Prime Minister Hun Manet explained the purpose of this year’s “Nokor Sangkranta”, which is taking place at a time when parts of Cambodian territory are occupied by Thailand and tens of thousands of displaced persons are not yet able to return home. He noted that organising the event is not a matter of seeking pleasure to forget hardships nor abandoning territory.
“The question is: is this organised so that brothers and sisters can laugh and have fun while forgetting our land? No. It is the organisation of a national traditional festival to drive our lives forward,” he said.
“When we are wounded, we must move forward even stronger. When we have an injury on our toe, we cannot just sit there and cry, because no one else will help us; we must strengthen ourselves and move forward quickly,” he added.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2025 annual review and 2026 work direction meeting of the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD), he warned that Cambodia cannot collapse due to the problems that have arisen; it must solve them while simultaneously strengthening itself.
Therefore, the Kingdom will celebrate the New Year while continuing to protect the territory, without forgetting the troops and the displaced persons. He added that organising Nokor Sangkranta is intended to show solidarity with the military and those displaced by conflict.
“Regarding the issue of territory, the Royal Government and the people never forget. Negotiations and protection efforts continue. Even though we will celebrate for these three or four days, we will not forget to protect our territory and our territorial integrity; we will continue to do so,” he said.
He added that the event will feature a display of messages and images supporting the troops and displaced persons. Furthermore, all proceeds from sales generated during the event will be spent on displaced persons and national defence. He also encouraged citizens to visit the displaced persons during the Khmer New Year celebrations.
However, this year’s Nokor Sangkranta will not feature water-spraying as in previous years.
Instead, the celebration will focus on Khmer traditions and culture. He instructed provincial administrations to keep water trucks prepared for firefighting rather than using them for water-spraying at the event venues.
Currently, nearly 50,000 displaced persons are still unable to return to their homes because their houses are surrounded by Thai barricades of shipping containers and razor wire, or because they are located in “red zones”.
