On July 10, 2011, the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam)'s Genocide Education Project conducted a public education forum in O Andaung village, O Andaung Commune,  Sala Krao District, Pailin. The forum was conducted at a compound of Samamki Kiri Samrith pagoda, commonly known as Wat Sala Krao Thmei. The participants attending the forum are approximately 230. Among these numbers, there are 30 villagers, 170 students, 15 teachers, and 15 monks.

 

PAILIN is a province at the northern edge of the Phnom Kravanh Mountain, in the west of Cambodia near the border of Thailand. This province is surrounded by Battambang Province, and was officially carved out of Battambang to become a separate administrative division after the surrender of the Ieng Sary faction of the Khmer Rouge in 1996. Pailin is known to much of the world for having long been a stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, who remained in control there long after they were defeated in 1979. In December 22, 2008, King Norodom Sihamoni signed a Royal Decree that changed the municipality of Pailin into a province. As of September 2007, Pailin's remaining Khmer Rouge leaders, including Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea, were arrested by the Extraordinary Chamber in the Court of Cambodia. Sala Krao District is one of two districts located in Pailin Province. The district is subdivided into 4 Sangkats and 43 Kroms. According to the 1998 census of Cambodia, it had a population of 7,106.

 

The public education forum will discuss the experiences of the people's lives under the KR and will also encourage the younger and the older generations to discuss the importance of genocide education and survivors to share their real life experiences under the KR. The project's team members will distribute copies of the textbook "A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)" and discuss one chapter from it. Other materials for distribution include the magazine Searching for the Truth and booklets on Khmer Rouge tribunal Cases 001 and 002. During the forum, one of the team members will teach a chapter from DK history book.

 

The forum is being held in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and funded by The Asia Foundation (TAF), Phnom Penh, Cambodia with the core supports from the Swedish International Agency for Development (Sida) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

For more information, please contact:

Ser Sayana <truthsayana.s@dccam.org> Cell: 092 763 272