Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the visit to the museum was both positive and negative. One positive thing, he elaborated, is that the world will learn more about the tragedy of what happened here.
“It is a reminder to the world that we should avoid war, and prevent it from breaking out. Keeping the peace is what the world needs to do,” he said.
Phea said what was particularly shocking about the Khmer Rouge genocide was that the perpetrators and the victims were of the same race and nationality, in contrast to the actions of Adolf Hitler, who targeted a different ethnic group.
However, he pointed out that the loss of unity was largely due to political ideology of the superpowers of the time. He suggested that these superpowers should offer psychological education, and development aid to atone for the tragedy they caused in Cambodia.
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