The Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport is mounting anti-genocide slogans in all high schools across Cambodia. The slogans aim to promote forgiveness, tolerance, education and reconciliation and also help to recall past memory and generate interests in the upcoming trial of the four surviving KR senior leaders. The two slogans read: (1) "Talking about experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime is to promote reconciliation and to educate children about forgiveness and tolerance," and (2) "Learning about the history of Democratic Kampuchea is to prevent genocide."
On May 20, 2011, DC-Cam is holding an inauguration ceremony of an Anti-Genocide Memorial at Preah Yukunthor High School at 7:30 am. Her Excellency Chumteav Ton Sa-Im, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and Mr. Chea Cheat, Head of Phnom Penh Municipal Office of Education, will preside over this ceremony. Preah Yukunthor High School is the tenth location to hold a memorial inauguration ceremony.
The Remembering Day on May 20th is a significant commemoration day when Cambodian people gather annually at historical mass grave sites to perform special ceremonies dedicated to those who died during the Khmer Rouge regime and revive their memories and emotion of that period. DC-Cam uses this special occasion to inaugurate the anti-genocide slogans in order to educate young people about the Khmer Rouge history.
Preah Yukunthor is a son of King Norodom who stood up against French colonialism. He was forcibly evicted to Singapore and later fled to Thailand; his whereabouts since then are unknown. His name was dedicated to a school, Preah Yokunthor High School, under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk. The school was well-known in the capital city of Phnom Penh before the war period. The school was constructed on the location near the Preah Ang Eng primary school in 1954. After the coup in 1970, the school was renamed 18 March 1970 High School and later renamed again to Keo Sang Kim High School, the name of the Khmer Republic Education Minister who was assassinated allegedly by the Khmer Rouge's secret agents. During the Khmer Rouge period, the school was turned into a hospital and warehouse.
The slogans are being mounted with financial support from H.E Chea Chanto, the General Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, DC-Cam, and former students and teachers of the Preah Yukunthor High School.