By Kesor Raniya
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer
A representative of Friends of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association in Svay Rieng is currently on the run, trying to escape the arrest and questioning by the Cambodian authority which is cooperating with the Vietnamese authority, regarding an issue involving three books taken from his home by visiting people from Kampuchea Krom (south Vietnam).
Srey Sothy, aka Nhor, told his story to RFA from his hideout, saying that, after attending a relative’s wedding in Tuol Sdey commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province, on Sunday 15 Feb, 12 Khmer Krom people were arrested by the Vietnamese authority on Thmor Sorin district (Deuk Ve in Yuon), Kampong Ko province (Long An in Yuon).
Srey Sothy said: “My name is Srey Sothy, I am 50-year-old Khmer Krom. I live in Angkot Sey village, Tuol Sdey commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province. I am a farmer and an employee of Friends of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association. On the 15th (of Feb), some Khmer Krom people came to wedding in Tuol Sdey. When they returned back (to Vietnam), 12 of them were arrested by the Vietnamese police, but at 9 o’clock, 11 were released, however, Kim Veasna was jailed since then. They were checked (by the Vietnamese police) and they found 3 books: one history book about Cambodia for 3rd and 4th grade students, one Khmer Krom women magazine, and a legend story book about Kampuchea Krom.”
Srey Sothy indicated that he was on an errant in Phnom Penh, but that his home was searched by Svay Rieng Cambodian authority and by Vietnamese government agents. The search was made without any prior authorization from him or his wife: “On 19 Feb 2008 (2009?), Yuon police from Long An province and six Cambodian police from the provincial and district levels came to my house and they conducted a search. They took pictures inside and outside my house, and they took pictures of my wife and children. They questioned my wife to get her name, and all our children’s names. They asked my wife: ‘Where is Ta Nhor?’ My wife told them that I went to Phnom Penh to borrow money from my son to pay off my debt for 3-4 days already, and I had not returned back yet. Then my wife asked them: ‘What do you all want?’ They said that Kim Veasna answered that Ta Nhor was the one who gave him the books. That was why the higher up authority told them to come and arrest Ta Nhor whose actual name is Srey Sothy.”
On Saturday, the office of Friends of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association in Phnom Penh, indicated that the joint Cambodian-Vietnamese authority was conducting a new surveillance on Srey Sothy’s home, and it was looking for him everywhere, including in Phnom Penh.
Regarding the 3 books above, Kim Buk Keo, President of Friends of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association, indicated that these books were published in Cambodia by competent institutions which received proper [government] authorization, and they were not published by the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation.
Ou Virak, President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), said that he is very concerned by the Cambodian authority’s attitude because it did not pay the least attention on the wellbeing of their own citizens. Ou Virak called for a serious investigation in this case: “We know that Vietnam is currently violating on a number of International laws. Vietnam oppresses indigenous people: (1) it oppresses their freedom of expression, their political freedom, their freedom to self-determination; (2) regarding freedom for culture and religion, we are concerned that the Cambodian government is not paying attention to protect the rights of their own people, whether they are in Vietnam or in Cambodia. Allowing Vietnamese police to enter Cambodia in this manner is a violation of Cambodia’s independence, this is not right at all. The Cambodian government should investigate this case. We have a lot of information pertaining to the corruption of the Svay Rieng provincial police, in particular, the police arrested a rapist, but it released him back because of $1,500 [in bribe to the cops]. If the provincial police was involved in corruption, or it allowed foreign police officers to come in freely, this means that these cops did not fulfill their duty at all.”
Chheang Vun, the CPP MP from Battambang who is chairman of the National Assembly’s committee for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, cannot confirm about this case because he does not have sufficient information: “In short, up to now, I don’t know if this information is true or not yet. I don’t know yet, I can’t give an answer to Radio [Free Asia] because I cannot grasp the truth yet.”
It should be noted that [Venerable Tim Sakhorn], the abbot of Phnom Den pagoda, located on Takeo province, was forced to defrock by monks officials affiliated with Tep Vong, the [communist-installed] supreme Buddhist patriarch, and the Cambodian authority. He was subsequently sent to Vietnam to be jailed in 2007 regarding various bulletins and documents published by the US-based Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation.
Nevertheless, no official clarification from officials of the ministry of Interior about this issue has been provided yet.
Srey Sothy, aka Nhor, told his story to RFA from his hideout, saying that, after attending a relative’s wedding in Tuol Sdey commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province, on Sunday 15 Feb, 12 Khmer Krom people were arrested by the Vietnamese authority on Thmor Sorin district (Deuk Ve in Yuon), Kampong Ko province (Long An in Yuon).
Srey Sothy said: “My name is Srey Sothy, I am 50-year-old Khmer Krom. I live in Angkot Sey village, Tuol Sdey commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province. I am a farmer and an employee of Friends of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association. On the 15th (of Feb), some Khmer Krom people came to wedding in Tuol Sdey. When they returned back (to Vietnam), 12 of them were arrested by the Vietnamese police, but at 9 o’clock, 11 were released, however, Kim Veasna was jailed since then. They were checked (by the Vietnamese police) and they found 3 books: one history book about Cambodia for 3rd and 4th grade students, one Khmer Krom women magazine, and a legend story book about Kampuchea Krom.”
Srey Sothy indicated that he was on an errant in Phnom Penh, but that his home was searched by Svay Rieng Cambodian authority and by Vietnamese government agents. The search was made without any prior authorization from him or his wife: “On 19 Feb 2008 (2009?), Yuon police from Long An province and six Cambodian police from the provincial and district levels came to my house and they conducted a search. They took pictures inside and outside my house, and they took pictures of my wife and children. They questioned my wife to get her name, and all our children’s names. They asked my wife: ‘Where is Ta Nhor?’ My wife told them that I went to Phnom Penh to borrow money from my son to pay off my debt for 3-4 days already, and I had not returned back yet. Then my wife asked them: ‘What do you all want?’ They said that Kim Veasna answered that Ta Nhor was the one who gave him the books. That was why the higher up authority told them to come and arrest Ta Nhor whose actual name is Srey Sothy.”
On Saturday, the office of Friends of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association in Phnom Penh, indicated that the joint Cambodian-Vietnamese authority was conducting a new surveillance on Srey Sothy’s home, and it was looking for him everywhere, including in Phnom Penh.
Regarding the 3 books above, Kim Buk Keo, President of Friends of Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association, indicated that these books were published in Cambodia by competent institutions which received proper [government] authorization, and they were not published by the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation.
Ou Virak, President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), said that he is very concerned by the Cambodian authority’s attitude because it did not pay the least attention on the wellbeing of their own citizens. Ou Virak called for a serious investigation in this case: “We know that Vietnam is currently violating on a number of International laws. Vietnam oppresses indigenous people: (1) it oppresses their freedom of expression, their political freedom, their freedom to self-determination; (2) regarding freedom for culture and religion, we are concerned that the Cambodian government is not paying attention to protect the rights of their own people, whether they are in Vietnam or in Cambodia. Allowing Vietnamese police to enter Cambodia in this manner is a violation of Cambodia’s independence, this is not right at all. The Cambodian government should investigate this case. We have a lot of information pertaining to the corruption of the Svay Rieng provincial police, in particular, the police arrested a rapist, but it released him back because of $1,500 [in bribe to the cops]. If the provincial police was involved in corruption, or it allowed foreign police officers to come in freely, this means that these cops did not fulfill their duty at all.”
Chheang Vun, the CPP MP from Battambang who is chairman of the National Assembly’s committee for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, cannot confirm about this case because he does not have sufficient information: “In short, up to now, I don’t know if this information is true or not yet. I don’t know yet, I can’t give an answer to Radio [Free Asia] because I cannot grasp the truth yet.”
It should be noted that [Venerable Tim Sakhorn], the abbot of Phnom Den pagoda, located on Takeo province, was forced to defrock by monks officials affiliated with Tep Vong, the [communist-installed] supreme Buddhist patriarch, and the Cambodian authority. He was subsequently sent to Vietnam to be jailed in 2007 regarding various bulletins and documents published by the US-based Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation.
Nevertheless, no official clarification from officials of the ministry of Interior about this issue has been provided yet.
