Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister of Cambodia Samdech Hun Sen hascriticized Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong’s recent statement on Vietnam’sposition in the fight against Khmer Rouge.

“I deeply regret to learn of the Facebook post of H.E. Lee HsienLoong, Prime Minister of Singapore, on 31 May expressing his condolences on thepassing of General Prem Tinsulanonda in which he said ‘His [General Prem] timeas PM coincided with the ASEAN members (then five of us) coming together tooppose Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia and the Cambodian government thatreplaced the Khmer Rouge...’,”Hun Sen wrote in a Facebook post on June6 night.

“Hisstatement reflects Singapore’s position then in support of the genocidal regimeand the wish for its return to Cambodia,” the Cambodian PM said, recalling thatSingapore was the host of the tripartite meeting that led to the formation ofthe coalition government of the Democratic Kampuchea, which had prolonged thewar and the suffering of Cambodian people for another 10 years.

“It’san act against the survival of the Cambodian people. His statement is also aninsult to the sacrifice of the Vietnamese military volunteers who helped toliberate Cambodia from the genocidal regime. His statement reveals to theSingaporean people and the world that leaders of Singapore had indeedcontributed to the massacre of Cambodian people,” he added.
 
“Finally, I shall ask whether H.E. Lee Hsien Loong consider the trial of KhmerRouge leaders legitimate?” the PM concluded.

Earlier,Cambodian Deputy PM and Defence Minister Tea Banh, President of the Union ofYouth Federations and NationalAssembly member Hun Many, and manyscholars and annalists in Phnom Penh also rebuked PM Lee Hsien Loong for hisstatement.

Spokesperson ofthe Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said on June 4 thatVietnam regretted that some contents in the remarks of Singaporean PM Lee HsienLoong at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue and on his Facebook page did notobjectively reflect the historical truth, causing negative impacts on publicopinions.

The contributionand sacrifice of Vietnam in the joint efforts with Cambodian people to end theKhmer Rouge genocide regime have been widely recognised, Hang said.

On November 16,2018, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) issued averdict on the crime against humanity committed by the Khmer Rouge.

The rulingreflected objectively the historical truth, enforcing justice and making fairrestitution to victims, which was welcomed by the international community andthe United Nations, she added.-VNA