PHNOM PENH: While speaking at the opening ceremony of Angkor Sangkranta on Friday, 14 April 2023, at the Bayon Temple in Siem Reap, Prime Minister Hun Sen recalled how 48 years ago, war broke out in Cambodia during the Lon Nol era, just as everyone had welcomed the Khmer New Year. At that time, he said shells were being fired in almost every province of the country.

The Prime Minister noted that the situation in Cambodia today is very different, and the establishment of peace has now allowed everyone to celebrate the Khmer New Year happily and safely.

The Khmer Republic collapsed on 17 April 1975, just as Cambodia welcomed the traditional Khmer New Year.

The fall of the Khmer Republic plunged Cambodia into a dark and war-torn regime until 1998, when peace was finally restored through the establishment of the win-win policy, headed by Prime Minister Hun Sen.