Khmer Krom plan to protest land problems in Vietnam

19 July 2007
By Kim Pov Sottan
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A source from the Khmer Krom population indicated that several Khmer Krom people are gathering to protest land problems one more time on 23 July, even though the Vietnamese authority requested, in the last few days, to stop all protests and to wait for a resolution from the local authority.

The Khmer Krom people protest plan will take place after a large demonstration participated by more than 1,000 people was broken up by the Vietnamese police in Prey Nokor (current Ho Chi Minh city) yesterday evening.

Sopheap, an over 40-year-old woman from Khleang province (Soc Trang in Vietnamese) in Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam), claimed that the Vietnamese authority took away her rice field, therefore the protest will continue because Khmer Krom people do not trust the Vietnamese promise for a resolution because such promises were made several times already.

Sopheap said: “In reality, I don’t trust their claims, they never follow through. They promised to give our land back, they didn’t. My land was only 12-cong in size, and they took it all. I have to live at a guest house … They said they will give it back, but they didn’t.”

Vin Ba, also from Khleang province, was warned (by the Vietnamese authority) for leading a demonstration a few months ago, he added that at least 60 villagers from Khleang province will travel to the Prek Russei Vietnamese Indigenous Committee office to demand for a new resolution on land problems.

Vin Ba said: “They say whatever they want, we will go regardless because we lost our properties, we must demand them back. We don’t go to fight the state, we only go to demand back our properties … They took my land to plant sugarcanes, therefore, I must demand it back.”

In the evening of 18 July, the Vietnamese authority came down on a group of more than 1,000 demonstrators, whom some source indicated include both Khmer Krom and Vietnamese people who came to demonstrate from several regions of Vietnam in the past month. The demonstrators gathered next to the South Vietnamese Assembly to demand for a resolution on land problems.

The same source indicated that several people were killed and injured during the fight with the Viet police.

Until now, Viet TV broadcasted twice daily, a call by the government for the people to end their protest. The Viet government said that local authorities will resolve this issue, and that if the protest still continue, the protesters will be punished.

A Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) official criticized the Viet authority which always makes promises to provide a resolution on the land protest by the people, but that up to now, no such resolution was ever given and the protests still continue.

Tense Calm In Ho Chi Minh City After Police Crackdown; Dozens Injured, Massive Arrests

Vietnamese police have been involved in crackdown on pro democracy activists, including active Christians, rights groups claim. Via Amnesty International

Thursday, 19 July 2007
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
BosNewsLife with reporting from Vietnam

HO CHI MINH CITY/HANOI (BosNewsLife)-- A tense calm returned to the streets of Ho Chi Minh City Thursday, July 19, after dozens of people were injured and hundreds detained when police broke up a massive protest of peasants demanding the return of their lands, dissidents said.

Over 1,500 male and female police officers equipped with electric prods, police vehicles and "animal control trucks" dispersed "the sit-in protest of over 1,700 peasants from 19 different provinces" who had gathered in front of the Vietnamese National, Assembly offices for almost a month, Sy Hoang, president of the International Movement for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam (IMDHR) told BosNewsLife.

"Four peasants were knocked down unconscious by police electric prods, 24 peasants were badly injured," including several protest leaders, the official said. "One young man from Lam Dong province received a serious head injury. Eight police ambulance vans full of injured protesters were seen leaving the protest site."

HUNDREDS DETAINED

In addition police reportedly detained over 200 protesters in Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc and Soc Trang provinces who had been protesting against nationalization of lands at Mai Xuan Thuong Park in Hanoi. "Police have transported them away to unknown places in two trains," Sy Hoang added.

There was no immediate word from Vietnamese officials where and how long the demonstrators will be held. The Vietnamese government has accused advocacy groups and dissidents, including Christian leaders, for allegedly spreading "propaganda" and "undermining" stability in the country.

Among those detained Wednesday, July 18, are five key female activists including Lu Thi Thu Duyen, 34, Vu Thanh Phuong, in her 40s, Pham Thi Hien, in her 30s, and Cao Que Hoa and Le Thi Nguyet, who are both in their 50s, IMDHR said.

Police officials reportedly announced that at least three of them are also held for their involvement in Bloc 8406, a group promoting political and religious rights. The group was founded last year by Nguyen Thanh Phong and Nguyen Binh Thanh under the "spiritual guidance" of priest Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly. All these men have been imprisoned.

The report came amid growing concern Thursday, July 19, over a reported police crackdown on Christian Degar Montagnards in the Central Highlands, many of whom also claim they lost land under the Communist government.

YOUNG CHILDREN

In the latest incidents two young children in Dak Nong province were still without their Christian parents Thursday, July 19, after their young mother H’Thui Ya, 29, from Buon U village, was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment for fleeing to neighboring Cambodia, rights activists said.

The June 1 sentencing came after her husband Y-Thot Butrang, 45, was sentenced in 2002 to 11 years in imprisonment for fleeing to Cambodia, added the Montagnard Foundation Incorporated (MFI) in a statement to BosNewsLife.

Another Christian Degar Montagnard woman was also sentenced the same day for fleeing to Cambodia, MFI said. 32-year-old Nai H’Ngat from Kli Kia village in Gia Lai received six years imprisonment after a brief trial in which "numerous security police testified against" her, the group said.

Human rights groups have linked the crackdown on Degar Montagnards to concerns within the Communist party over the spread of Christianity in the Central Highlands. In addition officials are upset for Degar Montagnards' past support for American forces during the Vietnam War. Hundreds of Degar Montagnards are held in prisons across Vietnam. The government has denied human rights abuses saying reports to the contrary are false.

Vietnam hit by mass land protests [-This is what Cambodians should do also]

The protesters are demanding the return of their land

Wednesday, 18 July 2007
By Nga Pham
BBC Vietnamese service

A mass protest over the Vietnamese government's land policies is gathering force, ahead of the opening session of the newly-elected National Assembly.

Witnesses say hundreds of peasants from the Mekong River Delta are surrounding the offices of the National Assembly in Ho Chi Minh City.

A smaller protest is also reportedly being held in the capital, Hanoi.

The protesters are demanding the return of their land, and for any wrongdoing by local officials to be punished.

Both protests have been going on relatively peacefully for several weeks, and received little coverage in the local media.

However, as the protest in Ho Chi Minh - Vietnam's second city and the main economic hub - has hotted up in the last few days, residents have started complaining about traffic disruption.

Land protests are not unseen in Vietnam, but correspondents say a demonstration of this scale and intensity is rare.

Frequent complaints

Security forces have begun to get involved to make sure the protest does not get out of control.

Local officials in the Mekong Delta provinces have been urged to come to Ho Chi Minh City to "persuade their people to go home", with promises that their complaints will be dealt with appropriately.

Meanwhile, a deputy minister of security was quoted by state media as saying that there had been a certain involvement of "reactionary forces overseas".

Last Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong called an urgent meeting with provincial leaders.

He asked for a prompt investigation into the case and warned that the Communist Party would not tolerate inappropriate measures.

Land seizures in the name of economic development have been a much-debated topic in Vietnam, where the state maintains the sole ownership of land.

Peasants frequently complain about unfair compensation and criticise the laws on land use, which in their opinion have too many loopholes and are easily abused by corrupt local government officials.

The new 500-strong Vietnam National Assembly, elected last May, is to begin its first session on Thursday in Hanoi.

With the mass protest intensifying outside, the deputies will no doubt have many things to debate.

Vietnam Police Break Up Peasant Protests; Christians Attacked In Highlands

The protesters are demanding the return of their land. Via BBC News

Wednesday, 18 July 2007
By Stefan J. Bos,
Chief International Correspondent with reporting from Vietnam

HO CHI MIN CITY/HANOI (BosNewsLife)-- Hundreds of people were detained as Vietnamese special police forces broke up a massive peasant demonstration for land rights in Ho Chi Min City late Wednesday, July 18, while in the Central Highlands a security crackdown on Degar Montagnard Christians continued, several leading dissidents and investigators told BosNewsLife.

"At around 10 PM [local time] police began to violently suppress Vietnamese peasants as they protest for their land rights," Tran Nam, a representative of the underground People's Democratic Party, told BosNewsLife.

"Thousands of police have surrounded the protesters, firing tear gas and spraying water into the crowd. Hundreds of organizers and protesters are being arrested and taken to unknown locations," he added.

Since June 22, "thousands of peasants from Southern provinces" traveled to Ho Chi Min City, formerly known as Saigon, many of them camping outside the Vietnamese National Assembly offices to protest the apparent seizure of their land by the Communist government.

"Due to corruption, unlawful and arbitrary land policy, thousands of Vietnamese peasants have lost their land, homes and other properties. Many are living homeless, poor and hungry while corrupt government officials continue to pocket peasants' compensation to fund their lavish life style," said Sy Hoang, president of the International Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (IMDHR) for Vietnam, a group made up of exiles and dissidents.

MEMBERS JAILED

Pham Linh, a spokesperson of the United Workers-Farmers Organization of Vietnam (UWFOV), told BosNewsLife the rights group supports the demonstrators as its own members have suffered under alleged oppression.

"Members of UWFOV have been jailed, placed on warrant lists and suffered extreme intimidation, including Tran Quoc Hien, Nguyen Tan Hoanh, Tran Thi Le Hang, Doan Van Dien and Doan Huy Chuong. However, the UWFOV will...continue to struggle for the right to form independent labor unions and work for justice for farmers who suffer of government corruption," the spokesperson added.

Vietnamese officials have denied human rights abuses. The reported riots in Ho Chi Minh City came amid fresh allegations that police forces also target predominantly Christian Degar Montagnards in the country's tense Central Highlands, many of whom fight lost lands.

In the latest incident, two small children in Dak Nong province were without their Christian parents Wednesday, July 18, after their young mother H’Thui Ya, 29, from Buon U village, was sentenced to three years and seven months imprisonment for fleeing to neighboring Cambodia, rights activists said.

HUSBAND DETAINED

The June sentencing , details of which emerged only Wednesday, July 18, came after her husband Y-Thot Butrang, 45, was sentenced to 11 years in imprisonment for fleeing to Cambodia in 2002, said the Montagnard Foundation Incorporated (MFI) in a statement to BosNewsLife.

Y-Thot Butrang and H’Thui Ya are Degar Montagnard Christians had fled repression in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in 2001, claimed MFI, a major advocacy group with close contacts in the Central Highlands.

"They crossed the Cambodian border and soon became refugees residing in the United Nations refugee camp in Mondolkiri province, Cambodia. In 2001 and 2002 Vietnamese officials came into the camp and announced that Vietnam would not harm any refugees who returned back to Vietnam," MFI said.

In 2002 the couple apparently decided to go back to Vietnam where they were soon "tortured" and jailed, the group claimed, adding that their "their children were abandoned by police," while their parents were harassed.

CHILDREN ABANDONED

Their daughter H’Phiwana, 5, and son Y-Tuwani, 4, first faced abandonment in December, 2006, when authorities arrested their mother, leaving the two children at home alone, MFI said.

"The authorities did not tell anyone where she was held and her two children cried often suffering from distress at having both parents taken away." On Christmas day two women from the family's villages discovered the children and began searching for their mother.

Only in may they discovered that she was held in a prison, MFI said, citing sources in the region. "H’Thui Ya could barely walk as she had been permanently chained to stocks with her legs chained between two logs. She had also been beaten and tortured in prison. Her face was pale as she had been deprived of food, her legs bruised and swollen. When she met with her children, all of them burst into tears and they cried as they were happy to see each other."

Police allegedly allowed her to see her children only 30 minutes and then "dragged her away"back to prison cell number 5, MFI said. She was reportedly sentenced on June 1. Another Christian Degar Montagnard woman was also sentenced the same day for fleeing to Cambodia, the group added. 32-year-old Nai H’Ngat from Kli Kia village in Gia Lai received six years imprisonment after a brief trial in which "numerous security police testified against" her, MFI added.

LEAVING CAMBODIA

"Nai H’Ngat came from Cambodia back to Vietnam because she had failed her interview for refugee status. Subsequently one year later on June 15, 2006 Vietnamese security police arrested her because she was a House Church Christian and had previously harbored refugees who had fled arrest."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) allegedly forced her to return, but the organization has previously played down similar accusations.

The UNHCR has said it reached a deal with Vietnamese authorities not to prosecute returning Degar Montagnards. Vietnam has accused the MFI and other groups of spreading "false propaganda", but rights watchers counter that the facts on the ground confirm that the government is not meeting its international obligations.

At least 350 mainly Christian Degar Montagnards are believed to be held in prisons across Vietnam along with other believers and political activists. (With BosNewsLife Research).

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