KhmerTimes-May 21, 2026
Cambodia yesterday commemorated the National Day of Remembrance at the Choeung Ek Genocide Centre to honor victims who lost their lives during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. At least 6,000 people attended the ceremony on May 20 at Choeung Ek, one of the most notorious “killing fields” of the Pol Pot era. The event included a performance depicting the suffering inflicted under the regime. Performers reenacted scenes of Khmer Rouge cadres committing violence against civilians. The reenactment took place near a memorial displaying victims’ skulls and mass graves where thousands were buried. Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng was among the attendees. At least 88 monks also participated, receiving food offerings from Buddhist followers. During the ceremony, Sreng read a message from Prime Minister Hun Manet, stating the government designated May 20 as the National Day of Remembrance to honor victims of the Democratic Kampuchea regime which ruled from April 17, 1975, to January 6, 1979.
The message said the observance aims to preserve the memory of the victims, restore dignity to survivors and the deceased, and promote national reconciliation and awareness of Khmer Rouge atrocities to prevent their recurrence. It noted that the National Assembly of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea first adopted May 20 as the “Day of Hatred” in 1983 to condemn the genocide. After 1993, it was renamed “Remembrance Day,” and in 2018 it was officially designated the National Day of Remembrance. The message said the date was chosen because it was on May 20, 1973, that the Khmer Rouge began forming cooperatives that abolished private property and introduced forced labor. It is documented that Khmer Rouge leaders carried out crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide that led to the deaths of more than 3 million people.
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