President of the Cambodian National Assembly, Honorary President of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and Chairman of the SFDCM National Council Heng Samrin addresses the ceremony in Phnom Penh on December 2 (Photo: VNA) Phnom Penh (VNA) – The Solidarity Front for the Development of Cambodia Motherland (SFDCM) held a ceremony in Phnom Penh on December 2 to mark the 41st founding anniversary of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, which was the beginning of the struggle to topple the genocidal regime and revive Cambodia.
Addressing the celebration, President of the Cambodian National Assembly, Honorary President of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and Chairman of the SFDCM National Council Heng Samrin recounted the foundation of the Salvation Front on December 2, 1978 in Snuol district of Kratie province.
In response to the front’s call, with the great support of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, Cambodian people of all strata joined in an uprising to defeat the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime and win the glorious victory on January 7, 1979, he noted.
He said Cambodia always keeps in mind the enormous sacrifices that cadres, soldiers and patriots made for the sake of their motherland.
Heng Samrin also lauded the country’s achievements under the leadership of the CPP-led Government, adding that to further bring into play the great national unity bloc to boost national development, the SFDCM and the CPP will keep strongly supporting the Government’s development policy, which aims at an annual economic growth rate of 7 percent and a household poverty rate of under 10 percent.
Talking to the media on this occasion, CPP spokesman Sok Eysan affirmed that the date December 2, 1978 was an important milestone that led to the collapse of the regime led by Pol Pot from 1975 to 1979. He also recalled the event on June 20, 1977, when Hun Sen and his comrades came to Vietnam to seek assistance in the fight against the Pol Pot regime.
Historian Ros Chantrabot, former President of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, stressed that December 2, 1978 was the starting point of an era of peace and development of the country. He also refuted the opposition party’s criticism of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers’ assistance, saying that such criticism is wrongful since Cambodia would not have secured the January 7, 1979 victory without the date December 2, 1978./.
VNA
