Cambodia sets Dec 29 as public holiday ‘Peace Day’
Phnom Penh: Cambodia designated December 29 as the “Peace Day”, an official national holiday in the Southeast Asian country, according to a government’s sub-decree released.
Signed by Prime Minister Hun Manet, the sub-decree said on Monday that the move was to respond to the sacred desire of the Cambodian people who love peace and hate war, Xinhua news agency reported.
“It is to remember the complete end of civil war on December 29, 1998, by the Win-Win Policy, that has brought full peace and national unity to Cambodia,” it added.
The day is also to show gratitude to the martyrs, who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of peace and national reconciliation.
“It is a reminder to the Cambodian people in all generations to remember the great destruction of the nation and the misery of the Cambodian people, as well as the consequences caused by war and national division,” the sub-decree said.
“It is also to inspire the Cambodian people in all generations to hate war.”
The day is also to inspire people to work together to promote peace, which is the life of the nation and the most valuable foundation for the nation’s development and the people’s happiness, the sub-decree added.
Cambodia has enjoyed full peace since 1998 after former Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen had designed and used the Win-Win Policy to coax the Khmer Rouge to reintegrate into his Phnom Penh government.
