Vietnamese volunteer soldiers play crucial role in Cambodia's victory over Khmer Rouge: official

They helped liberate the Cambodian people from the genocidal regime swiftly in a timely manner, he said.

Tourists walk outside the Royal Palace in central Phnom Penh. Photo by Reuters

Speaking at a meeting to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Cambodian people and army's victory in overthrowing the genocidal regime (January 7, 1979-2024) held by the CPP in Phnom Penh, Eysan affirmed that this is a historic event for the Cambodian people and closely associated to Vietnam - its neighbor.

All the Cambodian people always understand and grateful to the sincere support of the Vietnamese volunteer army, Party and State for Cambodia in their hardest time, he said.

In localities of Cambodia, there are memorial monuments for the common victory, which was made by the strength and great solidarity between Cambodia and the Vietnamese army, he noted.

"We will never forget the contributions by the Vietnamese volunteer army, the Party and State of Vietnam, who helped Cambodia get free from the genocidal regime," Eysan said, affirming that his country considers this an unforgettable historical truth of Cambodia.

Uch Leang, Deputy Director of the Department of Asian, African, and Middle-East Studies under the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said that the victory was a historical event that demonstrated the spirit of international solidarity between the peoples and armies of Cambodia and Vietnam, opening up a new page in the neighborly relations and friendship between the two countries.

According to him, through the successful implementation of the win-win cooperation policy in the spirit of national solidarity and unity, the Cambodian government has concluded the persistent war, restored and preserved peace and security for the people.

History professor Sombo Manara from Cambodia's Panasastra University in Phnom Penh also praised the role of the Vietnamese Party, State, people and volunteers in the event, saying that from the human perspective, the assistance helped rescue the Cambodian people from being killed by the genocidal regime.

Forty-five years ago, on January 7, 1979, patriotic forces gathered with the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (KUFNS), with the support of Vietnamese volunteer troops, liberated Phnom Penh, overthrowing the regime, promptly rescuing millions of Cambodians from genocide.

This important historical event marked the moment of revival of the country and people of Cambodia under the brutal genocidal regime which killed nearly 3 million Cambodian civilians - a quarter of the country's population at that time - and pushed Cambodia to the brink of perdition.