Vietnamese troops in the Cambodian eyes
14/1/15
Vietnamese troops were welcomed by Cambodian
In response to the ask of the Unite Rescue Front
of Cambodia, the Cambodian people, the Party, State and people of Vietnam and the
Army had carried out the legitimate right to defend their sacred nation and
help Cambodian people from genocide disaster and destroy Pol Pot stronghold. Consider
that "Love for Cambodian as our Vietnamese", so when being in Cambodia, Vietnamese troop always cherished the
people and of Cambodia,
protected their property carefully and never take anything of Cambodian for
ourselves.
After the liberation of Phnom Penh (July 1st 1979) Vietnamese volunteer
troops have not only continued to help the revolutionary forces pursued the
remnants of Pol Pot, but also involved in organizing the lives of the people in
Cambodia for 10 years.
Being helped by Vietnamese volunteer, "be fed when hungry and be cured
when sick", gradually the Cambodian people understood the Vietnamese
volunteer soldiers were to help the people of Cambodia escape from genocide disaster.
Since then, the people of Cambodia
were alongside with the Vietnamese troops to sweep the remnants of Pol Pot, the
relationship between soldiers - people of Vietnam
and Cambodia
had become closer.
35 years after the overthrow of the genocide regime of Pol Pot, Cambodia is revived, the lives of the people of Cambodia are constantly being improved, the prestige
and position of Cambodia
are now being enhanced rapidly on the international arena. The solidarity
between the two peoples of Vietnam
- Cambodia
has become more intimate. The sincere help of the Party, State and volunteer
troops of Vietnam
is now still being remembered in the hearts of all Cambodian people.
“Uncle Ho’s
soldiers - People’s troops” is the noble title that Vietnamese people present
to the Vietnam People’s Army’s officers and troops. That is also what the
Cambodian people conferred to Vietnamese army men. This fact has been proven
through stories collected during the search and gathering remains of fallen
Vietnamese volunteer troops and experts in Cambodia.
For years,
whenever the staff of the search team K72 of Binh Phuoc provincial Military
Command came to Cambodia for the search of remains of fallen Vietnamese
soldiers of different periods, they always received a warm reception from
Cambodian troops and people as welcoming home their own relatives after a long
period of time.
The
sentiment and care reserved by Cambodian troops and people for members of the
search team K72 grew deeper and deeper with every passing day. Apart from offering
good accommodation, they also introduced Vietnamese team to the Cambodian
witnesses, sent staff as guides and ensured security for them. As a result, for
13 years now, the search team K72 has found and repatriated more than 2,120
sets of remains of martyrs, and 234 of them were identified.
The above
impressive figures are partly thanks to the whole-hearted support and
assistance from the Cambodian locals.
It is
unforgettable that in a morning in late 2008, Sahim, a 75 year-old woman in
Kampot village, Ngon commune, Sandaan district, Kampong Thom province, told the
team that she would take them to the place where Vietnamese troops were buried.
Sahim said that in 1971, she knew that a Vietnamese unit buried four martyrs at
a forest’s edge. Without knowing the unit’s designation or the martyrs’ name,
she has been offering them incenses since then. “What I have done is to express
gratitude to the Vietnamese troops who sacrificed for the independence of Cambodia”,
Sahim said.
The elderly
further said during the war, Vietnamese troops supported the Cambodian in
overthrowing the genocidal regime, crops production as well as providing people
with healthcare. They also instructed Cambodians on sanitation, disease
prevention and farming and breeding techniques for economic development.
“Vietnamese
troops are so simple, but very sincere and friendly. We always consider them
our own relatives”, said Sahim.
Notably, in
late 2010, when carrying out mission in Chongkrong village, Chongkrong commune,
Chet Borei district, Kratié province, the search team K72 was introduced to
Sampat who used to be side by side with Vietnamese troops by Mr. Lon, a
Cambodian who carried rice to serve Vietnamese troops in the anti-American
resistance war. Sampat at that time was suffering malaria and K72’s physician
Senior Lieutenant Pham Huy Do, a non-commissioned officer, offered medicines to
cure the disease.
Touched with
K72’s sentiments, he tried to sit up and talked. He showed the team the place
where around 50 fallen Vietnamese troops were buried in his village. They all
sacrificed in 1970-1971 and in 1988-1989, a Vietnamese search team could find
about 30 sets of remains of martyrs there. The search and excavation could not
continue at that time as the Pol Pot’s genocidal regime was still operating
actively in the area.
Sampat,
despite of his poor health, volunteered to take the search team K72 to the
place where fallen Vietnamese soldiers were buried. For him what he did was a
token of his gratitude to the sacrifice of the Vietnamese soldiers for his
people. This is also the common sense of the Cambodian people as well.
Thank to
Sampat’s help, the team at that time could find 20 sets of remains of fallen
soldiers.
There remain
so many other touching stories about the whole-hearted support from Cambodians
for the search team K72 but the two above-told stories are enough to prove
Cambodians’ sentiments for the Vietnamese troops in general and for the units
in charge of searching and gathering remains of martyrs in particular.
The
sentiment, assistance and care of the Cambodian people are admirable as they
have contributed to consolidating and promoting the Vietnam-Cambodia’s
solidarity and time-honored friendship
The special traditional friendly relation has been
built by bloodshed of the two nation. The two countries had been bound together
to keep the independence of sovereignty and the survival of each country. The
comprehensive cooperation must be upgraded to be stronger and more effective./.
All comments [ 11 ]
Pol Pot who exercised leadership from 1975 to 1979, are still at large and share responsibility for the monstrous human rights abuses committed during this period
Vietnamese troops had helped Cambodian to overthrow Khmer Rouge, brought a new life for Cambodia and its people.
In one of the cold war's proxy battles, the United States took China's side against the Soviet Union, which meant accepting the Khmer Rouge as the legitimate Government of Cambodia
With the help of Vietnamese troops, peace had been secured for Cambodia and Pol Pot had lost any value in the power politics of the region
While Vietnam helped Cambodian build a new country, the Chinese were supporting Pol Pot. Oh, how good China was.
Unfortunately, there are some anti-Vietnamese Cambodian groups, who is acting for their political interests and intentionally forget the truth of history.
After the 1991 peace plan led to Cambodian elections, Pol Pot lost the protection of his major Chinese and Thai sponsors
During the battle with the Khmer Rouge, Vietnamese troops had been received a lot of support from Cambodian. The Cambodian always consider Vietnamese troops relatives.
Cambodian and Vietnamese are not only neighbors, we are also brothers, we share happiness and sadness and protect each others from any threats.
Cambodian and Vietnamese are not only neighbors, we are also brothers, we share happiness and sadness and protect each others from any threats.
I agree with Mr. Hung Quan, we are brothers and we will never hurt each other.
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