I hope the Ministry of Defense is collecting all the circumstantial evidence as possible not only in accordance with the law, but as a matter of policy to ensure the historical truth of what has happened and what is happening along the border is not distorted, diluted or erased by parties implicated in unlawful actions.

Collecting evidence is much broader than interviewing people and documenting evidence. It also includes preserving all the crime sites and sites impacted by unlawful activities. Certain locations in Preah Vihear province (such as the military history zone) provide opportunities for the government to turn the site into a Peace Center or a memorial site. Such a center or site could honor and serve as dedicated grounds to honor soldiers who died during Thailand’s aggression. Cambodia also has an ancestors’ festival where we should continue to honor those who are no longer with us every year.

Whatever we do, the evidence of these events must be preserved.

YOUK CHHANG Director, Documentation Center of Cambodia

e: dccam@online.com.kh

August 18, 2025

Photo: Khmer Time