By James Welsh
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
A group of Vietnamese and Americans convicted on terrorism charges in Vietnam on Friday had set up an adoption agency in Cambodia as a front for their plans to undermine the Hanoi government, the Associated Press reported Monday.
The three Americans and four Vietnamese were convicted in Ho Chi Minh City for plotting to seize radio airwaves to call for an uprising against the Vietnamese government. One of the Americans, Nguyen Thuong "Cue" Foshee, was deported to the US on Monday. Her two fellow Americans will serve the three remaining weeks of their terms before being deported AP said.
Some of the defendants acknowledged carrying radio equipment to Cambodia on behalf of the Government of Free Vietnam—a US-based anticommunist movement that Hanoi deems a terrorist group. The equipment, including 14 radio transmitters, was then smuggled into the Vietnamese province of An Giang, AP reported. The report did not state where the adoption agency was operating in Cambodia, but An Giang borders Kandal and Takeo provinces.
Deputy National Police Commissioner Sok Phal said that he was aware of the case and confirmed that six members of the group did cross through Cambodian territory. "The six people came from Thailand to Cambodia to Vietnam," he said.
But Sok Phal said he was unaware of any adoption agency being used as a front by the group, and did not have any details regarding the smuggled radio transmitters.
"We didn't find any radio equipment in Cambodia," he said. "We did not arrest anyone here."
Ministry of Interior spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said he had heard of the case, but was unaware of the group using an adoption agency as a front.
"We don't have any adoption agencies here. We have orphanages," he said. Many countries have bans on adopting Cambodian children due to concerns about corruption in the adoption process.
"We are happy to cooperate with any country with regards to terrorism," Khieu Sopheak added.
The three Americans and four Vietnamese were convicted in Ho Chi Minh City for plotting to seize radio airwaves to call for an uprising against the Vietnamese government. One of the Americans, Nguyen Thuong "Cue" Foshee, was deported to the US on Monday. Her two fellow Americans will serve the three remaining weeks of their terms before being deported AP said.
Some of the defendants acknowledged carrying radio equipment to Cambodia on behalf of the Government of Free Vietnam—a US-based anticommunist movement that Hanoi deems a terrorist group. The equipment, including 14 radio transmitters, was then smuggled into the Vietnamese province of An Giang, AP reported. The report did not state where the adoption agency was operating in Cambodia, but An Giang borders Kandal and Takeo provinces.
Deputy National Police Commissioner Sok Phal said that he was aware of the case and confirmed that six members of the group did cross through Cambodian territory. "The six people came from Thailand to Cambodia to Vietnam," he said.
But Sok Phal said he was unaware of any adoption agency being used as a front by the group, and did not have any details regarding the smuggled radio transmitters.
"We didn't find any radio equipment in Cambodia," he said. "We did not arrest anyone here."
Ministry of Interior spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said he had heard of the case, but was unaware of the group using an adoption agency as a front.
"We don't have any adoption agencies here. We have orphanages," he said. Many countries have bans on adopting Cambodian children due to concerns about corruption in the adoption process.
"We are happy to cooperate with any country with regards to terrorism," Khieu Sopheak added.
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