By Mao Sotheany
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soy
Click here to read the original in Khmer
This is the first time that a Khmerican committee organizes the 42nd anniversary of the Khmer Republic.
Among the more than 200 Khmericans who came to the 18 March 1970 commemoration held on Saturday 17 March 2012 in the US state of Virginia, there were about 100 former navy officers, former infantry soldiers and former air force soldiers from the 70s Khmer Republic era who traveled from various US states to join the event.
Kuch Schanly, President of the Khmerican committee which organized the 18 March commemoration for the first time, said that the main goal is to thank courageous Cambodian soldiers, Cambodian people and Cambodian monks from the Lon Nol Republic regime who fought against the Vietnamese aggression in the 70s: “This is the first event held during the 42nd anniversary to commemorate soldiers from the 18 March 1970 era who dedicated their lives. We believe that this an important gesture and a testimony of the patriotism of the 3 armed forces: the navy, the infantry and the air force, with the participation of students and monks who used knives and axes to fight against the Vietcong forces which invaded Cambodia in the 70s…”
The commemoration was held at the large “Sterling Ruritan Club” community club in Sterling, Virginia. Kuch Schanly said that the commemoration started at 7PM with a procession of former soldiers from the Lon Nol regime, and it was followed by traditional dance and music until the event ended at midnight. “There were 200 Khmericans who came from various states to commemorate this event, they were all very patriotic. We had a procession with the Khmer Republic flag, the salute of the Khmer and American flags, and there was also a procession of former navy, infantry and air force soldiers.”
The US-based Khmerican committee which organized this gratefulness event indicated that the more than 200 people who came to the event listened to speeches on the 18 March 1970 history, as well as speeches on the struggle led by the Cambodian people, those led by the navy, the infantry, the air force soldiers and by a number of Cambodian community leaders.
18 March 1970 was the date when General Lon Nol, a man close to Prince Norodom Sihanouk, led a coup d’état to remove the prince from power. General Lon Nol’s group accused Prince Sihanouk of colluding to allow the communist Vietnamese troops to set up sanctuaries inside Cambodian territories. Immediately after the toppling of Sihanouk, the Khmer Republic army led a campaign to sweep the Vietnamese army out of Cambodia.
14 comments:
New fighters are needed to destroy Hun Sen's regime.
cambodia3000.blogspot.com
Good article! But the Vietminh leaders are still in power.
What can we Khmericans do?
Lord Buddha said :
" Everything is impermanence "
China will chop Youn-Hanoi soon !
Uncle Sam ?Useless for sure !
9:00 AM
You have to star from scratch (point A) first, but if you don't you won't be able to go to the next point.
Hun Xen is checkmated by Yuon Hanoi, so this group and other Yuon-fighters may help to free Hun Xen from Yuon Hanoi.
I am Cham and I too want all the world Muslims more than one billion help to liberate Champa from the bloody killer Yuon who annihilated millions most of my people, I hardly find any real Cham left in Champa but in Cambodia yes.
We need more than this, we need GOD to lead and to guide us.
Thank Khmerican committee organizers
for loving nation and his people.
I am an old generation man who set foot in USA in 1981,but I am supporting as much as I can the
new Khmerican young generation.
គិតត្រូវ និយាយត្រូវ ធ្វើត្រូវ ពិតជាត្រឹមត្រូវ។
សូមឲ្យក្មេងខ្មែរ ទំពាំងស្នងឫស្សីមានជោគជ័យ!
I am a Khmer. I feel for what the Khmer Rouge did to his own people, but should i feel bad about the current regime.
Why do these Khmer people still continues to vote for Hun Sen? Millions Khmer cant possibly be that stupid, can they?
Khmericans,
I think most of your parents used to be Khmer Republic soldiers.
Thank You for taking the right step to deplore the expansionist Vietnam, which has been for centuries the trouble maker for Khmer people.
Fight against yuon is good, but not against Khmers and Khmers. If you do, you destroy your country as Lon Nol did.
I do not see anyone who is a real leader. Former Lon Nol soldiers are working with Hun Sen, Funcinpec. All are corrup as well as all of you in VA.
Khmerican are the new generation to fight against the corruption.
It is idiotic to remember useless memory that goes terrible in our history. Why not celebrate the remembrance of the three or more killed during the Khmer Rouges’ Killing Field.
12:41 PM
I think this anti-Yuon chose their day was right because they picked up what left over from the US support army. If they chose the day what you want them to do, then it will be overlapped with Hun Sen regime and then it would be impossible. I knew what you meant but it, this is the best avenue.
Lon Nol and his regime were anti-Yuon, and why do you want them to pick the date of Khmer Rouge era who worked with Yuon?
12:41 PM.
Lon Nol may not be the Khmer hero that we want him to be. But he deserves to die as a Khmer hero then live like a rat in China.
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