A new win-win monument will be built in Oddar Meanchey province to promote a culture of gratitude, a sub-committee on the construction of the monument announced on January 10.
The second win-win monument will be located in Anlong Veng district – the remote former stronghold for Khmer Rouge insurgents along the Thai border that is best known as the site of Pol Pot’s death in 1998.
The Anlong Veng win-win monument will be the second built in the Kingdom after the original monument located in Phnom Penh, but more of the monuments are being planned for construction in other provinces as well.
Minister of National Defence Tea Banh – in his role as chairman of the Win-Win Monument Construction Committee – spoke at the event announcing the plans, saying the monuments are being built to commemorate heroism and express gratitude for it as well as other achievements and wisdom of the Kingdom’s leaders who brought comprehensive peace to Cambodia.
“Leaders sacrificed their own flesh and blood for the cause of peace. The monuments are built in remembrance of a national historical event ... the movement launched on June 20, 1977, to overthrow Pol Pot’s genocidal regime,” he added.
Tea Banh continued that the monument in Anlong Veng would be a place for the younger generation of children in Oddar Meanchey province to learn about the true history of their nation.
He also recalled the dire condition of the Kingdom leading up to the victory over the Khmer Rouge, saying that the catatrophic flames of war had caused immeasurable tragedy and pain to all Cambodians, leaving an indelible scar that made a peaceful end to the war and the healing of the nation’s divisions difficult to imagine or achieve, making the fact of their success that much more significant.
The defence ministry said in a press statement that the win-win monument in Anlong Veng district will be built with the participation of people from the government, members of the armed forces, monks, intellectuals and students regardless of political affiliation, with all parties contributing resources and labour towards its completion.
Oddar Meanchey deputy provincial governor Dy Rado told The Post on January 12 that the construction of the win-win monument will start soon after the province organises its own working group.
“We must organise this working group to help raise funds to support the construction of this win-win monument. So far, I have not received any information on an exact date of construction yet,” he said.
He added that the monument will be a symbol of peace, unity and ending civil wars, and therefore the budget for the construction of the monument would come from many sources but he did not know how much it would cost at this point.
The original win-win monument was built in Phnom Penh and is located in Chroy Changvar district across from the new Morodok Techo National Stadium. Additional win-win monuments are currently under construction in Kampong Speu, Banteay Meanchey and Koh Kong provinces.
