A new military cemetery is inaugurated in Khemarak Phoumin, Koh Kong province on January 16 and 17, presided over Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Tea Banh. The cemetery holds the remains of over 400 Cambodian fighters.

Yon Min, secretary of state at the Ministry of National Defense and chairman of the commission charged with constructing the cemetery, said it held the bodies of 447 people who were killed during the war.

“We have undertaken this initiative to dedicate merit to – and display gratitude for the sacrifices of – our brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives to protect the peace for our people. When they died, they were denied the proper ritual,” he added.

Now that the country was peaceful and prosperous, the leaders of the Kingdom could dedicate themselves to establishing the cemetery, he continued.

“We invite the relatives of all of the men and women who are interred here to participate in proceedings. This is an excellent opportunity for those who now enjoy the peace – which is the fruit of their sacrifices made by those who lay here – to consider the traditional sayings ‘When drinking water, think about its source’ and ‘When sheltering under a tree, think about who planted it’,” he said.

Although the majority of the dead were from Koh Kong, the graves contained the remains of men and women from almost all corners of the Kingdom.

The cemetery was designed as a hybrid of traditional and modern Khmer design.