Cambodia Marks 47th Anniversary of Front That Ended Khmer Rouge Rule

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Dec. 2, 2025) — Cambodia on Tuesday marked the 47th anniversary of the Solidarity Front for the Development of the Cambodian Motherland, honoring the mass movement credited with helping topple the Khmer Rouge and laying the foundation for the nation’s recovery.

In a statement, Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen — who also leads the ruling Cambodian People’s Party — recalled the Front’s origins as the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation. Formed in 1978, the movement united Cambodians inside and outside the country against Pol Pot’s regime.

Led by Samdech Heng Samrin, Samdech Chea Sim, Samdech Hun Sen and other figures, the Front organized forces that overthrew Democratic Kampuchea, culminating in the Jan. 7, 1979 victory that ended one of the darkest chapters in Cambodian history. The fall of the Khmer Rouge restored basic rights and opened the path to rebuilding the nation.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen said the Front’s call for unity, backed by Vietnamese volunteers and international partners, was decisive in Cambodia’s liberation.

“The great victory of Jan. 7, 1979 opened a new era for Cambodia,” he said, stressing that today’s progress would not have been possible without the 2 December Front.