PRESS RELEASE
Khmer Krom Demonstration in Australia details
When: Thursday 16 August, 2007
Time: 12pm
Where: In front of Parliament House, Canberra
When: Thursday 16 August, 2007
Time: 12pm
Where: In front of Parliament House, Canberra
Cambodian Buddhist monks and over fifty protesters will be conducting a demonstration in front of Parliament House in Canberra on 16 August 2007 to appeal for Australia's intervention to help secure the release a defrocked monk jailed by Vietnamese authorities in Vietnam for a crime allegedly committed in Cambodia.
Former Abbot of the Phnom Den temple, Takeo province, Venerable Tim Sakhorn was effectively disrobed on 30 June 2007 by Cambodia’s Head monk, Tep Vong and the Hun Sen government. He was deported to Vietnam for alleged crime of undermining the relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Human rights groups attempting to halt the defrocking were baffled by his disappearance and it was only a month later that Vietnamese borders official claim to have captured the ‘disappeared monk’.
Initially the Government of Vietnam accuses the former monk of entering Vietnam illegally while at the same time claiming Tim Sakhorn is a Vietnamese citizen. He is now are highly likely to face prison for allegedly stirring unrest in Cambodia and Vietnam.
The protestors are requesting intervention of the Australian government to help return the defrocked Cambodian monk, Tim Sakhorn back to Cambodia to face trials.
The Australian Government, through its national organisation, AUSAID has contributed to over $81 and $33 million dollars to Vietnam and Cambodia respectively to help establish trade links and improve the standard of living between the countries. The human rights situation in Vietnam and Cambodia, however, appears to have improved little despite the significant contributions.
Reports of recent religious oppression, in particular against indigenous minorities such as the Khmer Krom and the Montagnards, displays a sharp contradiction to the human rights and religious freedom Vietnam attempts to portray to the world.
Recently, five former Khmer Krom Buddhist monks from the Mekong Delta region were sentenced to between two to four years imprisonment for organising a peaceful demonstration in Soc Trang province, Vietnam.
The Khmer Krom people are the indigenous peoples residing in the rich fertile lands of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, but are ranked amongst the poorest people of Vietnam by the World Health Organisation.
Protestors from Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne will be appealing to the Australian government to bring human rights and religious freedom issues to the forefront in its future consultation with Cambodia and Vietnam.
They also urge the Australian government to exert pressure on Cambodia and Vietnam to adhere to its international obligations and treaties.
The protest in Canberra is the first of a series of global demonstrations expected to be held in various cities across Cambodia, Europe, Canada and United States of America on the same day.
Contacts
Media officer: Miss. Sothy Kien. Email sothy.kien@khmerkrom.org
Persons for interview
Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation Delegations, an indigenous organisation representing the Khmer Krom people.
Thach Ngoc Thach - President
Giap Tran - Treasurer
Dr. Joshua Cooper, Director of the Hawaiian Institute of Human Rights
Protest details
For more information on the situation, please visit:
Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation Website
www.khmerkrom.org
Khmer Krom Network
www.khmerkrom.net
Former Abbot of the Phnom Den temple, Takeo province, Venerable Tim Sakhorn was effectively disrobed on 30 June 2007 by Cambodia’s Head monk, Tep Vong and the Hun Sen government. He was deported to Vietnam for alleged crime of undermining the relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Human rights groups attempting to halt the defrocking were baffled by his disappearance and it was only a month later that Vietnamese borders official claim to have captured the ‘disappeared monk’.
Initially the Government of Vietnam accuses the former monk of entering Vietnam illegally while at the same time claiming Tim Sakhorn is a Vietnamese citizen. He is now are highly likely to face prison for allegedly stirring unrest in Cambodia and Vietnam.
The protestors are requesting intervention of the Australian government to help return the defrocked Cambodian monk, Tim Sakhorn back to Cambodia to face trials.
The Australian Government, through its national organisation, AUSAID has contributed to over $81 and $33 million dollars to Vietnam and Cambodia respectively to help establish trade links and improve the standard of living between the countries. The human rights situation in Vietnam and Cambodia, however, appears to have improved little despite the significant contributions.
Reports of recent religious oppression, in particular against indigenous minorities such as the Khmer Krom and the Montagnards, displays a sharp contradiction to the human rights and religious freedom Vietnam attempts to portray to the world.
Recently, five former Khmer Krom Buddhist monks from the Mekong Delta region were sentenced to between two to four years imprisonment for organising a peaceful demonstration in Soc Trang province, Vietnam.
The Khmer Krom people are the indigenous peoples residing in the rich fertile lands of the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, but are ranked amongst the poorest people of Vietnam by the World Health Organisation.
Protestors from Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne will be appealing to the Australian government to bring human rights and religious freedom issues to the forefront in its future consultation with Cambodia and Vietnam.
They also urge the Australian government to exert pressure on Cambodia and Vietnam to adhere to its international obligations and treaties.
The protest in Canberra is the first of a series of global demonstrations expected to be held in various cities across Cambodia, Europe, Canada and United States of America on the same day.
Contacts
Media officer: Miss. Sothy Kien. Email sothy.kien@khmerkrom.org
Persons for interview
Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation Delegations, an indigenous organisation representing the Khmer Krom people.
Thach Ngoc Thach - President
Giap Tran - Treasurer
Dr. Joshua Cooper, Director of the Hawaiian Institute of Human Rights
Protest details
Thursday 12pm. In front of Parliament House, Canberra
For more information on the situation, please visit:
Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation Website
www.khmerkrom.org
Khmer Krom Network
www.khmerkrom.net
3 comments:
I HOPE THERE WILL BE ON IN NEW YORK CITY IN FRONT OF THE UNITED NATIONS !
I HOPE YUON AND HUN SEN REGIME WILL OPEN THE EYES,AND SEE WHAT GOING ON AROUND THE WORLD
THAT IT ACTION NOT APPROPRIATE.
912
Hey! Takeo people, you all should fight against the low-life Vietnamese authority who arrested one of your most popular monk in your province. Don't be afraid of that scumbags. Tim Sakhorn is one of your people. Tim Sakhorn is a good, honest Cambodian citizen. The low-life Vietnamese authority have no right to cross into your province and made the arrest. It shows that they have violated the international law. Come on you guys! stand up and fight. There are hundreds of thousands of people in your province, why scare!
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