Hun Sen Urges Protection of Peace to Prevent Repeat of Khmer Rouge Era

Terry Felix On May 20, 2026 - 5:41 am In Politics 1mn Read

PHNOM PENH, May 20, 2026 — Cambodia’s acting head of state Hun Sen on Wednesday urged citizens to safeguard peace and prevent the return of the Khmer Rouge-era genocide as the country marked its annual National Day of Remembrance.

In a message published on his official social media account, Hun Sen described May 20 as a day Cambodians could “never forget,” commemorating victims of the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979.

The former prime minister said the occasion honoured the memory of more than three million people who died during what he called one of the darkest periods in Cambodian history.

Hun Sen said Cambodians continued to remember decades of war, forced displacement, executions, starvation and forced labour under the regime officially known as Democratic Kampuchea.

“People had no medicine, insufficient food, no rights, no freedom, no democracy, and even the fundamental right to life did not exist,” he said in the statement.

He called on the public to work together to ensure such a regime never returned, stressing that peace remained essential for national development and social stability.

“Peace provides every opportunity to build families, communities and the nation toward further progress,” Hun Sen added.

Cambodia annually commemorates May 20 as a national remembrance day dedicated to victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, whose rule devastated the country before being overthrown in January 1979.