His Excellency President José Ramos-Horta, the President of Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste,
His Excellency Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister,
Excellencies Leaders of the Government of Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste,
Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests!
Today, I am truly delighted to have the opportunity to share my personal experiences related to “My Lessons: Cambodia’s Journey from Genocide and Poverty to Freedom and Prosperity”. I would like to thank His Excellency President José Ramos-Horta and His Excellency Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão for organizing this special lecture session on my second official visit here. The first official visit was in 2016 when I was a prime minister at that time.
I have written and shared extensively about my life journey, which was related to the destiny of my motherland Cambodia. Recently, during the 11th International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace in November 2024, I raised many important points regarding the peace-building and national development through Win-Win Policy. Yesterday, I also gave a lecture on this topic at the seminar organized by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
It is true that the experience, context, and political situation as well as the history of each country are not the same. Therefore, what is good in Cambodia may be difficult to apply in the context of another country. However, I believe that the concept and common goal of “Win-Win Policy” that responds to the desire to live in harmony and prosperity of all people is truly valuable as a foundation for building lasting and inclusive peace. Therefore, I would like to share a broad understanding of how Cambodia has risen from zero to achieve the progress as it is today.
For those who are not familiar with Cambodia, I would like to emphasize that under my initiative and guided implementation, “Win-Win Policy” achieved peace and territorial unity in 1998 by completely ending the bloody war between Khmer and Khmer. This is a complete and lasting peace that the Khmer people have never received in the 500 years since the fall of the Angkor Empire. This national unification without the use of bullets and bloodshed is perhaps unique to Cambodia. This is not a boast; rather, it is pride in using peaceful methods to bring about peace and national reconciliation following a period of tragedy and division experienced by our people under the genocidal regime from 1975 to 1979.
[Start – 1]
Today’s speech is not going to be like the one I delivered yesterday. This lecture is a little different. I would like to highlight and present seven points here. However, there are also the same points that I had delivered the previous time, just more elaboration related to the Cambodian national journey.
[End – 1]
A. The Year Zero of Cambodia
The period from 17 April 1975 to 6 January 1979 is considered by historians to be the Darkest Age or Year Zero of Cambodia, known as the Khmer Rouge Regime or Democratic Kampuchea and finally called as the Genocide Regime. The Democratic Kampuchea regime was established after the Khmer Rouge forces took over Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975; just one day after the traditional Khmer New Year. I would like to point out that during the Cambodian Civil War from 1970 to 1975, there was the Lon Nol faction on one side and the forces of the National Liberation Movement, or Sihanoukism, and the Khmer Rouge forces on the other. However, the Khmer Rouge seized power based on their ideology, while those with Sihanoukist leanings, including myself, were hunted down. To save my life, I had to hide my true perspective and the reasons that led me to abandon my studies to join the National Liberation Forces after the coup that overthrew His Majesty the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk.
[Start – 2]
At this point, I would like to clarify on “why did I choose to join the resistance movement of Prince Norodom Sihanouk?” There were four options that I could choose at that time. First, I could return to Phnom Penh to continue my studies. Second, I could join the Lon Nol’s army after the coup, with support from outside sources, that overthrew Prince Norodom Sihanouk. Third, I could join the resistance movement to liberate the country, at the call of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, and fourth, I would do nothing. However, Cambodia then would not leave anyone to survive without becoming a hostage of war. Among the remaining options, I decided to fight against foreign aggression. After the coup that overthrew Prince Norodom Sihanouk, I had to give up my studies and decided to fight to liberate the country. Unfortunately, after the country was liberated, like other young people and the entire Cambodian people, I became one of the victims of the liberation of the country.
[End – 2]
During the Khmer Rouge regime, more than three million Cambodians were killed, dying of disease and starvation. Due to their blind political ideology and lack of thorough understanding of the geopolitics, people, culture and regional and international situation, the Khmer Rouge carried out a cultural revolution that swept away the old mindset and traditions of society, including through massacre. Schools and pagodas were destroyed or turned into prisons or storages for agricultural fertilizers and rice. The economic and educational systems were eliminated, and scholars, intellectuals, teachers and even literate people were killed. Most Cambodians who lived through the genocide suffered psychologically and were terrified by the atrocity of that era. Cambodia became a killing field, a soul-less country and a prison without walls, while the people suffered from all kinds of human rights abuses that were incomparable. The Khmer Rouge regime waged war on its own people as well as against neighboring Vietnam.
B. The sacrifice of Samdech Techo
[Start – 3]
Regarding the second point here, I want to talk about my sacrifice. Yesterday, I talked about my sacrifice from 1970 to 1975. I should also mention that I participated in 105 battles in the war, excluding those times when I had to escape dropping bombs or shells. I was wounded five times, and I had lost my left eye on April 16, 1975, just one day before the liberation of Phnom Penh from the Lon Nol regime.
[End – 3]
In that terrible situation, I, as a commander of 2,000 men, had four options. 1). Rebel with only 2,000 men who could only hold out for a short time and would surely be completely destroyed. I don’t believe that this army of over 2,000 people could defeat an army of over 180,000 people at that time. 2). Flee to Vietnam to gather more manpower to fight, 3). Remain silent and allow Pol Pot’s troops to continue killing their own people, including me, and 4). Commit suicide because I could not bear the severe psychological suffering. Nonetheless, in the end, I chose the second option, fleeing to Vietnam, knowing that even if there was little hope or even if I had to die, I would have to try. For this option, my entire family was also at risk of being killed by the Khmer Rouge.
[Start – 4]
Up to this point, I think that in the world, no leader has a worse fate than I did. [inaudible] His Excellency Xanana Gusmao had been a victim and a fighter. I think, however, that in this world, among the leaders, there is no one who is more unfortunate and difficult than I had been. In the war of national liberation, I was injured. The injury was very painful, but what was even more painful was (what happened) in the genocidal regime of Pol Pot. You can all imagine that my wife and I had to marry in a wedding of 13 couples. It was a strange marriage. Well, the fact that I was able to get married at a time was considered lucky. Under the Pol Pot regime, the wedding could have been an event for generally 100 to 200 to 300 couples. Despites that fact, I can draw a conclusion that family happiness does not come from how much the marital event was prepared.
Next year, my marriage will be 50 years long with five children and 22 grandchildren. My eldest son, who in 1979 called me “uncle” because I left to lead the resistance, was still in his mother’s womb. He was imprisoned and ran through the jungle with his mother. Upon our reunion, you all could have imagined how I felt when my son called me “uncle” for two months before he recognized me as his father. This was a tragedy that happened to me. This has transformed into an effort to prevent the return of the Pol Pot genocidal regime and to strive for peace. If there were no exploitation, oppression, killing, and wars, there would be no need for us to strive. It was because of this painful past that we had to strive to stand up, liberate the country, and maintain peace for development until today.
[End – 4]
I had the opportunity to live carefree when I was only 25 years old and could seek political asylum abroad, but the Cambodian people would never have known so-called complete peace. I fought with the support of my Vietnamese friends and liberated Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge regime on 7 January 1979, which the Cambodian survivors from this brutal regime called it as their second birthday. I am very proud to have become a person who started the struggle with only four people to free our poor country from a brutal genocidal regime, using my own life as capital, my vast patriotic conscience as a force of courage, and my wisdom as a guiding compass. Although the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed in early 1979, the Cambodian people did not live in peace, with Cambodia remaining a geopolitical arena in the Cold War between the West and its allies in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
C. The Efforts to Find Peace for Cambodia
The Khmer Rouge took the lives of more than 3 million Cambodians after only 3 years, 8 months, and 20 days in power. Unexpectedly, the Khmer Rouge were allowed to occupy Cambodia’s legitimate seat at the United Nations and continue to wage war to regain power for another 12 years, until 1991. The international community not only did not recognize the government that had liberated the nation from the genocide, but also imposed severe economic and political sanctions, forcing the remaining victims of Pol Pot’s genocidal regime to endure and struggle to rebuild their nation under the weight of sanctions and the danger of the return of the Pol Pot regime.
The fear of ideological domino effect was so great that the international community was willing to turn a blind eye to the Khmer Rouge, whose bloodstained hands continued to threaten the revival of Cambodian society and civilization […]
[Start – 5]
As a 27-year-old foreign minister, I was insulted and hurt to this day. I have had no anger towards anyone, but those feelings stand me up to make Cambodia equal and internationally recognized as a country that has contributed to building its own country and maintaining peace in the world. From 2006 until now, Cambodia has sent more than 10,000 troops to ten countries to maintain peace under the UN umbrella. We have had a very difficult time and our people have suffered.
As I briefly stated, I became the Foreign Minister at the age of 27, at the age of 29, I became Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and at the age of 32 I became Prime Minister. This tenure of office as Prime Minister lasted for 38 years. That means (I had been) from the youngest to the longest served Prime Minister in the world. At that time, there was no Prime Minister younger than I was. When I resigned from the post of Prime Minister, the current Prime Minister took office in 2023 at the age of 45. They say he is a young Prime Minister. Actually, I became the Prime Minister when I was 32 years old, younger than when the current Prime Minister takes office. Hence, the current Prime Minister is not a young Prime Minister compared to When I was. After I became Prime Minister, the point I used to bring up was the introduction of reforms with two major goals – political and economic reforms. This endeavor had been very dangerous for my political life. Why do I say dangerous? I raised this topic in Jakarta too. There were three forces pressing on me.
First, internally, we did not understand what was called political and economic reforms. People only knew about fighting and killing each other, while I put forward the goal of finding a political solution through peaceful negotiations between Cambodians and Cambodians to end the conflict. How many people supported this move? Even the Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs at that time were against this negotiation. I was forced to change the two ministers and I (myself) had to return to (the role of) Minister of Foreign Affairs.
When I became Prime Minister, I also held the position of Foreign Minister for a while before I transferred this post (of Foreign Minster) to someone else. The person who took over the job had no intention or effort to promote negotiations. He opposed negotiations. That had left us with no choice but to change the Foreign and Defense Ministers to pave the way for negotiations. Even within the Cabinet and those holding key positions in the military and foreign affairs were not comfortable with negotiations. Thus, internal disagreements were not a small matter. (It was) very big and could have jeopardized at least my political life.
Second, I carried out political and economic reforms while the Vietnamese army was still present in Cambodia. At that time, Vietnam had not yet carried out its economic reforms. However, Vietnam respected Cambodia’s decisions regarding its politics and the choice of socio-economic development path. It was quite fortune that I had full freedom to make decisions even though the Vietnamese army was present in Cambodia and Vietnam had not yet carried out those reforms.
What was the third danger? At that time, we had only assistance from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, CMEA – Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, and especially the largest assistance came from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union did not yet have Gorbachev’s Perestroika or Glasnost. I would share with you that in Moscow in 1987, with Samdech Heng Samrin, I met Gorbachev. I informed Gorbachev of the planned meeting between me and Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk. Gorbachev told us – “the Cambodian friends should open negotiations on two platforms at the same time.” Today I reveal another secret that I did not reveal in Jakarta. Gorbachev gave the opinion that “the Cambodian friends should open negotiations on two platforms at the same time – the Hun Sen-Sihanouk platform and the Hun Sen-Pol Pot platform. This is to use the Sihanouk negotiation platform to put pressure on the Hun Sen-Pol Pot negotiation table, and use the Hun Sen-Pol Pot negotiation platform to hold the Hun Sen-Sihanouk negotiation table.”
The Chinese ambassador here might know. The Soviet Union and China were negotiating with each other. At that time, China opened the Soviet Union-China and the Soviet Union-US negotiation forums. The Soviet Union used the superiority of the Soviet Union-China negotiations to seek excellence over the negotiation, to gain superiority of the Soviet Union-US negotiation table. Using the Soviet Union-US negotiations to gain advantage over the Soviet Union-China negotiation table. Gorbachev gave us such opinion. As the Prime Minister, and Samdech Heng Samrin was the head of state, I told Samdech Heng Samrin, “Brother! If we open negotiations with the Khmer Rouge, it is equivalent to suicide. Absolutely not, and I will not negotiate. If we negotiate with Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk, I will negotiate. If we were to negotiate with the Khmer Rouge, it would not be possible. Friends give opinions, but the decision is up to us.”
I should expose this because it is about time to. Some opinions are right and some are wrong. We are not playing that game. I come back to the three dangers that I mentioned (1) internal disagreement, (2) Vietnam in Cambodia, but Vietnam respected Cambodia’s decision, (3) the Soviet Union was the aid provider. If at that time the Soviet Union had told Phnom Penh, “If Hun Sen continues as Prime Minister, the Soviet Union will stop providing aid,” I would have also been in danger. But fortunately, the Soviet Union respected Cambodia’s decision on choosing a path of development and solving problems.
It was based on these experiences and circumstances that I often say to friends who came to work as “helpers” to Cambodia, “In the past, you accused me of following the orders of Vietnam or the orders of the Soviet Union. Let me tell you that when Vietnam had troops in Cambodia, I had the right to make decisions. No one stopped me. When I work with you, if I don’t follow your orders, you will simply cut off aid.”
May I share with His Excellency José Ramos-Horta and His Excellency Xanana Gusmao […] sometimes, foreign friends are good, but they use us as a testing ground. Be careful on that point. (This happened to) me. They asked me to sell customs. They came to warn me. They gave me so much money, but they required us to sell customs. In 2007 or 2008, they came to require me to sell customs. I did not comply. Customs is a sovereign service. Customs has the right to use helicopters, the right to use destroyers, and the right to be equipped with weapons. It is unfortunate that they advise us to do so. When that was investigated later, a number of countries had tried it, and they also tried to use Cambodia as an experiment or a testing ground.
I hope that our foreign friends here would not be feeling uneasy with the fact that I have brought this issue up for His Excellency José Ramos-Horta and Xanana to be careful. I have enough experience in working with foreign partners. Today’s foreign partners, should we not follow their advises, they would cut aid. They like that very much. They once asked me, like I aid above, to sell customs […] 50% for the government sector and 50% for the private sector. Selling customs is equivalent to selling sovereignty. I wrote on the letter submitted to me by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance that whoever attends the meeting (on this issue) again, I will remove from positions and mocked them to buy the position of Prime Minister instead, it would be better. “After the election, we will sell the position of Prime Minister to help us manage, as the position of Prime Minister is bigger than customs.
Having said that, let’s also talk about the issue of technical assistance. The word technical assistance practically means that “they give us money and they take it back”. It has been an actual experience that Cambodia can share. Under the term “technical assistance,” they give us help, but they let their own people work and then take the money from us in return. I built a library at the University of Phnom Penh that was put into service since 1997. Later, the World Bank came to help build a library that was smaller than mine, but they used foreigners to design it, while Cambodia has architects who are capable enough to do those jobs. Why didn’t they use Cambodians? Our ancestors had built Angkor Wat, why would they not be able to build a library? They their people find jobs. They designed a layout that was a little smaller than this room (that we are in), and they called in foreigners to design it to take money out.
Sometimes, aid comes to us with figures but no actual goods. I don’t know what happened in Timor-Leste. I’ll tell you a little bit about what happened in Cambodia. You asked me to come talk, now I am doing everything about it. UNTAC left us over 200 used cars, but they were all stolen. Some UNTAC officials conspired with the thieves to sell the cars. UNTAC gave the missing cars as aid to Cambodia. We didn’t get the cars. We only received a piece of paper, and the stolen cars were all gone. The rest of the cars were taken away. The cars (provided as aid) were all stolen. They said they gave us aid. So, I don’t know if the UN operation in Timor-Leste did anything like that when it withdrew?
It is a story that should be learned about aid. The talked about it as provision of aid but it is turned to somewhere else. I said this to Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, during the ASEAN-UN meeting – “regarding the technical assistance, aid that comes to developing countries, more than 80% is taken back. The host countries are left with less than 20%”. Let’s be careful, otherwise we will only get big figures, but in the end, it is not aid for our development. It is aid to put in the pockets of their employees to go back home.
Let me go back to talking about the dangers to me. I reiterate – first, internal disagreement, second, the Vietnamese army in Cambodia, but Vietnam respected our decision (and) third, the Soviet Union was the only source of assistance. If the Soviet Union did not respect our decision and simply demanded to Phnom Penh – “if Hun Sen continues as prime minister, we will stop provide further assistance,” (everything would come to an end for me). At that time, there were still accusations between the Soviet Union and China. China accused the Soviet Union of being revisionist. The Soviet Union accused China of being revisionist. At that time, they were not compatible with one another even issue related to socialism.
I would like to highlight another thing about the so called “Red Settlement Option.” It really existed. I would, however, hide the source of this. The “Red Settlement Option” (to the Cambodian problem) really existed. It was understood in other word as – the Red Soviet, the Red China, and the Red Vietnam were compatible with one another, whereas the Red Heng Samrin and the Red Pol Pot are also getting along. That was supposed to be the red settlement option. I absolutely disagreed with that because it was dangerous. Now, let me return to talking about Cambodia’s endeavor to carry out political and economic reforms after I was taking office (as the Prime Minister).
[End – 5]
In 1987, I identified and developed a five-point strategy to seek complete peace for my country, with the clear view that continuing to wage war would prolong the suffering of the people to no end. The five-point strategy, which I believed would lead to peace and national reconciliation, included:
1). Organize a meeting between Sihanouk-Hun Sen. I went to see His Majesty the King Father.
2). Complete withdrawal of Vietnamese troops, along with the cessation of all aid and support to the forces of the coalition government of Democratic Kampuchea.
3). Organize elections with international observers to establish a coalition government that will implement a neutral, non-aligned international policy.
4). Negotiate with Thailand to establish a secure and peaceful border and carry out the voluntary repatriation of Cambodian refugees from Thailand.
5). Organize an international conference to provide guarantees for the agreement to be reached with the participation of both governments (the coalition government of Democratic Kampuchea in exile and the government of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea), the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Vietnam, India, and other countries. This is a step in the direction of a peaceful negotiation process.
Before reaching the signing of the Paris Peace Agreement, we worked hard to do the core work, which was fundamental and indispensable. It is true that many countries have fully supported and supported Cambodia in the negotiation process, which has lasted for almost four years. For example, France and Indonesia played a key role as co-chairs of the Paris Conference on Cambodia, where many of our discussions were held. Meanwhile, Australia had pushed for an initiative to place Cambodia temporarily under UN supervision during the transition period. France and Japan, in addition to contributing to the peace agreement, had also widely supported Cambodia’s reconstruction and development efforts. Likewise, Thailand had strongly contributed to this cause and supported the repatriation of more than 370,000 Cambodian refugees back to Cambodia. Vietnam, through completely withdrawing its troops in 1989, had also resolved the deadlock in negotiations regarding the future of the Khmer Rouge, including the presence of foreign troops.
[Start – 6]
Let me emphasize here that the problem in Cambodia has two aspects, one is the internal aspect and the other is the international aspect. The internal aspect is the armed conflict among the Cambodian parties themselves. The international aspect includes the Vietnamese troops in Cambodia and the tripartite coalition government being given territory and arms by foreign countries. So, when the Vietnamese troops withdrew from Cambodia, the international aspect of Cambodia was partly resolved, but the remaining issue was the future of the Khmer Rouge. This is an important matter.
[End – 6]
As a result of the implementation of the spirit of the Paris Agreements of 1991, Cambodia reconnected with the international community, and the government that emerged from the elections organized by UNTAC also took a seat at the United Nations. The agreement helped Cambodia adopt a new constitution in 1993 that respected a constitutional monarchy, a liberal multi-party democratic political system, and a free market economy. Cambodia recognizes and truly appreciates the international community for its efforts to bring peace to Cambodia within the framework of the United Nations. However, with so many positive results achieved, UNTAC left Cambodia without fulfilling its mission completely. Despite signing the Paris Agreements, the Khmer Rouge did not respect the agreement, and the United Nations failed to compel the Khmer Rouge to lay down their arms and participate in the democratic process through elections.
After the election and the formation of the Royal Government in 1993, the civil war still continued. Cambodia was in a situation where there were two separate areas of control between the Royal Government and the Khmer Rouge and the tensions between the two major parties in the government. However, after we established the Royal Government through election in 1993, we resumed full diplomatic relations with ASEAN member states. I saw many opportunities and strategic imperatives for Cambodia to strive for ASEAN membership. Under my leadership, Cambodia became a member of ASEAN on 30 April 1999. This means that last week was the 26th anniversary of Cambodia’s ASEAN membership.
[Start – 7]
I would emphasize that what the Paris Agreement wanted but UNTAC could not achieve was the the ending of war in Cambodia. UNTAC spent two billion USD (to carry out this mission), but when UNTAC withdrew, Cambodia was left with two zones of control, one of which was the government established through elections organized by UNTAC, and the other was under the Khmer Rouge control. That had left us territories where there were forces of the government and of the Khmer Rouge throughout like the stripes of tiger furs. That had eventually brught about a mixed situation in some provinces, with both government troops and guerrillas, and on the Cambodian-Thai border, there were some points controlled by the Khmer Rouge. This is where we need to see that “outside help is one thing, but self-effort” is very important.
[End – 7]
D. Win-Win Policy and Full Peacebuilding
To achieve complete peace, I initiated the Win-Win Policy and negotiations between Khmer and Khmer in 1996, which also aimed to unify and integrate all parties into a single government, legal system, and military, aiming to create a solid foundation for lasting peace, national reconciliation, and national development. This policy successfully ended nearly three decades of civil war without firing a single bullet, but instead by peaceful integration and the dissolution of the Khmer Rouge political organization through the Divide, Isolate, Finish, Integrate, and Develop (DIFID) strategy.
I put my life at stake for the second time in negotiating and promoting the implementation of the Win-Win Policy until we were completely successful on 29 December 1998, when the Khmer Rouge political and military organizations were completely dissolved. The most important factor that made me succeed in implementing the Win-Win Policy was providing Three Guarantees that were not stated in any written political agreement, but we had built confidence in implementation that was more robust than the agreement. The first guarantee was guaranteeing life, the second was guaranteeing careers and occupations, and the third was guaranteeing the private property of the Khmer Rouge forces in exchange for them to submit to integration and join the Royal Government. At that time, I did not demand that they give up their weapons. They continued to carry weapons and maintain the same positions although they were under the control of the Royal Government. This is the key to build trust.
[Start – 8]
Let me clarify this point a little. We had the Paris Agreement and that agreement was not fully implemented. For example, the requirement to disarm 70% of all parties, UNTAC could not do it. There was a ceasefire, but it was violated by the Khmer Rouge. Let me tell you something. When the Khmer Rouge attacked, we always resisted. But the UNTAC spokesman, Eric Falt, always declared that “the Khmer Rouge and the (SOC of State of) Cambodia government violated the ceasefire agreement.” I always responded to this. One day, the Khmer Rouge attacked Siem Reap, and headed towards the UNTAC headquarters.
At that time, I ordered my troops in the 4th Military Zone not to leave the barracks. The UNTAC chief called me, “please let the SOC government troops out to help stop the Khmer Rouge.” I replied, “If you cannot control the UNTAC spokesman, I will not allow my troops to go out of the barracks.” At that time, four or five UNTAC forces were wounded. But not from bullets. They were from running and bumping into each other […] UNTAC troops from some countries never know how to fight. So, running and getting hit in the head, it’s not because of the bullet, but from running is scary mode.
Until I got assurances from Yasushi Akashi (the UNTAC Head) that he would not allow the UNTAC spokesperson speak unfactually, then I was willing to let the Cambodian army, at that time Division 286, now Division 2, attack from its backbobe force to remove the Khmer Rouge threat. Otherwise, the UNTAC barracks could have been unde attack by the Khmer Rouge. Everythime there was a violation (of the ceasefire, they pointed finger at us). Though it was an attack on us, UNTAC spokesperson blamed us for violating the ceasefire. That was injustice. Fortunately, in Timor-Leste, there were no such attacking from guerrilla forces.
Now, regarding the win-win politics, there had been three simple guarantees, as I mentioned earlier. First, guaranteeing life and limb. Second, guaranteeing careers and occupations. Third, guaranteeing their property. All these guarantees are not stated in any agreement. These are the words of Hun Sen, speaking to the Khmer Rouge as brothers. They are not in the agreement. Why were those brothers willing to abandon the Khmer Rouge leaders and come to join with the government? It starts from trust. No matter how many agreements there are, if there is no trust, the agreement cannot be fulfilled. On the contrary, if it is reasonable and trustworthy, there is no need for any paperwork.
On the actual three guarantees, there were nothing written in any document other than this piece of document here in my hand. At that time, the Bayon Radio and Apsara Radio were allowed to broadcast (from this document). We had four television stations – National Television, Apsara Television, Channel 5, and Channel 9. But the broadcasts did not reach those areas. The radio stations did. So, when there was this uprising of rebel forces, I was inaugurating the Channel 3 television station in Phnom Penh, and it was broadcasting live. So, I took that opportunity to call for the promotion of the three guarantees and what we had been implementing them.
If you could all go to Cambodia and see to your own eyes those areas that were once battlefields, to figure out what hey are like now. I traveled more than 6,000 kilometers in 2016 to the former battlefields. At that time, I spent more than 500 million dollars of the national budget to build schools in those places. In 1996 and starting in 1997 or 1998, I told my colleagues, “it is not enough to just integrate politically and administratively. We need to integrate everything physically.” The idea was that if the areas that the government controls have schools, those areas should also have schools. In short, promote development in those areas.
After the war ended, I set out two major goals, in line with the Triangular Strategy in the first phase. What are the two major goals? First, to transform all former battlefield areas into development areas and markets. Second, to transform the borders with all neighboring countries into borders of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development. Now, these two goals are being achieved well, with approximately 95% of Cambodia’s land area cleared. However, the remaining 5% is still undeveloped because of the remaining landmines and unexploded ordnance that need to be cleared. In addition, the areas where there used to be fighting have become markets, factories, and cultivations. The GDP in some former Khmer Rouge areas is higher than some in Phnom Penh.
The way to (end the war) for Cambodia is simple. Take off the Khmer Rouge clothes, put on the government clothes, carry out the duties of the government and the laws of the government. It’s done. So let them be division commanders, let them be regimental commanders, let them be commanders at all levels. The functions they used to hold are to be continued. I (myself) went into the Khmer Rouge area. Literally speaking, “I have my heads twice hanging in danger.” The first time, in 1977, I had it going for the survival of the Cambodian people through my efforts to build an armed force and asked the Vietnamese army to help intervene to save the people. At that time, it was very dangerous.
I mentioned the four options, all of which were lethal. In those days, before I crossed over to Vietnam, Cambodian citizens were often arrested and sent to the Khmer Rouge. But when I made my presence there, it was fortunate that Vietnam not only did not arrest me, but also accepted my request to not arrest Cambodian citizens who fled to Vietnam and send them to the Khmer Rouge […] Vietnam demanded that the Khmer Rouge bring them pigs or dogs in exchange for human. Pol Pot took those people and killed them at the border. When I was there, Vietnam at least saved Cambodian citizens. That was the true situation.
I should emphasize the win-win politics. Trust is very big isue, bigger than anything. There was no need for an agreement. I entered the Khmer Rouge area. At that time, my mother was still alive. My grand aunt was also alive. Both of them came to wait for me. It was a Saturday and I took a long lunch break until after 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Knowing that I was awake, they opened the door. My mother said to me, “You’re entering their area, aren’t you afraid they’ll kill you?” My grand aunt added, “You should think again. Maybe they’ll kill you. Don’t trust them.” I told my mother and grand aunt, “Mom! Um! If I die, only I will die and only a few of people who will go with me. But if I were to return, I would bring back the whole Cambodia.”
It turned out as planned, I did not lose my head. It was on the contrary, I did not die. Those who went with me did not die. But Cambodia has unified for the first time in its history of more than 500 years. If you still hesitate, don’t do it. Here, I should say that I am happy because there is a person who has implemented the win-win policy well. A former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense served as my Minister of Defense. I was Prime Minister for 38 years. He was also my Minister of Defense for more than 35 years. Maybe someone here knows him, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Tea Banh. Now his son is serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. The fact that I have this general is like havng a division attached to me. He is a leader who continues to implement he policies that I set out. He has contributed greatly to the success of the win-win policy.
If we make a slight mistake, if we implement it incorrectly, everything will be in peril. This requires us to be honest with our former enemy brothers. They will trust us. Otherwise, they will not be. We need to build roads, we need to build canals, we need to deal with schools and hospitals in those areas equally. It is very dangerous if we only do political and administrative integration without doing physical integration related to socio-economic issues, roads, and connectivity. Not to mention countries at war. Even countries that are not at war, if they do not give suffice attention to the countryside, that would make it easy for the rural population to be dragged down by some forces. That is the experience of Cambodia.
[End – 8]
E. National reconciliation process
For me and the Cambodian people, peace is priceless and must be safeguarded at all cost. I understand that instigating a war may be easy, but building and sustaining peace is extremely difficult. Even after peace is achieved, it is essential to seek justice for the innocent victims. I have delivered justice to the Cambodian people and offered a lesson to the world that true justice is «justice for those who lost their lives, and peace for the survivors and for society as a whole» through a post-conflict reconciliation process by establishing the first international hybrid tribunal; the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), in cooperation with the United Nations, to prosecute the top five leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime for the atrocities they committed against humanity.
The distinctive characteristic of the tribunal process and the outcome of the trial is the provision of equal justice to deceased victims as well as living victims, enabling the latter to live peacefully with future generations in harmony, prosperity, and lasting peace, free from further revenges. The responsibility to national and global history, both legal and moral, has been fulfilled. Furthermore, the Court has left behind a significant legacy in the form of historical documentation, comprising more than two million pages in both physical and digital formats, which are currently preserved at the National Library for scholars and historians to study and conduct research, and as a lesson for educating future generations to prevent and combat genocide and crimes against humanity. International justice institutions may also take a model from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.
[Start – 9]
We must have a balance here. If it is one-sided, it is not (gong to ensure justice). We must have justice for those who have lost their lives, but we must also maintain peace for those who have survived. I can say this with certainty that without Hun Sen, the war in Cambodia would have started again because of the United Nations. I dare say so. Why? They have talked about widespread prosecution of the case, and even the King Father of our nation, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was to be summoned to court. I told the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that “I am willing to let the court fail, but I am not willing to let my country go back to war. Please consider, Your Excellency, (between) prosecuting 4, 10 or 20 people, but it creates a war that kills tens of thousands. Which one would you choose?”
At that time, even Cambodia, which had named our former king as the Father of the Nation (and yet), was also accused by this court. Some Cambodian leaders were also pointed out for prosecution and spread to the ranks and files of the Khmer Rouge. That is why I said “no to it”. At that time, some people said that (we) did not respect the court. I responded, “Please remember clearly, I made this law with you. My parliament approved it. What on earth do I not have the right to review and be responsible for my nation?” Their judges only think about the independence of the court. So, they can bring anyone to trial as they wish. That would not be possible. Cambodia under Hun Sen’s leadership will not let you do as you please.
Finally, justice was achieved and peace was maintained until today. This is a lesson (to any country that is embarking or about to embark on the path that Cambodia had taken). Please be careful with any actions that may disturb/destroy its internal affairs. Do not burn your house to cook other people’s eggs. I do not burn my house to cook eggs for other countries. It is a true story of history. I am sure that Your Excellency reserve your understanding (on my remark). I have to talk a lot and a little bold. The story has passed on many years already and it would not be sufficient to give just a brief description. Let me talk a bit more for a moment. Having said that, if Your Excellency the President or anyone else have questions, I will also provide answers and more answers for other questions if necessary.
We need to be held accountable, but to some extent, so that the people can benefit (from this justice). Let me tell you, when implementing win-win politics, I was worried about retaliation because some people were killed (by those) in the Khmer Rouge ranks. When it came to reunification, I was afraid of retaliation from those who had siblings/parents killed by the Khmer Rouge figures. On the contrary, Cambodia does not have (those incidents). From the beginning, we prevented this retaliation.
Cambodia used to have four armies fighting each other. Now, let’s look at it. We have one army. Cambodia, which used to have many areas of control, no less than two, now has one area of control, under one Constitution, one king, one parliament, one royal government, and armed forces. In our history, we have never had a unified territory. Even when the Japanese came to control Cambodia, then the French came, then the Americans, and then the Khmer Rouge, there was never a unified control area.
Before 1970, Cambodia had four armed forces – the Royal Government Armed Forces, the Khmer White, the Khmer Rouge, and the Khmer Blue. They controlled the land in parts, even if they were hidden. From 1970 to 1975, Cambodia was divided into two, one side was controlled by the Lon Nol regime, supported by the United States, and the other was the National Liberation Front led by Prince Norodom Sihanouk. But there were also the Khmer Rouge there. We didn’t know who the Khmer Rouge were. I followed Prince Norodom Sihanouk, but in the end, there appeared suddenly the code number 870, which later came the name Pol, and then Pol Pot, and Prince Norodom Sihanouk disappeared. Even though the Khmer Rouge was so cruel, they could not control all the land. If they controlled all the land, where would have I been? I also had areas that I controlled.
From 1979-1993, Cambodia had four zones of control – my government (the People’s Republic of Kampuchea and then later the State of Cambodia), the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer People’s Liberation Front, and Funcinpec. From 1993-1998, Cambodia had two zones of control – one was the elected government and the other was the Khmer Rouge. From 1998 to the present, Cambodia has had one zone of control and has been at peace for the longest time. We have had peace for more than 26 years. The peace that followed independence from France until the Geneva Conference in 1954. We considered that a peaceful time, though it was disturbed by the Khmer Rouge, Khmer Blue, Khmer White, and the bombing at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, which caused instability. That peace has been considered to have lasted only 16 years. Now, the peace that I have achieved under the leadership of the late King Father and the current HM the King has been maintained for 26 years.
Let me remind you a little bit. Earlier, I talked about two goals, but I only mentioned one goal. The second goal is to build a border with neighboring countries into a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development. We have already resolved the border with Vietnam by 84%. We have already resolved the border with Laos by 86% and are continuing to resolve it together. We are continuing to negotiate with Thailand to resolve the border issue. The interesting thing is that the trade volume between Cambodia and Vietnam has reached more than 10 billion USD. On April 29, we signed an agreement to increase the bilateral trade volume to 20 billion USD. Look at the figures that my Minister of Commerce sent. In the first four months of 2025, Cambodia’s exports to Vietnam were more than Vietnam’s imports to Cambodia. The trade volume between Cambodia and Thailand is 10 billion USD. Our trade volume with Laos is increasing, including electricity imports from Laos to Cambodia. The point where originally was a place for mounting artilleries to exchange fire between Cambodia and Thailand, between Cambodia and Vietnam, and between Cambodia and Laos are now becoming market places. Is this not a good thing?
[End – 9]
F. The rehabilitation and development of Cambodia’s economy and society from scratch
The Cambodian civil war lasted for nearly three decades (29 years), which was tantamount to national suicide. After the genocide in Cambodia, more than 70% of the Cambodian population experienced mental illness, which we treated through social welfare support, psychological education, religion, and promoting economic growth, particularly by transforming the economy from a planned economy to a market-oriented economy, even as the state faced economic sanctions from all sides.
As previously mentioned, Cambodia’s post-war economic recovery faced four major challenges. First, the economic system had been completely destroyed. It should be noted that during the genocide, the economy was purely agricultural, with no trade, including with other countries, and the use of currency had been abolished. Cambodia did not spend money during the Pol Pot period. We only started to print money and spend it after liberation from the Pol Pot regime in 1980. Second, intellectuals, including teachers, were killed almost completely, and schools along with other public infrastructure were destroyed. This was the most difficult point when a country or an economy had no economic and social infrastructure, lacked human resources in all sectors, and the remaining people were physically exhausted and psychologically traumatized. It was estimated that approximately 90 percent of Khmer intellectuals, including those who were literate, were killed or perished during the genocide. After the fall of the Pol Pot regime, only 10 percent of the Khmer survivors were able to read and write. We implemented a strategy whereby people with moderate education taught those with limited education, and those with limited education taught those with no education. This is our first method. Those who know more teach those who know less, and those who know less teach those who don’t. This is our difficult beginning. Third, we must restore diplomatic relations with all countries to establish trade partnerships and gain support in national and international politics. Fourth, unfortunately, all our efforts were disrupted by civil war and geopolitical competition during the Cold War, compounded by economic sanctions. In terms of life expectancy of Cambodian people in 1978, during the Pol Pot era, the average was only 11.5 years, but in 2025, it had risen significantly to 71 years. Now, there are many elderly people. Before, life expectancy was low, but now we have a higher one.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Cambodia’s economy was weak, and economic and infrastructure development relied almost entirely on foreign aid. Cambodia had implemented economic reforms that favored small enterprises. In the 1990s, Cambodia implemented a market-oriented economy with the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). We have worked hard to reform internally and promote Cambodia’s economic integration into the region and the world. Restoring and developing an efficient and inclusive administrative, economic, and social infrastructure was my priority as well as that of the Royal Government. To ensure success and effectively respond to the needs of the people, society, and the evolving global landscape, the Royal Government, under my leadership, successfully launched and implemented the Triangular Strategy from 1998 to 2003, followed by the Four-Phase Rectangular Strategy from 2003 to 2023. The succeeding Royal Government has introduced the Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I (2023–2028), which is currently in implementation.
[Start – 10]
Let me briefly mention the Triangular Strategy. In addition to the two goals that I have set out, namely to transform former battlefields into development and market areas and to transform borders into borders of peace, friendship, cooperation and development, there is this Triangular Strategy, that is to (1) conduct internal pacification. This means consolidating the peace that has just been realized; (2) integrate as soon as possible into the international community, including international financial institutions, which will normalize relations with other countries and promote trade and investment exchanges; and (3) based on domestic and international favorable factors, concentrate efforts on socio-economic development, poverty reduction, governance, judicial system and public sector management. The strategic point in economic reform is to focus on the people as the core in order to succeed by expanding the number of middle-income people while reducing poverty.
Let me back up a bit on where the economic reforms started. The Pol Pot regime took away all the people’s property and implemented communal eating. After we liberated the country in 1979, we had no choice but to implement a planned economy. 20 families with two cows, what could we do? No country in the world has more widows and orphans than Cambodia, in percentage terms, because Pol Pot killed men. We started with agriculture and giving people ownership. But giving people ownership of land is a difficult issue. Should we recognize ownership before 1975 or should we recognize ownership after 1979? This is a difficult issue. Ultimately, we have to recognize the ownership that people already have. Otherwise, we will have to evacuate people all over the country to find their old ownership. Some families have died out without anyone inheriting the land. So, we have to give people the opportunity to own land, and stimulate the market.
In 1987, I announced four priorities for investment – water, roads, electricity, and people. Later, we changed people to the first angle – people, roads, water, and electricity. In 1987, there was no political solution, only absolute control by my government. But this priority was still recognized as necessary. Now, the Pentagonal Strategy added a technological angle to the priorities. After giving ownership to the people, the economic momentum led us to great progress. We joined the World Trade Organization before Vietnam and Russia because of the reform efforts since I was Prime Minister.
[End – 2]
The Triangle Strategy emphasizes three priorities: 1). Pacification by focusing on maintaining order, stability, security, and building lasting peace within the country. 2). Cambodia’s integration into the regional and international community including participation in international financial institutions and the normalization of diplomatic relations to promote trade and attract investment. 3). Socio-economic development, poverty reduction, governance, judicial system and public sector management reform. The strategic point in our economic reform is that to succeed, it has to be people-centered, as we strive to expand the size of middle class while reducing poverty.
The Rectangular Strategy promotes the role of the “Royal Government of Economy” under the motto “Royal Government of Growth, Jobs, Equity and Efficiency” by implementing a comprehensive economic action agenda aimed at improving and building the capacity of public institutions, strengthening good governance and modernizing national economic infrastructure, such as transportation infrastructure including roads, railways and air and water connections, to promote economic growth, create jobs for all citizens, ensure social equity and improve the efficiency of the public sector.
The Pentagonal Strategy aims to build on the progress of previous governments to achieve Cambodia’s 2050 vision of becoming a high-income country. The Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I, which the Royal Government of the Seventh Legislature has approved and is implementing, adds a new priority pillar, namely digital economic and social development, which was not included in the Rectangular Strategy. The Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I, has five mottos, five strategic objectives, and five key priorities. The five mottos include Growth, Employment, Equity, Efficiency, and Sustainability. The five strategic objectives include (1) ensuring economic growth, (2) creating more jobs, (3) achieving poverty reduction goals, (4) continuing to strengthen governance capacity and improving the quality of public institutions, and (5) ensuring sustainable socio-economic development. The five key priorities are people, roads, water, electricity, and technology.
Peace along with the process of rehabilitating, rebuilding and developing Cambodia, with the participation and support of national and international organizations and donor countries, have continued to assist Cambodia to this day. In its efforts toward national development, the Royal Government has remained committed to reform and placed a strong emphasis on ensuring that resources for socio-economic development are distributed equitably to all directions and all segments of the population throughout the country, which is a crucial factor in strengthening national unity and preserving peace and harmony throughout Cambodian society.
G. Cambodian socio-economic update
27 years of complete peace have allowed us to focus entirely on economic construction and development, which has resulted in high annual economic growth averaging 7% for more than two decades before the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2020, Cambodia’s economic growth suffered the full brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak, pushing the economy to a negative growth rate of -3.6%. After the gradual reopening of the country and the efforts of the Royal Government to implement socio-economic intervention measures, the Cambodian economy has recovered at a growth rate of 3.1% in 2021, 5.1% in 2022, 5% in 2023 and 6% in 2024. Cambodia has succeeded in reducing its poverty rate from over 50% during the 1990s[1] to around 10% in 2019, but the rate rebounded due to the COVID-19 crisis. However, the introduction and implementation of highly effective intervention measures, both in managing the crisis and in stabilizing the people’s livelihoods, helped to increase the purchasing power of the people and brought the poverty rate down to around 17.98% in 2024. We are also on track to fully graduating from LDC status by 2029.
[Start – 11]
I should clarify that above I mentioned the goal of 2050, but we have a goal that is not far from this, in that Cambodia is currently in the lower middle-income country stage. We want to achieve upper middle-income country status by 2030. According to the United Nations, we will leave the least developed country status by 2029. Speaking of poverty rates, I would like to correct the figures that I spoke in Jakarta. The figures that we received from Phnom Penh back before the outbreak of COVID-19 were slightly below 10%. But when the COVID-19 arrived, those who had already crossed the poverty line had fallen back into poverty. Through all the interventions, in 2024, the poverty rate remained at 17.98%. So, I would like to correct the poverty rate figures that I spoke in Jakarta, which were 19% to 17.98%. If COVID-19 had not destroyed it, maybe the whole world, including Cambodia, would have had a good journey. But COVID-19 has stopped us. After COVID-19, there were wars, sanctions, and now tariffs, which are complicated matters. But we hope that we will work together with partners who share similar views on global trade governed by the rules.
[End – 11]
As a member of regional and international organizations, including ASEAN and the United Nations, Cambodia has become more active in efforts to promote peace, security, stability and sustainable development for the entire world. For example, Cambodia has been praised as a model country that, since 2006, has sent a total of approximately 10,000 troops to participate in peacekeeping missions under the UN umbrella in 10 countries, and has the second largest female contingent among ASEAN member countries. Through multilateral mechanisms, Cambodia has also contributed to the fight against transnational crimes such as terrorism, human trafficking and illicit drugs, etc., and has participated in addressing environmental pollution and the impacts of climate change.
With Cambodia’s success in rehabilitating and rebuilding after the war, I can proudly say that Cambodia is no longer a miserable country. The international community is beginning to look at Cambodia with respect and appreciation as a country capable of participating in shaping the regional agenda and regional architecture with responsibility for peace and people. We will continue to steer Cambodia towards a better future in full independence and sovereignty within the current geopolitical landscape and global order, which is undergoing profound changes due to the increased tension caused by geopolitical rivalry between superpowers.
[Start – 12]
I can tell you that Cambodia used to be a place of fear. However, before the COVID-19, we had 6.6 million tourists. That number has dropped. Now, the tourist growth in 2024 has reached 6.7 million, which means that (the number of tourists has increased) more than before. The surprising thing is that Cambodia has become a place where people are scammed. (They advertise) that if people come to Cambodia (they will) get jobs with high pay. Cambodia is suffering because of “the recent peace (and) development.” Online gambling scams recruit people from Indonesia, India, or this/that (country) to come to Cambodia to have high pay jobs. This is surprising to me. Before, all I heard was that people were afraid of Cambodia for war, afraid of the Khmer Rouge. Now, Cambodia has become a paradise for international groups that work in online scams. Online scams are not only in Cambodia, they are now spreading because they are difficult to control. It will only end if we all shut down the internet. We have to work hard (to prevent it from happening).
I have asked a question in return. Why do some countries like to blame Cambodia? Why don’t they blame themselves? I’d like to talk about this a little bit to send a message to other states. Why don’t they educate their citizens not to gamble? Even the United States has lost billions of dollars in gambling. Why doesn’t the US government pay attention to educating its citizens not to gamble online and instead blame only the (small) countries. I’ve mentioned before that the first thing to fight against drugs is the drug market. If no one buys drugs, there will be no one to grow (and produce) drugs. That’s one way of looking at the issue. In about 2002 or 2003, I talked about that. Blaming people for secretly growing drugs here and there, but one should try to see which country uses the most drugs. We can find the country that uses the most drugs in the world by searching on Google or China’s DeepSeek. China’s AI is fast. I use both DeepSeek and Google. But China’s DeepSeek is very fast.
I appeal to the countries that are affected by scams to educate their own people, “to not play online games.” If those people themselves do not play online games, where would they go to play online games? Now they blame Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines, and some other countries. And this online game is even more difficult to control than searching for opium plantations and drugs because with internet in their homes, they could play online games. As long as the governments of various countries are responsible and educate their citizens not to play such games, it would soon be over (and) no one will (get scammed) online. Let’s be honest with one another on the issue. They have the right to attack us. I do not have the right to attack them. I only have the right to call for accountability. It is because your citizens play online games that’s why online games (and online scams) happen. It is not only in Cambodia. We need to cooperate well (to prevent online scams).
With regard to the income issue that HE José Ramos-Horta mentioned just now, let me bring it up for you, as the Foreign Minister of Cambodia, I had a ration of only 16 kilograms of food, of which 10 kilograms was rice and six kilograms was corn. At that time, my First Vice President of the Senate, and the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, who is here, was with me. He is the candidate for the position of the Secretary General of AIPA for this year’s election after Brunei. Everyone here with me knows the story.
We went abroad to negotiate or conduct working visits, and everyone across the bpard in the delegation received $50. We tried to save money. We started distributing banknotes in 1980. Before 1980, Cambodia used a barter system, which was to exchange goods for goods. You would exchange fish for rice, you would exchange rice for scarves, you would exchange scarves for blankets. You would exchange things. Later, we printed banknotes and circulating them. We had a hard time indeed […] (the recorded voice went inaudible for about one minutes).
(That Timor-Leste has a per capita income of) US$1453 is far different from what per capita income Cambodia had. There is no reason to prevent Timor-Leste from joining ASEAN. Timor-Leste’s human resources are also better than Cambodia’s in 1999. Why did Cambodia join (ASEAN)? I myself led Cambodia to join ASEAN and became the chairman of ASEAN three times. Among the 10 ASEAN countries, apart from the Sultan of Brunei, there are not many Prime Ministers and Presidents who have (been) chairman of ASEAN three times. I hope Timor-Leste will receive support for full membership in ASEAN. In terms of the income of the (Cambodian) people (compared to that of Timor-Leste), we had US$281 when we joined ASEAN. Now Timor-Leste has US$1453 since before joining (ASEAN). So, to prolong accession to membership would be unfair for Timor-Leste. Within the framework of Southeast Asia, the founding fathers of ASEAN wanted all countries to participate in the framework of Southeast Asia under one roof.
[End – 12]
Given the limited time, I would like to conclude my sharing of Cambodian history and experiences with a brief message highlighting the key lessons taken from the journey out of genocide, poverty, and the progress towards freedom and development as follows:
- Ownership of the nation’s destiny is the most valuable asset for preserving national unity. When a nation loses ownership of its own destiny, it will inevitably suffer division and disaster. Although Cambodia had received support from international friends and the United Nations, lasting peace cannot be achieved unless the local people themselves take the initiative to build and sustain it. This is the true essence of the Win-Win Policy initiated by the Cambodian people, implemented by the Cambodian people, and reaped the benefits by the Cambodian people.
[Start – 13]
This is important. Cambodia is suffering from foreign interference. Our ownership has been taken away, including the example I gave just now of being told to do this/that and if we don’t do it, they will cut off aid. I would like to express my respect to the People’s Republic of China, which on April 17, we hosted the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Cambodia. China has never put any conditions on us to do this/that. China respects. For example, we need aid or financing from China. China does not care whether we do this first or that later. If Cambodia has the need to do one thing first, China respects the decision. I want partner countries and institutions to respect the ownership of the country’s owner. No one knows us better than we do ourselves.
In a way, no one knows Cambodia better than the Cambodians. We know that this road is a priority over that road. But others have come to point out that we have to do this first, before they give us money. If we don’t follow their priority, they would not give us money. [Let’s our development partners end the culture and/or policy of directing (priority for) the countries who need help from them. The world must give all countries the freedom to simply choose for themselves.] China has worked with us, helped us build roads, and bridges. The infrastructure in Cambodia is already there, but China has never put a condition for choosing that this must be done first, and that later.
[End – 13]
- Second, the international community must work together to safeguard existing peace, even at great costs, rather than seeking or building a lost peace. War may be easy to ignite, but to end the war, Cambodia required almost 30 years. We have only had 27 years of complete peace, but it is the longest peace in its 500-year history. It is regrettable that Cambodia is criticized or talking solely about peace and inflating the fear of war, while some of our youths have gradually forgotten the significance and value of peace, and some even think of advocating for undemocratic changes in government, even at the cost of peace. Such a trend is a very dangerous that the entire international community must join in preventing, condemning, and resisting such extremist ideologies. We must strive to educate the people about the value of peace, because without peace, we cannot speak well of the words “human rights, democracy, and development.”
- Third, even if peace is achieved, it will not last long without national unification, reconciliation, social justice, and sustainable and inclusive development. Through Cambodia’s experience, we must strive to find ways to ensure lasting peace and firmly anchor it in society through reconciliation and national unification. I would like to highlight the significance of fostering a “culture of dialogue” in Cambodia’s political culture, as our country has historically gone through cycles of violent conflict, frequent regime changes through undemocratic means, and constant revenges. Even after Cambodia achieved complete peace in 1998, I continued to practice this “culture of dialogue” with various political parties to build harmony, strengthen national unity, and cultivate democracy. We recognize that democracy is a system of governance that respects diversity and provides an effective means of resolving and managing political disagreements using the ballots rather than bullets, violence, or insurrection.
[Start – 14]
I want to emphasize that a country that is constitutionally a liberal multi-party democracy, there would indeed be many parties, in the parliament and outside of the parliament. It is essential that there be dialogue. Let me emphasize it though it is impossible to have a dialogue with terrorists. I do not do it. Extremism should not be encouraged either, because it is a national danger. There is this case in Europe. I want to ask why France has buried the political rights of the leader – Marie Le Pen – of a strong party in France? Is it to avoid the danger of extremism in France? In the same case, those who have a desire to develop the country should be encouraged to engage in dialogue, but what should not be encouraged is dialogue with groups that want to overthrow by undemocratic means. That is to say the law must be enforced.
I always say, “If you want to develop a country, there must be peace. No development can be done under the bullets.” But to maintain peace, there must be development. These two are two thread ends of a knot. It is a complementary dialectical philosophy. There must be peace, in order to have development, and there must be development in order to maintain peace. This is a philosophy that, although not Hun Sen’s own, Hun Sen has used this philosophy. In my administration, I have always given the view that “on the one side, it is important to maintain political stability, and on the other side, it is important to maintains macroeconomic stability.” If macroeconomic stability is not managed, political stability will be lost. If political stability is not managed, chaos will arise, which will affect (the economy). This is the relationship between the two threads ends of a knot and a dialectical philosophy.
I hope that my lecture today will contribute not only to Timor-Leste alone. Cambodians are also watching the live broadcast from here to the Cambodian National Television Station and on to more than 10 other television stations in Phnom Penh and online. In the recent few days, there has been a huge popularity of the His Excellency President and His Excellency the Prime Minister on Facebook in Cambodia because people see His Excellency the President drove the car, and His Excellency the Prime Minister stood by my side, and yesterday was a traffic policeman. If we do not have friendship, know each other, and care for each other, stretching beyond state borders and becoming friends and brothers, we could not have done all this.
I hope that the next generation of ASEAN leaders will pay attention to the relationship beyond the state-to-state level. I have known the President of Indonesia for 30 years, since he was a soldier, and I was the Prime Minister. Now I am no longer the Prime Minister, I am the President of the Senate, but he received me like a head of state who must inspect the guards of honor with him. Here, it is a special reception where the President drove the car and the Prime Minister accompanies us.
Let me tell you something before we end this talk. Let’s not think too hard. Let’s think about something light. In Cambodia, there is a breathalyzer test for drivers. A General had his driver to drive him on a call from his friend to go to a restaurant. His driver said, “Sir! if there is any red wine, please pour it for me in the back.” The General, drinking and chitchatting with friend poured the wine many times for the driver behind him. The more he poured, the more the driver drank and fainted. He could not drive. The General put his bodyguard in the back of the car so that the bodyguard could sleep, and he got in and drove himself. He was met later by the police and asked for a breathalyzer test. They found that he was drunk. The police asked his boss, “Sir! Now there is a General who is drunk. He is driving illegally. What should I do?” The police chief replied, “Release him quickly. If a General is driving him, the passenger in the back is definitely the higher VIP than he is.”
At this point, by driving me in your car, Your Excellency is the President and I am the Super President/Prime Minster […] This is the friendship we have together. Even though you are both older than I am and I call you brother, you both have valued me as a friend. I thank you for your hospitality and thank the people of Timor-Leste, especially all the students who have welcomed me from the airport to here. This is a rare hospitality that I have received. Even though I have been Prime Minister for 38 years, I have never received such hospitality. I wish you all success. I wish Your Excellency the President, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the leaders of Timor-Leste, as well as the people of Timor-Leste, progress and prosperity. Thank you./.
