Monday, December 16, 2013

Ou Virak asking Sam Ransy to apologize to women




7 comments:

Anonymous said...

ហ៊ុនសែន៖ ចុងភៅ! ឣញចង់បាន "សម្លរ ម្ជូរ យៀកណាម" មួយចាន ឣោយ​ ឣា ឣូន ឣ៊ូ វីរះ !

Anonymous said...

My dear Khmer compatriots, don't let this one guy distract the progress of the people's demand for justice. It's part of the Viets' trick. Just ignore him and move on.

Anonymous said...

Part 1

"Youn" is the term used throughout Cambodia for the Vietnamese

By Global Moderator Sheryl of www.thaivisa.com

Posted 2013-09-26 12:43:25

I don't wish to turn this into an argument among foreigners as to which party/persons are best for Cambodia since I think the entire point is that the Cambodian people, not anyone else, should have the right to decide this. I would however suggest you read some of Rainsy's writings, interviews etc (a 2005 interview on BBC Hard Talk can still be found online, and he has recently published a book). As what you say suggests impressions taken from others rather than a first hand examination. Bear in mind that he has held high government office in the past, as have others in his party, so there is clear past record of policies and effectiveness.

"Youn" is the term used throughout Cambodia for the Vietnamese, it is found in Khmer dictionaries (defined as simply meaning "Vietnamese") and most Khmer would tell you that in and of itself, it has no derogatory connotation. Certainly I have heard Khmers use the term in contexts that were clearly not derogatory, e.g. "the best/most trustworthy mechanics in town are youn" etc. There are even popular food dishes names "X youn" to connotate Vietnamese style cooking. The fact is that in speaking to ordinary Cambodians, especially rural people, "youn" is the only term that will work to indicate Vietnam/Vietnamese.

There is animosity on the part of the Khmer towards the Vietnamese, of course. And while it goes way, way back, long before any of the current players were alive, what is fueling it more than anything nowadays is Viet Nam's support (including substantial military support) to the Hun Sen regime.

Re "youn", a Cambodian perspective on the term: http://www.phnompenh.../meaning-yuon-1

There is no other word to use when speaking in Khmer, to Khmers, to indicate the people or country of Viet Nam. The word "Viet Nam/Viet Namese" is not understood by non-English speakers.

If the Vietnamese find the word offensive, it's like a French person finding "barang" offensive. Or a Chinese finding "chin" offensive. etc. etc. The Cambodians are not obligated to revise their own language because some people have taken a dislike to the Khmer name for their nationality, a term that in itself has no derogatory meanings and also no existing linguistic alternative.

I suspect that even if they did coin a new word, Vietnamese in PP would come to feel the same way about that. Because the problem is not the word but the animosity with which it is often spoken by Cambodian people, and changing the word used won't alter that.

There is a lot of resentment against Vietnamese in PP especially. Part of it is historical grievances (including some pretty recent history), part of it is anger at Vet Nam's military support to the Hun Sen regime and part of it is that the two cultures are a bit like oil and water, they are not very compatible, and in PP they are often living side by side under crowded conditions. For example, in the village where my family live, Viet Namese neighbors steal, cook and eat pet dogs belonging to their Khmer neighbors. Happened to my family and they had to not only deal with the grief of losing the dog but have the smoke from the "barbecue" literally wafting into their yard as the neighbors openly ate the pet. Not saying all Viet Namese are that insensitive but enough are that it adds to the hostility. I think this is less of an issue upcountry because people are not so crowded together, making it is easier for Vietnamese to follow their own cultural habits without it impinging on others.

Anonymous said...

Part 2 Continued from Part 1

"Youn" is the term used throughout Cambodia for the Vietnamese


Specific cultural practices that most Khmers find offensive aside, the two nationalities communictae in very different ways that lead to a lot of misunderstanding. Vietnamese are, in comparison to Cambodians, very direct and comparatively aggressive. The Cambodians tend to be passive aggressive, and the Vietnamese tend to not get that and mistake it as just "passive", making matters worse because they don't pick up on the clues indicating they are causing offense or coming on too strong. I have seen this play out many times in work settings where there was every desire on both sides to cooperate, but it went south nonetheless.

None of this is in any way caused by the political opposition nor by the fact that the Khmer word for the people of Viet Nam is "youn". There is a lot that can and should be done to improve relations between Khmer and Vietnamese but insisting the Khmer alter their language isn't one of them and neither is supporting an unpopular dictatorship.

I do believe that ultimately good relations will be formed between the people of the two countries as it is in both their interests, but I don't see that happening as long as the current unpopular regime so heavily supported by Viet Nam stays in place.

In Thailand, they (Vietnamese) are also called "khon Yuon" by "Lao" speaking Isaan people.

Anonymous said...

Remember Khmer who advocate about hatting Youn, who did they end up killing over 1.4 million Khmer? So the people that advocate hatting Youn now are not going to be difference than the people before, Khmer should learn from history and beware with these people, they not the one going to save you when the real genocide happen they will jet out of the country as fast as they can.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

Mr.Ou Virak, I feel deeply sad for you to commit a big mistake by listening to one of your Khmer American friend...you know whom I mean...this guy pushed you in wrong direction against the wall by using you and your department turning against Mr. Sam Rainsy of using the word "YUON"...You and your friend forgot Mr.Hun Sen also use this word "YUON" in his speech...Remember what he said"Keh tha khgnom AYONG YUON...Menh khgnom AYONG YUON...So if both of you brave enough,please don't target only Sam Rainsy you should ask your friend telling his boss Mr. Hun Sen to APOLOGIZE the Vietnamese...I am sure 100% Hun Sen will do because he is AYONG YUON.










Anonymous said...

Same Rainsy want re_election, does he really know what he talking about? With out any reform the advantage to win is very low for his party. With out any real reform no body going to except the result of the election, so khmer going to protest over and over again never end. Election cause money, peoples and obvser from many nation, that not going to happen in the next three months if you want the real result that each party can except. What I trying to say is before any new electection both's party need to talk to each other, they need to work thing out that every body can agree on, or else the election will be use less again. The party that control the government will always have the advantage over the election without the real reform, so Same Rainsy going to except the result if he loose again?