Government to Build Win-Win Monuments in Five Provinces

Government to Build Win-Win Monuments in Five Provinces

The government will build five more Win-Win monuments in the Kingdom in addition to the one in Phnom Penh to honor the sacrifices made by Prime Minister Hun Sen and others to end the decades-long civil war with the Khmer Rouge movement.

General Nem Sowath, director-general of the Defence Ministry’s general department of policy and foreign affairs, said yesterday they will be built in former Khmer Rouge strongholds in Oddar Meanchey, Kampong Speu, Pailin, Banteay Meanchey and Kampot provinces.

He said the tributes will serve as a reminder to the people of the win-win policy which brokered an end to the bitter conflict and ushered in peace to the Kingdom.

Gen Sowath said the monuments would be built in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district, Kampong Speu’s Oral district, Pailin province, Banteay Meanchey’s Malai district and the Taken Koh Sla area which was a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in Kampot’s Chhouk district.

However, he said a date had not been set for when construction would start.

“Building these monuments will remind the Cambodian people about the historical events which led to the end of the war and brought peace and prosperity for the Kingdom,” Gen Sowath said.

During the CPP’s 42 conventions of the Fifth Term Central Committee on Sunday, the ruling party called for more Win-Win monuments to be built in the Kingdom, especially in former Khmer Rouge strongholds.

The CPP also ordered members to organize mass gatherings throughout the country on December 29 to celebrate the anniversary of the day that the civil war ended.

The public should be reminded that the peace should always be preserved, the CPP statement said.

“We want to remind people about the end of a civil war, the likes of which the Kingdom had not seen in over 500 years,” CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said yesterday.

On December 29, 2018, the government unveiled the Win-Win Monument in Phnom Penh to mark the 20th anniversary of the end of the civil war in the Kingdom. Work on building the 54-meter tall monument began in 2016 and the project cost more than $12 million.

The monument complex is located on an eight-hectare plot of land in Chroy Changva district’s Prek Tasek commune.

It is a symbol of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s victory over the Khmer Rouge through a win-win policy entailing a divide-and-conquer strategy that focused on survival, asset protection and maintaining hard-fought positions.

Gen Sowath, a member of CPP’s central committee, said the new monument will be built in the same style as the one in the capital.

Sok Touch, president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia said yesterday he supported the government’s plan to build the monuments and organize events to mark the anniversary of the end of the civil war.

“It is a historic event and I support the plans,” he said. “I suggest the government should write a book on events that transpired and used in the school curriculum so that everyone can reflect on what happened.”

Khmer Times