Cambodia thanks Vietnam for saving them
Cambodia leaders thank Vietnam in countless occasions for invading Cambodia and saving Cambodians' life. Hun Sen said Vietnam has given life to Cambodia. He also praise and give thanks to Vietnamese martyrs for invading Cambodia.
Vietnam did not invade, but revived Cambodia: Hun Sen | Politics | Thanh Nien Daily
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has categorically rejected the notion that Vietnam invaded the neighboring Southeast Asian kingdom in the 1970s, saying Vietnamese soldiers had sacrificed their lives for "the survival of the Cambodian people and the country."
"I myself cannot explain all the meanings of the word "˜Vietnam'. In brief, Vietnam means the revival and development of Cambodia," he said at a press briefing on January 3 in Dong Nai Province after a ceremony to launch a monument for Unit 125 the earlier day.
At the press conference, Hun Sen said he wanted to express his thanks to Vietnamese veterans and war martyrs who "sacrificed for the survival of Cambodian people and the country."
Commenting on accusations by a former Khmer Rouge leader at a trial last month that Vietnam had invaded Cambodia in the 1970s, Hun Sen said it was not necessary to respond to such "deceitful" words.
"The killer and genocide (perpetrator) defending himself in an effort to evade the crime. Everybody knows our country used to have a genocidal regime and [now] we and the world have opened a trial against them," he said.
Reminded of the anger at the press conference, Hun Sen said some people had wrongly described Vietnam's military assistance to Cambodia as an invasion.
"I am ready to strongly reject any such allegations. Vietnam's presence in Cambodia was to meet a demand of Cambodian residents and for their survival"¦ Has any country helped Cambodia as much as Vietnam? No! Only Vietnamese people and army helped Cambodia when it faced the worst difficulties.
"Many of our people were killed by Pol Pot, why can't we ask for Vietnam's assistance? Whenever we became stronger, Vietnam would withdraw its military force. In reality, they withdrew in 1989. They have not been present for more than 20 years," he said.
So are they Hua Qiu or Viet? It's well documented most overseas Vietnamese are mostly Chinese persecuted after VCP took power.
