The German ambassador and officials from the Khmer Rouge tribunal on Wednesday inaugurated a commemoration stupa on the former grounds of Tuol Sleng prison, where more than 12,000 people were tortured and executed under the regime.
The ambassador, Joachim Baron von Marschall, called the stupa a “symbol for reconciliation between the horror of the past and the bright and happy future for all Cambodians.”
“It will not be a place of grief and sadness but also one where people can feel hope for their own and their children’s future,” he said.
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Cambodia Inaugurates Memorial for Genocide Victims
The stupa is 6 meters tall and was funded by the German government, as a part of ongoing efforts to foster national reconciliation for the atrocity crimes of the Khmer Rouge.
The names of the 12,380 known prisoners who died at Tuol Sleng prison are carved on black stone tablets surrounding the stupa, to represent tombs for the dead.