Vietnam and Cambodia coordinate in searching, collecting and repatriating martyrs' remains

Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to coordinate in the search, collection, and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during the war.

Thousands of remains repatriated to the motherland

At the end of April 2022, Team K71 (Tay Ninh Provincial Military Command) marched to the sparse forest of Banteay Ampil district, Oddar Meancheay province (Cambodia) to search for martyrs' remains. This is a difficult area with limited traffic. Cars cannot reach this place, so officers and soldiers have to travel by motorbike and on foot. It is the peak of the dry season, the heat is harsh, the soil is dry and hard, but the officers and soldiers have collected 83 martyrs' remains. The above results were achieved thanks to Mr. Kha Dit, born in 1960, in Banteay Ampil district and local people who provided information and supported Team K71 to accurately determine the location of the martyrs' graves. Recently, the footprints of the soldiers of Team K72 under the Military Command, Binh Phuoc province have also been imprinted throughout the provinces and cities from Kratie to Kongpongthom, Kingdom of Cambodia, searching for the graves of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in neighboring Cambodia. Not only in Tay Ninh, on November 15, the People's Committee of Kien Giang province held a signing ceremony for cooperation in searching, collecting, and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died during the war in Cambodia between Kien Giang province and the provinces of Koh Kong, Preah Sihanouk, Kam Pot, and Kep of the Kingdom of Cambodia (dry season 2023 - 2024). Since implementing the Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia signed on August 28, 2000 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, up to now, Team K92 of Kien Giang province has searched for and collected 2,105 remains of martyrs in the provinces of Koh Kong, Pearh Sihanouk, Kam Pot and Kep of the Kingdom of Cambodia, of which, in the dry season of 2022 - 2023, Team K92 of Kien Giang province searched for and collected 25 remains of martyrs.

Soldiers of Team K72 on the march to search for and collect the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who died on the Cambodian battlefield. Photo: Bui Liem.

According to the report at the 22nd meeting between the Specialized Committee of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Specialized Committee of the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia on continuing to search for, collect and repatriate the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during the war, in recent times, although information about the burial places of martyrs has become increasingly difficult, the search and collection of remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during the war has been effectively implemented. In the 2022-2023 dry season, Vietnamese Collection Teams searched for and collected 640 remains of martyrs. Currently, the Vietnamese side continues to maintain 11 Collection Teams on duty in the provinces and cities of the Kingdom of Cambodia; Promote propaganda and mobilize people of both countries to provide information about martyrs, graves of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during the war.

Cambodia: efforts to accompany the search work

In March 2023, Mr. Xien Chanh (52 years old, Chong Kal district, Oddar Meancheay province, Cambodia) provided guidance to the graves of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who died in 1985 in a battle in the commune. At that time, the bodies of the soldiers were in the enemy's controlled area, so the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers could not retrieve them. Cambodian people buried and burned incense for the martyrs. From this valuable information, Team K71 found 8 martyrs' remains. Mr. Khon Dra Kheo (66 years old, Thma Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province) also provided information that helped the unit find 9 martyrs' remains of officers and soldiers of Division 5 (Military Region 7). In addition to providing information, Cambodian people, agencies, and ministries regularly support units in searching for and gathering martyrs in many different forms.

The search and repatriation of martyrs’ remains has helped ease the pain of martyrs’ relatives and people across the country; demonstrated the nation’s moral of remembering its source when drinking water, and contributedto educating the younger generation about love for their homeland and country. Photo: Bui Liem.

In the spirit of good neighborly relations, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability between the two States and the two peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia, at the recent 22nd meeting, the two sides believed that the Government Task Force of the two countries will coordinate to direct and organize the implementation of the task of searching, collecting, and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during the war in the coming time with the highest efficiency. The Specialized Committee of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam also proposed that the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia organize the release in Cambodia of a documentary film about the process of coordinating the search, collection, and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during the war, period 2000 - 2022. At the same time, print and release the book "Directing and coordinating the search, collection, and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia during the war, period 2000 - 2020" in Khmer in Cambodia after the Vietnamese side completes the manuscript... Major General Chhum Visal, Deputy Commander of Military Region 3, Head of the Specialized Committee of Military Region 3, Kingdom of Cambodia affirmed that Cambodia and Vietnam are two neighboring countries, two peoples with a long-standing good tradition in the fight against common enemies. Today, Cambodia is completely peaceful and has a developed economy, capable of integrating on par with other countries in the region and the world, but Cambodia cannot forget the great contributions that the Party, Government, army and people of Vietnam have made to Cambodia.