Address to Peace Summit 2023
May 2-5, 2023
It's a privilege to be here at this important international conference. Over the past two days I heard many interesting and inspiring perspectives and reports centered on the subject of world peace and the role of the media.
I will begin by sharing my own working experience as a peace/war journalist in my country of Cambodia. Two years after I was born, a coup d’état took place in my country in 1970. The war in Vietnam expanded to Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge (the Communist Party of Kampuchea) came to power from 1975 to 1979, and carried out one of the greatest crimes in the 20th century. Upwards of two million people died in what was called the killing fields through their ruthless agenda of forced labor and mass executions.
The report and later the film on “The Killing Fields,” was based on the experiences of two journalists: Cambodian Dith Pran and former New York Times journalist, Sidney Schanberg. The film was released in 1984 and received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture; it won three. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Killing Fields the 100th greatest British film of the 20th century.
Because of the civil war in Cambodia which lasted decades, I missed my education for six years until I started primary school. I was twelve years old when I attended the first grade. I missed six years so my formal education was greatly impacted. Even after I became a journalist in 1994, the war was still continuing until 1998. Cambodia’s 30-year war ended in what is known as the “Win-Win Policy,” and is commemorated annually on December 29th as the “Win-Win Policy Day.” The surviving Khmer Rouge leaders fomally surrended to Prime Minister Hun Sen. In short, I experienced war in my country almost half of my life.
Present day Cambodia has a population of almost 17 million population and includes more than 1,000 registered media establishments. The rise of the media reflects the rise of new forms of political populism and greater freedom of expression. The people have greater access to information through the usage of internet-based technology.
During the course of this international conference, the focus has been on peace, but at the same time, there are many ongoing conflicts around the world that we must not overlook, particularly the Korean Peninsula, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and of course, Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.
Cambodia has experienced peace and growth for three decades. We have created a peace culture and our peace journalists are ready to share our lessons learned with the world. I thank you for your attention as we discuss the role of journalism in reporting on war and conflict using a fair and unbiased perspective.
To go to the Peace Summit 2023 Schedule page, click here.