On January 10, 2013, a special presentation of an outstanding documentary film "Cambodia Dreams" along with the discussion on “Reconciliation: Toward a More Peaceful, Humane ASEAN Community” was organized by Thai PBS and proved a great success with over two hundreds participants joining the event.
As a public broadcaster, Thai PBS strives to promote equality and human rights. To achieve this objective, Thai PBS sets out to encourage peace dialogue on the national as well as international level. The screening of Cambodia Dreams is merely a starting point for this dialogue as the documentary film presents a real life tragedy resulted from the collapse of peace. Stanley Harper, the film director, spent eighteen years covering the stories of the lives of Cambodian refugees whose family was torn apart by the 1970 Civil War. The film was selected to screen in various international film festivals and is praised by famous photojournalist Philip Jones Griffiths as “one of the most important documentary films ever made.”
From the case study of Cambodia, the discussion following the screening joined by the former Prime Minister Mr. Anand Panyarachun and Mr. Stanley Harper focused on past and ongoing conflict resolution attempts in ASEAN countries. It inspired the participants to realize the value of peace and encouraged participation of all sectors in the society, diplomats, academics, media professionals, as well as the general public in peacebuilding process. After all, it is only with the contributions from all sectors that peace and harmony of our community can be achieved.
