7th January 1979 Revisited: Liberation and Alienation

The last Vietnamese troops were said to have left Cambodia in 26 September 1989 but probably they did not leave until 1990 (source Wikipedia: People's Republic Of Kampuchea)

7th January 1979 Revisited: Liberation and Alienation

Depending on which side you were on, Cambodia either fell on 7th January 1979 under the Vietnamese occupation or it was liberated by the same Vietnamese troops. Inside Cambodia, today is marked as liberation day, but outside, most Cambodian called resentment day (the resentment of losing a country).

As a teacher, I have an obligation to give the students an objective account of the real issues of Cambodia based on my personal experiences. You may not agree with what I have to say about the recorded historitical event of 7th January 1979, but I know that all of us would agree, in the liberty to express diverse opinions that real democracy and freedom are secure.

To avoid any bias and ambiguity, it is noteworthy to acknowledge and recognize this historitical date as a source of liberation, a new “birthday”, a fresh epoch from the cruelest Khmer Rouge Regime but also of Vietnamese invasion, occupation and alienation of Cambodia. Ending the Pol Pot’s regime was essential, but replacing the atrocious regime with alienation was not right and illegal. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Vietnamese troops for their help; however, we oppose their self-interested ideology to occupy us.
The selfish Vietnamese had a different agenda besides helping the current government liberated Cambodia from darkness. They wanted to colonize and control us once again. The Vietnamese troops remained in Cambodia until 1989, a decade-long occupation, alienation which a coalition of anti-Vietnamese Cambodian forces, including FUNCINPEC lead by former King Norodom Sihanouk, KPNLF (Khmer People National Liberal Front) lead by former Prime Minister Son San, and the Khmer Rouge, established bases inside Thailand and engaged in gory civil war with the Hanoi backed People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) government of Phnom-Penh.

Lastly, it is also noteworthy to state the Paris Peace Accord on 23rd October 1991, brought peace and democracy to Cambodia with all the political parties. The current government dropped the 23rd October 1991 national holiday in 2005 and chose 7th January 1979 instead.