Tuesday, March 27, 2007

KKF Officials are participating at the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva

25 March 2007
By Sav Yuth
Radio Free Asia

Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy


Two Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) officials departed from Canada and New York (USA) to participate in the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. At 3:00 PM today, the pair told RFA that they will tell the international community about the oppressions imposed by the Vietnamese authorities on Khmer Krom people, the native people of the land of Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam).

The two KKF officials are Monk Thach Birong who belong the KKF steering committee, and Mr. Thach Ngoc Thach who is the executive director of the KKF. Monk Thach Birong is from the US, and Mr. Thach Ngoc Thach is from Canada.

From Geneva, Mr. Thach Ngoc Thach told RFA that the KKF has prepared a large number of documents and photos regarding the violations of human rights perpetrated against Khmer Krom people. He plans to show these documents during the international meeting which will take place tomorrow, the meeting will be accompanied with direct discussions with UN human rights representatives.

Mr. Thach Ngoc Thach said: “Our main goal is to hold discussions with human rights organizations, in particular with the UNHCR, about the situation of our Khmer Krom people who took refuge in Cambodia, as well as those who fled to Thailand – some of whom were deported back to Cambodia, while others who hold a Vietnamese identification are jailed in Thailand. Our second goal is to meet with religious rights organizations regarding the defrocking on Khmer Krom monks in Khleang province (Soc Trang inVietnamese), and the defrocking threats pronounced against three monks in Preah Trapeang province (Tra Vinh or Vinh Binh). Furthermore, I will also discuss the problems of blindness disease encountered by 3 to 4,000 Khmer Krom people in the provinces of Pol Leav (Bac Lieu) and Khleang. These affected Khmer Krom people did not receive proper attention from the World Health Organization or the Vietnamese government.”

Thach Ngoc Thach added also that in addition to the participation in the international meeting, KKF officials plan to meet the UN commissioner on human rights, representatives of the EU parliament, UNPO representatives, as well as representative of the Transnational Radical Party, to inform them on the religious oppression and the discrimination in education perpetrated against Khmer Krom people by the Vietnamese authority.

No comments: