President joins in Khmer festival

(The term 'Khmer Krom' is not allowed to be called for the Khmer Krom people in Kampuchea Krom)

April 7, 2010
Vietnam News Agency



CAN THO —President Nguyen Minh Triet yesterday gave his wishes to the Khmer people at home and abroad on the occasion of Chol Chnam Thmay new year festival during a meeting with leaders from the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta.

(After Khmer Krom issues have been brought to the International Spotlight, the Vietnamese government finally has to do some showcases to show its willingness to help Khmer Krom)

Chol Chnam Thmay festival, which takes place this year between April 14-16,demonstrates the Khmer people's aspirations to forget about the previous year's misfortunes, while looking ahead to a better year ahead.

On this occasion, Triet said he highly appreciated the great contributions made by minority groups, including the Khmer people, in the southern provinces.

He emphasised that Khmer people were an inseparable ethnic group of the Vietnamese community, who contribute to Viet Nam's economic development despite the great difficulties that were left behind from previous wars.

Triet said that the Party and State always made efforts to stabilise the economy and consolidate national solidarity in order to support minority groups.

The southern provinces have spent more than VND500 billion (US$26 million) to implement social welfare programmes for the more than 1.3 million Khmer ethnic people, who make up 8 per cent of the total population.

(The author of this article doesn’t know how to do a basic calculation. 8% of 85 million (total population of Vietnam is more than 85 million now) should be away more than 1.3 million. Vietnamese government should accept the truth that the population of the Khmer Krom is away more than 1.3 million. Stop fooling the world community)

Last year, more than 5,000 Khmer households escaped from poverty and more than 80 per cent now have access to electricity, clean water, television and radio. Also, more than 90 per cent of Khmer children attend school.

(The data that they have here must come from their dream. If they say in the reverse way that may make sense: “80% now have no access to electricity, clean water, etc… and 90% khmer children cannot afford to attend school….)

Khmer ethnic people's religious freedom has always been respected.

(Vietnam forgot that they even arrested and imprisoned former Khmer Krom Buddhist monks Tim Sakhorn, and five monks in Khleang? Is this religious Freedom that Vietnam respects for Khmer Krom? Recently, the Vietnamese government even denied Ven. Thach Vesna’s entry to Vietnam to celebrate Khmer New Year with his fellow Buddhist monks, family and relatives)

Tra Vinh Province, which has more than 300,000 Khmer ethnic people, has been successfully implementing support programmes.

Specifically, more than 13,100 poor Khmer households received accommodations and more than 5,500 households received cows.

Triet asked the relevant authorities to continue paying attention to improving the lives of ethnic groups in Viet Nam.

He also asked the Khmer people, who live and work in the country and abroad, to bring into full play their solidarity tradition and to continue studying and working for the development of the country.

(President Triet doesn’t need to ask what he asked. He just needs to tell his government to respect the Khmer Krom’s fundamental rights to live as human beings: right to be recognized as the Indigenous peoples in their ancestral land, right to form their own Khmer Krom Theravada Buddhist association, right to study their history and language, right to defend themselves in front of the Vietnamese court so they don’t be imprisoned injustice like the Khmer Krom victims who bravely stood up to defend for their rights…)