SEOUL: Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the Sunhak Peace Medal Forum in Seoul, Republic of Korea that peace is the beginning of everything. If there is no peace, do not talk about hope, do not talk about democratic development and Human rights. Peace is more valuable than anything for him.

Speaking at the occasion of receiving the Sun Hak Peace Medal from Ms. Hak Ja Han Moon on the morning of 12 February. Prime Minister said that some people who are living in peace may think that peace is normal, which is different from those who are living in a war where they know the value of peace. He shared his personal experience of living in the civil war in Cambodia. He said that when the war started in Cambodia, he was forced to drop out of school and face constant suffering, and he set the goal to find Peace in Cambodia, which took almost 30 years to find.

He has sacrificed a lot to achieve this dream. He had lost one eye and fled to Vietnam through a minefield during the night, leaving his pregnant wife in Cambodia.

At this point, he said, "I left my wife at the place where she was pregnant in Cambodia until when I come to meet my son and he called me Uncle."

He also recalled risking his life again through negotiations with the Khmer Rouge, to persuade them to lay down their arms and surrender to the Royal Government, through a win-win policy that ended the war and brought complete peace in 1998.

From Cambodia's experiences with war and peace, I wish to emphasize that "No peace, No hope. No peace, No development. No peace, No respect for human right and democracy". And I share the same belief as Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon that "peace is concrete action, not a vague dream". I agree with Sun Myung-moon and Dr. Hak Jahan-moon, who assert that peace is a reality, not a dream."

It should be noted that Prime Minister Hun Sen, was chosen by the Sun Hak Peace Foundation as the winner of his peace because of his steadfastness for many years as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and his leadership really contributed to build stability, economic development and peace in the Kingdom of Cambodia and in the whole of Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister of Cambodia is the first leader in ASEAN to be awarded by this Peace Foundation.