Cambodia burns arms reminders of Pol Pot

30/03/2005 - 16:08:20
Cambodian officials burned more than 3,500 guns, rocket launchers and other munitions in a ceremony meant to help expunge the former Khmer Rouge stronghold’s association with Pol Pot, the group’s leader who lived out his final years in the village of Anlong Veng.

More than 3,000 people, including villagers and former Khmer Rouge soldiers, watched as officials stacked the weapons in a pile and surrounded them with sandbags, apparently to protect against explosions.

The weapons were then doused with diesel fuel and torched by officials holding long bamboo sticks with fuel-soaked clothes wrapped around the end.

The ceremony was part of Cambodia’s Flame of Peace programme.