AKP Phnom Penh, May 20, 2026 --

On Cambodia’s National Day of Remembrance, Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Hun Many presided over the inauguration of a new monks’ residence and ceremonial structures at Angkrong Meanchey Serey Oudom pagoda, using the occasion to honour the victims of the Khmer Rouge and warn against forgetting the past.

The ceremony in Kampong Speu province’s Samaky Monichey district drew nearly 1,000 attendees, including lawmakers, local officials, monks, and residents. The date marks the brutal 1975-1979 ultra-communist regime that systematically destroyed religious and cultural institutions – including this very monastery.

“We must remember the pain of the past to collectively protect the peace we have hard-won, ensuring such a dark era never returns,” said H.E. Hun Many, who also serves as Minister of Civil Service and heads the Royal Government’s working group for Kampong Speu.

Provincial Governor Cheam Chamsophorn detailed the pagoda’s revival, praising community-government cooperation that made possible the new monks’ living quarters and traditional flagpoles (Dong Tong).

Buddhism, reinstated as Cambodia’s state religion after the Khmer Rouge’s fall, remains a cornerstone of national identity. Officials said the new facilities will serve both the local community and the broader revival of religious traditions across the province.

By K. Rithy Reak