More than 300 national police officials will today attend the first-ever education session for police dedicated to the history of Democratic Kampuchea, the Documentation Centre of Cambodia announced yesterday.

The Police Academy of Cambodia in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district will host a day of lectures geared toward promoting tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, DC-Cam project coordinator Ly Sok-Kheang told the Post. “If [police officers] ... know the context of the history of their country, they will know about the society well, and it makes them even stronger.”

The initiative stems from a 2009 government mandate requiring all first-year university students to study Khmer Rouge history. International co-prosecutor at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Andrew Cayley, will participate in the event.