Sunday, December 30, 2007By Hassan
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
For a whole day, on Saturday 29 December, in Lowell, Massachusetts, northeastern USA, about 100 Cambodians traveled to listen to reports about problems faced by Cambodia. The event was organized by the committee supporting the Khmer Mchas Srok (Khmer Owners of the Land) movement at the Doubletree Hotel conference room.
The reports about Cambodia were given by Dr. Chak Sakhon, President of the Khmer Mchas Srok movement. The event started with a blessing given by Buddhist monks, followed by a remebrance of National Heroes who dedicated their lives to the Nation and Religion in the past and present. This is the second meeting organized by the movement.
Following a 2-day national congress held near Washington DC in October, Dr. Chak Sakhon gave an account of the latest events, by showing figures and reports gathered by herself and Mr. Sean Masavang, her colleague. The report was the results of a 10-year study conducted by the movement, following the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia, one salient point of this report shows that: “In this entire affair, it was merely an artificial peace, why is it that peace in Cambodia is only an artificial peace? Because we don’t have sovereignty, why don’t we have sovereignty? It’s because of a strange immigration issue, because of poverty in the Cambodian society, because there is no punishment for the criminals, you can kill people and you will not go to jail, because of the destruction of Buddhism and Cambodian culture, because of the dictatorship of the CPP currently.”
So Bun Thoeun, a Cambodian citizen, told RFA with emotion that after he heard and saw the painful graphical images of Cambodian people living in the countryside in some regions, that: “This is the first time that I see the true tragedy suffered by Cambodian people living in Cambodia, and they are being oppressed by Thailand and Vietnam. This all happen because Cambodians are not smart enough, and they allowed other nations to oppress them. All these made me become very emotional, this is the first time I cried, I cried because I have pity for our Cambodian people.”
Mrs. Ung Samon, a 70-year-old lady who recently returned back to her native village to visit her relatives, said that she personally witnessed the current living condition of the [Cambodian] people. Mrs. Ung Samon said: “In the countryside, a lot of them don’t have rice to eat. In Cambodia, there are a lot of Yuons living there, (that’s what I observed when) I visited last year. I thank the formation of the Khmer Mach Srok movement for helping Cambodians and our country from being encroached by the Yuons.”
Supporters of the movement indicated that in the past few days, the Khmer Mchas Srok movement accepted about 100 new supporters who are living in Massachusetts, and these supporters demand the full right to live as Cambodians, the owners of their lands in Cambodia.
The reports about Cambodia were given by Dr. Chak Sakhon, President of the Khmer Mchas Srok movement. The event started with a blessing given by Buddhist monks, followed by a remebrance of National Heroes who dedicated their lives to the Nation and Religion in the past and present. This is the second meeting organized by the movement.
Following a 2-day national congress held near Washington DC in October, Dr. Chak Sakhon gave an account of the latest events, by showing figures and reports gathered by herself and Mr. Sean Masavang, her colleague. The report was the results of a 10-year study conducted by the movement, following the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia, one salient point of this report shows that: “In this entire affair, it was merely an artificial peace, why is it that peace in Cambodia is only an artificial peace? Because we don’t have sovereignty, why don’t we have sovereignty? It’s because of a strange immigration issue, because of poverty in the Cambodian society, because there is no punishment for the criminals, you can kill people and you will not go to jail, because of the destruction of Buddhism and Cambodian culture, because of the dictatorship of the CPP currently.”
So Bun Thoeun, a Cambodian citizen, told RFA with emotion that after he heard and saw the painful graphical images of Cambodian people living in the countryside in some regions, that: “This is the first time that I see the true tragedy suffered by Cambodian people living in Cambodia, and they are being oppressed by Thailand and Vietnam. This all happen because Cambodians are not smart enough, and they allowed other nations to oppress them. All these made me become very emotional, this is the first time I cried, I cried because I have pity for our Cambodian people.”
Mrs. Ung Samon, a 70-year-old lady who recently returned back to her native village to visit her relatives, said that she personally witnessed the current living condition of the [Cambodian] people. Mrs. Ung Samon said: “In the countryside, a lot of them don’t have rice to eat. In Cambodia, there are a lot of Yuons living there, (that’s what I observed when) I visited last year. I thank the formation of the Khmer Mach Srok movement for helping Cambodians and our country from being encroached by the Yuons.”
Supporters of the movement indicated that in the past few days, the Khmer Mchas Srok movement accepted about 100 new supporters who are living in Massachusetts, and these supporters demand the full right to live as Cambodians, the owners of their lands in Cambodia.
