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Cambodia to Demobilise 15,000 Soldiers
KAMPONG CHHNANG: Cambodia Thursday kicked off an ambitious plan to demobilise 15,000 soldiers this year, more than two years after the civil war ended and government ranks were swelled by defecting Khmer Rouge troops. A group of 408 soldiers -- mostly elderly, chronically ill or disabled -- were among the first to be cut from the government payroll.
In a ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen at Kampong Chhnang north of the capital Phnom Penh Hun Sen said the move was made possible because the government had secured stability and peace after decades of civil strife and the genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge. "If there is no confidence in the firmness of peace and national reconciliation, we would keep the armed forces and weapons in hands to continue fighting," he said.
"Political and military structures of the Khmer Rouge which haunted Cambodia for almost half a century are now completely dismantled. Therefore it is not a threat to peace and lives of the people any more."
Hun Sen said the government wanted to use the money it saved to focus on education, public health and social welfare. With smiles and cheers, the veterans said they were pleased to be swapping their little-worn khaki uniforms for spanking new blue jeans supplied by the government.
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