Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said that after subsequent reform of funding for veterans, the government decided to provide
20 percent increase on basic salary for veterans of Cambodia such as civil servants and armed forces. He announced this while speaking at the celebration of the 3rd Anniversary of the Association of Cambodian Veterans (ACV) at the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh on June 21st.

“Currently, the government is taking care for veterans and provide equality for our veterans without thanking them for their past work,” he said. Prime Minister also appealed to the buyers of burden books for getting salary of veterans to turn back the book. He explained that some veterans sold their burden books in order of getting a salary.
“We should be clear for number of veterans and eliminate the ghost veterans,” he said. “Ghost veterans have names in getting salary only but it doe not exist in real life.” He urged the involved ministries to
visit soldiers and disabled people and veterans who stayed in the hospitals to provide the heartfelt attention and build the sentiments with them and encourage for their conscience for serving the nation and homeland in the past years. The Prime Minister ordered media system to broadcast largely about the achievements that disabled people and veterans that have succeeded in the past years. He recommended local authorities to take care of veterans who met their diffi culties in their communities without discrimination of political endencies and groups in the past. H.E. Ith Sam Heng, Minister of
Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation and he also is Secretary General of the Association of Cambodian Veteran (ACV), said that Prime GOVERNMENT INCREASES SALARY FOR VETERANS BY CHHORNG LONG HENG Minister Hun Sen is the President of the ACV according to the vote in the extraordinary general assembly of the association of veteran across the country on June 20th.

The celebration of the 3rd Anniversary of the association is very meaningful for Cambodian veterans and Cambodians. “Today’s event made Cambodian people remember the great sacrifice our veteran heroes who devoted their fresh blood and lives to protect the national, people and sovereignty of the country in all phases of destiny of the country,” he said.

The Minister added that the country passed through from the rosperity to darkness in the Khmer Rouge regime and to a current situation with peaceful and political stability under win-win policy set up by Prime Minister Hun Sen. Under the win-win policy, the Cambodian troops from all side of confl icts could integrate as one national force.
“The government has paid attention on the work of the veteran within implementing the national policy for veterans in purpose of gratitude for our heroes and we also resolved the living conditions, budget, and materials subsequently as well as providing honors and protection of the dignity of our veteran according to the national economic situation,” he noted. “We provided the social land and built households for our veterans and their families and we also created many projects for upgrading the living conditions of soldiers. We always considered providing extra sponsorship including their salary increase for them,” he said.
The Minister noted that in 2010, about 90,605 families for all kinds of veterans are getting sponsorship policies from the government and other members of their families also collected a salary. “We spent over US$ 1.65 million for them,” he said. “We are preparing the royal decree on social security fund for veterans and sub-decree on national treasury fund for our veteran.” As President of the ACV, Prime minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen offered 300 houses for disabled people in
Taken Koh Sla in Kampot-Kampong Speu provinces with funding of over one million U.S dollar and other 66 houses for the center of veterans and disabled
development in Siem Reap province, and 100 houses at the local communities to facilitate the diffi culties for veterans and disabled people, he emphasized.
The Minister said that Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen always cared on the living conditions of the veterans and disabled. Currently, the
association has 90,605 members, and has US$ 25,000 fund to help veteran to develop their jobs and living conditions, and the association helped
719 families of death veterans with US$ 1,000 for each family. The association adopted three principles for work such as building good living conditions for families, joining to develop local communities and to join in to decide the direction of the association to achieve its target, he said, adding that the association of veterans
and ministry of social work, veterans and youth rehabilitation have co-operated each other to train vocational training, and social concession land. “The association strengthened friendship cooperation with associations for veterans from Vietnam,
Laos and China and ASEAN. In April 2010, the association of Cambodian veterans becomes full member of the Association of ASEAN veterans in
Jakarta capital of Indonesia. We also signed the MOU of cooperation with Vietnam and Laos,” he stressed.
The ACV chose H.E. Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, and Men Sam On, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister as Deputy President Respectively, according to H.E. Ith Sam Heng.