By Duong Sokha and Stéphanie Gée
Ka-set in English
Click here to read the article in French
Click here to read the article in Khmer
On January 7th 1979, the UFSK forces (United Front for the Salvation of Kampuchea) and Vietnamese troops took Phnom Penh, thus putting an end to the Khmer Rouge regime which lasted a total of 3 years, 8 months and 20 days. But after having acclaimed the neighbouring country's intervention, Cambodians gradually started developing hostility toward the occupying forces, which were to stay on the Cambodian territory for ten years. For Cambodians today, the date of January 7th marks the end of Pol Pot's hell regime. However, many of them are irritated by the political hijacking of the event: January 7th still fuels debates, opposing the governmental clan, for whom it is a day of liberation, to the opposition side, for whom it means the start of Vietnamese occupation.
Local squabblings over January 7th
On May 20th last year, as Hatred Day was celebrated and with the upcoming legislative elections in Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen once again defended “the legacy of January 7th”, reminding his detractors that “without January 7th, we would not be able today to bring Ieng Sary, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan before a tribunal”. The fashion in which the symbolical date was celebrated on Wednesday January 7th confirmed the importance that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) sees in it.
On January 1st, Sam Rainsy, leader of the parliamentary opposition, wrote in a letter addressed to the English language newspaper The Cambodia Daily, that “when the Vietnamese communist army invaded Cambodia to 'liberate us' from the Khmer Rouge, we soon realised that we were sailing between Scylla and Charybdis [escaping a danger only to encounter another one, often worse]”. Instead of saying that without January 7th 1979, no achievements would have taken place, Sam Rainsy continues, it would be better saying that “without April 17th 1975, there would have been no need for January 7th 1979”, two dates which he sees as “inextricably linked together”.
The debate seems like a never-ending issue between the two sides. Many wish to see historical truth preserved, without any political resonance in it.
A “liberation” first and foremost?
Mr. Lim, a lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, remembers January 7th 1979: “It was the pleasure of having solid food to eat at last, the regained freedom to walk around, being reunited with family or looking for them... We did not fully understand what was going on [...] Even if the Vietnamese have always been our traditional enemies, they still showed us kindness. It is only after that we started hearing about stories of looting, rapes and crimes committed by their soldiers. It is true that we were still somewhat suspicious about them.”
He is exasperated by the fact that January 7th is now at the heart of political quarrels and that the memory of it is being hijacked to serve the interest of politicians. “The meaning of that day must only be historical”, he pleads. “I am not against celebrations but they should remain neutral.”
Calling for tolerance
In the eyes of Chea Vannath, a political life observer and the former president of the Centre for Social Development, “January 7th must remind Cambodians that they should not be divided”. “I respect people's opinions about the way this event should be read and I do not wish to decide upon it, since what is important here is to show each other mutual respect. We must learn to live together despite our differences. January 7th should not be an issue: on that day, millions of Cambodians came out of the horror of the Khmer Rouge regime. The problem is the fact that the Vietnamese troops extended their stay on our territory. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past!”
Facts, bare facts
Liberation or invasion? It is a simple question of interpretation, says Dy Khamboly, author of A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979), published in 2007 by the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam). In the book, he explains that he refused to decide on which stance to side with and carefully chose his words. “What is written is that the Vietnamese troops “entered” Cambodia on that day. It is neutral.”
Very often, he continues, “we notice that Cambodians experienced that day as the end of Pol Pot's regime, whereas those who lived abroad were more inclined to think that it marked the beginning of Vietnamese occupation”.
“Let us not make all things political! It is important to recount this period of history to the younger generations, but as being historical truth, and by sticking to facts!”, the historian reckons, adding that back then, few Cambodians knew that these events happened on the 7th of January, since they had lost all notion of time...
Local squabblings over January 7th
On May 20th last year, as Hatred Day was celebrated and with the upcoming legislative elections in Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen once again defended “the legacy of January 7th”, reminding his detractors that “without January 7th, we would not be able today to bring Ieng Sary, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan before a tribunal”. The fashion in which the symbolical date was celebrated on Wednesday January 7th confirmed the importance that the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) sees in it.
On January 1st, Sam Rainsy, leader of the parliamentary opposition, wrote in a letter addressed to the English language newspaper The Cambodia Daily, that “when the Vietnamese communist army invaded Cambodia to 'liberate us' from the Khmer Rouge, we soon realised that we were sailing between Scylla and Charybdis [escaping a danger only to encounter another one, often worse]”. Instead of saying that without January 7th 1979, no achievements would have taken place, Sam Rainsy continues, it would be better saying that “without April 17th 1975, there would have been no need for January 7th 1979”, two dates which he sees as “inextricably linked together”.
The debate seems like a never-ending issue between the two sides. Many wish to see historical truth preserved, without any political resonance in it.
A “liberation” first and foremost?
Mr. Lim, a lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, remembers January 7th 1979: “It was the pleasure of having solid food to eat at last, the regained freedom to walk around, being reunited with family or looking for them... We did not fully understand what was going on [...] Even if the Vietnamese have always been our traditional enemies, they still showed us kindness. It is only after that we started hearing about stories of looting, rapes and crimes committed by their soldiers. It is true that we were still somewhat suspicious about them.”
He is exasperated by the fact that January 7th is now at the heart of political quarrels and that the memory of it is being hijacked to serve the interest of politicians. “The meaning of that day must only be historical”, he pleads. “I am not against celebrations but they should remain neutral.”
Calling for tolerance
In the eyes of Chea Vannath, a political life observer and the former president of the Centre for Social Development, “January 7th must remind Cambodians that they should not be divided”. “I respect people's opinions about the way this event should be read and I do not wish to decide upon it, since what is important here is to show each other mutual respect. We must learn to live together despite our differences. January 7th should not be an issue: on that day, millions of Cambodians came out of the horror of the Khmer Rouge regime. The problem is the fact that the Vietnamese troops extended their stay on our territory. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past!”
Facts, bare facts
Liberation or invasion? It is a simple question of interpretation, says Dy Khamboly, author of A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979), published in 2007 by the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam). In the book, he explains that he refused to decide on which stance to side with and carefully chose his words. “What is written is that the Vietnamese troops “entered” Cambodia on that day. It is neutral.”
Very often, he continues, “we notice that Cambodians experienced that day as the end of Pol Pot's regime, whereas those who lived abroad were more inclined to think that it marked the beginning of Vietnamese occupation”.
“Let us not make all things political! It is important to recount this period of history to the younger generations, but as being historical truth, and by sticking to facts!”, the historian reckons, adding that back then, few Cambodians knew that these events happened on the 7th of January, since they had lost all notion of time...
19 comments:
Vietnamese troops, (not Hun Sen's Troops) overthrew the KR regime on 7 January 1979, because of Political reason, not for Humnitarian reason.
1.It twas the result of long Political and Territorial disputes between the KR and the Vietnameses.
2 The KR through its Genocide Regime, made the Country so weak and give an opportunity for Vietnam to " intervene" and indirectly liberated Cambodian people from the Genocide.
3.In fact Vietnam just aimed to achieve its long term vision or " HO CHI Minh testament": a Great Vietnam that include Cambodia and Lao.
4. Only Hun Sen and the CPP are an " ANIMAL" because they don't want to understand Vietnam'long term Vision. Cambodian people understand this very well.
5. After the 7 January what Cambodian people were suffering?: the KO PERAM (from 1982 to 1989)which mobilized Khmer people Countrywide, including Women and Widows, to work at the border areas to build strategic roads.Many hundreds of thousands Khmer people died from work accident, ladmine and malaria.
5. The CPP never mentions the KO PRAM and this infamous warning:
" Who are against the KO PRAM are traitors to the Country" .
Khmer in Cambodia remembers Jan 7 as Freedom Day, a day where they got their freedom back from Pouk Ah Pleu-oversea who destroyed their country and abused them for several years.
4:21 You are short-minded. As a Human IWe must look at the 7 January, the Vietnam 's reason behind it and what happend after 7 January: Colonization of Cambodia by Vietnam.
4:21 Maybe Khmer generation after 7 January don't know about how Vietnam ruled cambodia and the KO PRAM which lasted 8 years, from 1982 to 1989.
Hi all,
Please listen to what Bui Tin, who former Vietnamese colnel, who accompaniedthe invading Vietnamese army said, after the so=called liberation and occupation:
"In my opinion, the determination to create a federation of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos was another of our major mistakes. Since all three countries of Indochina had been part of a single battlefield, there was said to be a special feeling of friendship between their peoples, governments and three fraternal Parties.These relationships were characterised as comradely or fraternal, hence a special alliance had to be formed. But what was so special about this relationship ? Among the three countries, Vietnam had a population of over 60 millio while Cambodia had barely 6 million and Laos just over half that total. so what sort of equlaity was that ?
.....Hence the idea of equality was in reality vewry difficult. as a result, vietnam's sincerity became a suspect".
Bui Tin, Following Ho Chi Minh, p. 127.
CPP monkeys, about time to open your eyes.
Jan. 7th is truely the day of invasion. I am one of the HUN SEN's soldiers in the early 80s. The YOUN robbed, pillaged and looted everything. You name them, everything!!
They I escape to the border and join the resistance fighter. Like Pen Sovann said, he try to stop YOUN from stealing thing from Phnom Penh. They put what they looted on the trucks, ships and boats etc down to Ho Chi Minh city.
Mr. Pen Sovann said, you can come in to liberate but not to control (invade). They don't listen that's why they send him to jail in Hanoi.
True Khmer,
Its not liberation, who are they fooling.
Millions of youns in cambodia. Is that liberation?
There is a prediction from Cambodia that HUN SEN Kwang Makhak will die by assasination.
His day will come!!
There is no way that 99% accept Jan 7th as the day of liberation.
We have to abandon this day.
Cause it was the day of invasion!!!
Khmer PP,
Actually 99.9% see Jan 7 as Liberation day.
Hun Sen and the CPP Want to cheat Cambodian people with the So-called 7 January 1979 Victory.
Even Bui Tin a former Vietnamese Colonel recognized the Long Term Vision of Vietnam. We must respect him for his impartiality.
But we must disgust the CPP and CPP officials for their allegieance to Vetnam.
Cambodian Youth and Camb. people must not be short-sighted and must not focus only on the 7 january.
We must understand about politic and the future of our Country, which need a Real Democracy to move forward.
We must not lurred by the infrastructures built by the government. It's the task of any government to built infrastruc- tures. And we can do more than this without corruption.
At IFL (Royal University)there are 2 Prof who praise the 7 January 1979 in the Cambodia Daily . These 2 guys must learn from Bui Tin, a former Vietnamese Colonel who clearly expressed his view about Vietnam's ambition over Laos and Cambodia.
It's a break away day from KR, but it wasn't solely intended to liberrate us. It was purely an accidental coinsedence when the two KR and vietnam were fighting each other. Not that we want Vietnam to win, but because the regime of KR was horrible and unbarable, we didn't care at the time. KR can go. They were no good, but for Vietnam to run our goverment to no end insight, taking over our Kos tral, letting their people come to live in our country freely in order to relieve some of the pressures in their tiny country, it's another story. It can not be accepted it as a liberration day. It should be regarding as " A TRANSFERING DAY FROM COMMUNIST KHMER ROUGE TO COMMUNIST VIETNAM ", because right now everything is out in the open.
CONCLUSION...
VIETNAM WANTS TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY !
OR YUONS WANT CAMBODIA !
YUONS ARE OUR BIG PROBLEM.
To annihilate this, Khmers should kill
the 3 bloody monkeys in Cambodia !
something statistics or numbers alone is not sufficient to give a good, sound conclusion or interpretation of things. there are more need for concrete, pictured evidence as well as good, detailed evidence as well in order to make good, educated people understand. thank you.
in any competition, usually, the one that can give good argument with support of evidence, of course, will win and make the decision. maybe, cambodia may have to vote on this one! thank you.
Yes, we should abandon that day!!
Jan. 7th is truely the day of invasion. I am one of the HUN SEN's soldiers in the early 80s. The YOUN robbed, pillaged and looted everything. You name them, everything!!
They I escape to the border and join the resistance fighter. Like Pen Sovann said, he try to stop YOUN from stealing thing from Phnom Penh. They put what they looted on the trucks, ships and boats etc down to Ho Chi Minh city.
Mr. Pen Sovann said, you can come in to liberate but not to control (invade). They don't listen that's why they send him to jail in Hanoi.
True Khmer,
Freedom is not free, especially when it is dispensed by another communist group.
Only 99.99% of CPP core members support this date. A good leader would not pick a date that is so divisive for their society. This is what Hun Sen call win-win until srok khmer no more.
Thank you for all constructive comments for our Cambodia.
It's true that the 17 April 1975,
07 January 1979 and the cpp current government was created by vietcongs who have been secretly worked in pol pot's regime in order to swallow Cambodia peacefully like Champa,Lao,and Kampuchea Krom.
In Lao now are very crucial,because almost the Lao government officials are vietcongs but they are carrying Lao's name.
i think advocating killing when there are other ways to solve divisive problem is not a good, nor popular way to go. in fact,in case, one has not aware, this kind of threat on life is what drives some people to take a defensive action which is never good, if you understand at all. so, debating and communicating for some sort of sound, reasonable solution by all sides is a good philosophy to have in cambodia. after all, didn't the brutal KR kill enough people already? so, why would anyone in their right mind want that kind of brutality gov't again? go figure! thank you and god bless.
Post a Comment