This national holiday is also called Victory over Genocide Day and Nation Day . It marks the day in 1979 that Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia and began an assault that ended the bloody regime of the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that as many as two million Cambodians were killed during the nearly four years that Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge ruled the country. The celebration is viewed with mixed emotions by many Cambodians, since the holiday also marks the beginning of Cambodian dependence on Vietnam.
Victory Day is celebrated with patriotic speeches by government officials, remembrance services for the victims, as well as cultural displays of the era.