Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, President of the Senate of Cambodia, received in Gyeongsangbuk-do province of the Republic of Korea this morning an Honorary Doctorate Degree in ‘Leadership and Peacebuilding’ from Dongguk WISE University.
On the occasion, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, former Prime Minister of Cambodia, expressed his great pleasure for holding the Honorary Doctorate Degree in ‘Leadership and Peacebuilding’ in beautiful Gyeongsangbuk-do province which is rich in history and arts, and thanked Dongguk WISE University for its recognition of Cambodia’s national liberation from the Khmer Rouge regime and of his sacrifice to liberate the country and establish peace, national reconciliation and unification of territory and armed forces that Cambodian people had not known for the last over 500 years.
For Cambodia, the senate president continued, the Honorary Doctorate Degree in ‘Leadership and Peacebuilding’ symbolises the recognition of the value of leadership, wisdom and the spirit of patrioti
sm, forgiveness and ownership of the Cambodian citizens over peace, and so on.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen dedicated the aforementioned achievement to all Cambodian citizens, especially the armed forces who had dedicated their lives in the cause of peace, independence, territory, and people, hoping that Cambodia’s lesson will strengthen the spirit of patriotism for the next generation around the world, encouraging them to know the real value of peace, danger of war, grief at the loss of a loved one, and building willingness to contribute to protecting the existing peace and ending war, so that people can enjoy peace, development, and prosperity.
War can happen easily, but ending it takes very long time, he reiterated, raising the case of Cambodia that took nearly 30 years to end a civil war.
The philosophy of ‘We cannot use war to end war’ has also been used to implement the Win-Win Policy for national unity and integration of Khmer Rouge soldiers into the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), he underscored.
Fo
llowing the honorary doctorate degree award ceremony, Samdech Techo Hun Sen gave a 15-minute lecture on ‘Cambodia’s Experience in National Liberation, Peacebuilding, Reconciliation and Reconstruction’ from a country torn apart by war and the killing fields to a nation full of peace, coexistence and tolerance.
According the Samdech Techo Hun Sen, key lessons gained included ownership of national destiny starts from us, that is, seeking peace start from people and long-term peace cannot happen if national owners do not start it by themselves; international community should join together to protect existing peace as war can occur easily, yet it takes long time to earn peace, as well as prevent extreme ideology; find methods to protect long-term peace through national reconciliation and unity.
To date, Samdech Techo Hun Sen has received more than 10 Honorary Doctorate Degree – 2 from the U.S.A, 3 from ROK, 2 from Thailand, 2 from China, 1 from Malaysia, and the rest from the EU.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Press
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