physical bodies […] (2) guaranteeing employments and careers […], and (3) guaranteeing ownerships of properties […] they were not much but they did the trick. Some countries, in pursuit of internal peace, dared not take up their stands on point one of the policy […] and they require that the other party dropped their arms […] who would do that?
Win-win Policy Requires Political, Administrative, and Development Integrations
I said to my colleagues who participated in implementation of win-win policy that we cannot have only political and administrative integrations. We must do all. We started building roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals. They all benefited from development efforts as other parts of the country. As you can see now they have become one country. Last year, I left Serei Sophoan before dawn and arrived in Malai early morning before I got to Pailin. I did the same on my return to stop at Kon Damrey for morning noodle. Who could do that in the past? The area was under intense fighting since what we called the 1959-Samlot event, when In Tam built a road and caused problems on people’s land […]
Not a Defeat but an Obligation to End War and Division
… All in all, war broke out. It ended when the Royal Government implemented the win-win policy, with a full support of the Cambodian people. Were there no supports from our people and stakeholders involved, we could not have achieved peace and we cannot sit here today together […] we dare to do and to be responsible for the course of our nation. I made it clear in those days that that (our brothers who formerly served the Khmer Rouge) was not a defeat or surrender, but an obligation that as children of Cambodia, we must seek to end war and division. I thank every stakeholders involved – those on the Royal Government side and those on the opposition side, those who served the Khmer Rouge – for their participations in carrying out win-win policy, and our people’s supports […]
Three Stages of NR 5 Reconstruction
… I thank HE Horinouchi for his efforts to master Khmer language. He reads Khmer very well […] please allow me to send through you my great thanks for the Government and people of Japan for providing assistances for the people of Cambodia […] people may ask why do we reconstruct only one part of the national road 5? […] let me clarify. For this northern section of the national road 5 between the city of Battambang and Serei Sophoan, city of Banteay Meanchey, among the 84.74 km segment, we build 51.48 km of main road, and 23.92 km a detour of Battambang city, and 9.340 meters a detour of Serei Sophoan.
For a second stage of the whole project, we will build a segment from Prek Kadam through to Tholea Ma Am of Pursat. It will be a 118.7 km segment, where there is a 4.9 km detour of Udong, and 11.8 km detour of Kompong Chhnang city. For its third component, it will be the middle segment and the far-end. The middle segment will be from Tholea Ma Am of Pursat through to the city of Battambang, and another segment will be from the city of Serei Sophoan through to Poi Pet. It will be a total 149 km in all […] of which there is a 9 km detour at Pursat City, and a 36 km final length from Serei Sophoan to Poi Pet […]
Japanese Concessional Loan at 0.01% Interest
I could remember when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked about his decision to implement this project as I participated in this disaster conference in Sendai. We signed two agreements […] with a total sum of about 180 million USD […] the concessional loan was of very favorable level. It requires payment of interest only 0.01% per annum, with a payment period of 40 years, and a grace period of ten years. Such favorable concessional loan from Japan will contribute to infrastructural development policy of high quality […]
Over 15 Million People Keep Peace and Development
… Despite many achievements, we still need to do more and our country needs secured peace and political stability. Where there is no peace, there is no development. Checking historical fact, the war that broke out after 18 March 1970 had ended on 29 December 1988. Going through the war was one problem but dealing with what were left of war was a greater deal. We should not allow anyone to destroy peace. They should not see (interest of) a few people (important than) over 15 million others. The Cambodian people of more than fifteen million are in need of peace and development. They do not wish to see war in replacement of peace. We have secured peace now. We do not go back to war. The past has taught us and our peoples suffering have been more than enough […]
Elections Will Be as Schedule
Pursuing a liberal pluralism, our country will organize elections in a regular manner. We just conducted non-universal Senate election. On 29 July 2018, we will proceed to the sixth legislative term of the National Assembly elections. We do not suspend any one elections. Some countries have abandoned, because of their situation required, elections. As for Cambodia, there will be no prolongation of elections. It is a normal process of the Cambodian democracy […] the Cambodian people know full well about this issue because we have conducted this democratic obligation for a rather long time. We could be mature on that. However, democracy must not be without rule of law. There should not be a democracy with legal control. That would be an anarchy […]
2 April 2018 – Connecting the Corridor 400
On 2 April 2018, I will have to return to Battambang once again for connecting and putting into official use the 57-km corridor 400 […] just in case, should there be weather problem and the helicopter could fly, it would be Samdech Krola Haom Sar Kheng to take my place for the event […] well, the Khmer New Year is approaching. There will be Sangkranta in Battambang too […] people will welcome the new/rotating deity. This year we will celebrate the Sangkranta at Angkor one day before the rotation. A few years back, we celebrated the Sangkranta one day after the deity rotation […] the deity of the Roka/rooster has brought us a good amount of rain. We wish the deity of the Cho/dog year, who will take over, will bring Cambodia a reasonably similar amount of rain, and please do not bring along the storm and lightning strikes […]
Thanks for Supporting the Cambodian People’s Party
Once again, I wish to thank the Government and people of Japan for their supports and provision of grant aid as well as concessional loans for the sake of Cambodia’s development […] allow me to thank our people for their understanding on any difficulties that may cause in the course of expanding this road. It is for the greater benefit of our nation. I do not forget to express my sincere thanks for our people in the provinces of Battambang and Banteay Meanchey who always voted in support of the Cambodian People’s Party. I hope that you will continue to vote for it. It is not an electoral campaign but I have to express my sincere thanks in my capacity of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia to people who have voted for the Cambodian People’s Party […]./.
