Preah Vihear province is named after the Preah Vihear temple—a mountain temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva but built by Khmer kings in the early 9th century. Following the withdrawal of French forces from Cambodia, it was illegally occupied by Thailand in 1954. In 1959, Cambodia requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to make a ruling on the ownership of the Temple. The ICJ awarded the Temple to Cambodia and ordered Thailand to hand it back in June 1962. Although the legal battle seemed to have solved the issue of ownership of the Temple, its surrounding territory has become a continuous bone of contention resulting in sporadic armed fighting between the two nations.
During the Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime, this province was established as an autonomous region that was under the direct control of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK). Thai armed forces did not dare to enter this area during this period.
However, during the DK regime (1975-1979), nearly two million people died of execution, starvation, and forced labor. It took more than thirty years to bring a handful of surviving DK leaders to justice. Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch (and former Tuol Sleng prison chief [S-21]), was sentenced to life on February 3, 2012, while the trial against other four senior KR leaders—Nuon Chean, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan, and Ieng Thirith—is ongoing.
Unfortunately, Ieng Thirith was found unfit to stand trial and released from provisional detention on September 16, 2012. Her husband Ieng Sary, former Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Foreign Affairs, died on March 14, 2013. During this public village forum, a team of DC-Cam staff have collected the people's reactions on the death of Ieng Sary in Rumdoh Commune, Rovieng District, Preah Vihear Province.
Please visit the link: