2,500 Pagodas Reported Restored in Cambodia

Cambodians have repaired or restored more than 2,500 pagodas destroyed during the 1975-79 reign of the Khmer Rouge, the Vietnam News Agency has reported. The agency quoted Vinaydhara Tep Vong, head of a Buddhist delegation from the Cambodian government, who spoke at the second congress of the Vietnam Buddhist Church in Hanoi Oct. 28 and 29.

The Communist Khmer Rouge killed hundreds of thousands of people during its campaign to restructure society. In its campaign against religion, it killed Buddhist monks and desecrated or destroyed many pagodas, which were traditional social centers in Cambodia.