Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Pen Sovann remembered as ‘principled’

Pen Sovann remembered as ‘principled’

Pen Sovann announces the formation of a new party at a 1994 press conference. David Van Der Veen/AFP
Pen Sovann announces the formation of a new party at a 1994 press conference. David Van Der Veen/AFP

Pen Sovann remembered as ‘principled’

About 100 people gathered at the home of former prime minister Pen Sovann yesterday for his wake, with friends and family remembering a rare national leader who stuck by his principles even in the face of great personal cost.

Sovann, who for six months in 1981 served as Cambodia’s first prime minister after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, died at his home on Saturday night from complications related to high blood pressure, after years of battling illnesses including strokes.

He spent 10 years under house arrest in Hanoi after his ouster, and returned to Cambodia in 1992 with a reputation for standing up for his beliefs.

“He was an honest man,” said one of the mourners, Chhum Chhoeun, 70. “The Vietnamese arrested him because he did not follow their orders.

“All the people who have the same age as me around this country know about his legacy, because he struggled and devoted himself to the country, but in the end did not get anything [in return] like the other people did, including Hun Sen, Heng Samrin and Tea Banh.”

“He does not even have a good car,” the man added. “And we wonder why he did not follow the Vietnamese’s orders . . . If he followed the Vietnamese orders, he would have continued as prime minister.”

Sovann was elected as an opposition lawmaker in nearby Kampong Speu in July 2013, and opposition spokesman Yem Ponhearith said at his wake that the former premier’s legacy would not be forgotten by the party.

“When he participated in the CNRP, he provided his experiences . . . and lectured about our history and about his struggles,” Ponhearith said. “All his words will be used to educate the CNRP youth.”

CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said by telephone that Sovann’s opposition to Vietnam’s occupation in the 1980s and to the notoriously dangerous K5 minefield along the Thai border had ruined the former premier’s legacy as a leader of the post-Khmer Rouge era.

“Dying and being born is the nature of human beings and animals, and as Buddhists we regret [his passing] and wish him to rest in peace like the other people who have passed away,” Eysan said.

“Even though he used to be a member of the CPP, he changed his nature and opposed the CPP’s ideology,” he continued. “As we know, he was unhappy with the Vietnamese soldiers’ presence to help Cambodia . . . and secondly, he opposed the K5 plan.

“This means he wanted genocide to return.”

Yet Sovann’s daughter, Pen Souna, 42, said although she had been separated from her father at the age of 6 in 1981 and did not see him until 1994, she bore no grudges and considered him a hero.

“About his loss, I have nothing to say,” Souna said. “He will always be in my heart, because he has made such a huge to contribution to the country.”

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm