Hun Many, a National Assembly member for Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province, has said he was “beyond surprised” at the recent remarks by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong regarding the Vietnamese presence in Cambodia following the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

Hun Many, the fifth child of Prime Minister Hun Sen and also a National Assembly
member for Kampong Speu province. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)

The Cambodian legislator was responding to comments PM Lee made on his Facebook post on May 31 mentioning Vietnam’s “invasion” and “occupation” of Cambodia.

Many, the fifth child of Prime Minister Hun Sen, said the Singaporean PM’s comments regarding the period represented only one angle of a complex situation, in particular, the political stance some Southeast Asian nations held at the time.

He stressed that the atrocities and crimes against humanity, especially genocide, committed by the Khmer Rouge should never be overlooked or forgotten.

The world should not forget how much Cambodians suffered, he said, adding that close to three million innocent victims died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge over three years, eight months and 20 days.

“While everyone was playing politics, Cambodians were praying for help. We wanted to be saved from the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, and it did not matter from who and from where that help came from.”

“It came in the form of the [Cambodian People’s Party] CPP with the assistance of our neighbour Vietnam,” he was quoted as saying by the Phnom Penh Post.