To the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, "January 7" is the 39th anniversary of the liberation from the Khmer Rouge regime. It is also the date of a new beginning for Cambodian people who survived the "Killing Field" to rebuild the country from scratch toward a brighter future.
"On January 7, 1979, the city of Phnom Penh was liberated from the notorious Khmer Rouge regime and Cambodia began its journey toward a brighter and more hopeful future," the embassy wrote on their Facebook page on Sunday.
The embassy added that the anniversary makes them remember "the two million lives lost during the Khmer Rouge era and the millions more who suffered." The embassy also praised the ingenuity, courage, and perseverance of the Cambodian people to emerge from the darkness and to reunite the country.
"We also celebrate the ingenuity, courage, and perseverance with which the Cambodian people have emerged from this period of darkness, rebuilt their country, and carried forward the process of national reconciliation."
Concerning this issue, an anonymous political analyst said that Celebrating “January 7” does not mean supporting the ruling party CPP, it is simply a celebration of a day that, for many people, signifies surviving the killing fields and the Khmer Rouge. Some veterans, who fought alongside Prime Minister Hun Sen to liberate the country from the Khmer Rouge, are now supporting the opposition party.
He added that in the same way, all the achievements in development, such as roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, are not tied to the ruling party alone. These national projects represent contributions from a number of stakeholders, and they are for all Cambodians. The Japanese government did not build the Neak Loeung Bridge for the CPP alone. They built it for Cambodian people from all walks of life, whether they are CPP supporters or opposition party supporters.
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