Cambodia has designated December 29th as "Peace Day", an official national holiday in the Southeast Asian country, according to a government's sub-decree released on January 1st 2024.
Signed by Prime Minister Hun Manet, the sub-decree said the move was to respond to the sacred desire of the Cambodian people who love peace and hate war.
“December 29th 1998, the day that led to the end of the war and the reunification of the Kingdom, was Peace Day,” said Manet about the eventual reintegration of the remaining Khmer Rouge soldiers that year.
“For 500 years, we were divided by conflict. The peace and development we all enjoy today were made possible because 25 years ago we ended the war,” he said.
“We have established the ‘Day of Peace in Cambodia’ with the sacred purpose of encouraging our compatriots to love peace and hate war. This date was chosen to remember December 29, 1998, when the win-win policy of former Prime Minister Hun Sen brought a total end to war in Cambodia and built a lasting peace,” said Manet on January 1.
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.
