Thousands of homeward-bound Vietnamese troops paraded through the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh over the weekend as part of a 50,000-man withdrawal that halved Vietnamese troop strength in Cambodia this year, official Vietnamese and Cambodian media said Monday.
Phnom Penh domestic radio said most of the 18,000 troops supposed to return home were cheered through the streets on Saturday."Now the Cambodian revolution has matured greatly and has entered a new historic stage in which the Cambodian revolution itself must assume the task of defending its own motherland," said Cambodian Defense Minister Tie Banh in a speech broadcast by the radio.
Tie Banh said the Vietnamese, following their Dec. 25, 1978, invasion, built up the strength of the regime they installed so it could stand on its own.