Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Laos

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Khmer Krom Activists Meet US Officials

Newly re-ordained monk Tim Sakhorn, middle, drops by VOA Khmer while on a visit in the US last week. (Photo: by Lenny)

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Friday, 07 May 2010

“We want to see the Vietnamese government recognize that Khmer Krom land belongs to Cambodia.”

Advocates for ethnic Khmers from Vietnam met with US State Department officials this week in an effort to improve human rights and religious freedoms there. The delegation included three Khmer monks who had spent about one year in jail each in Vietnam, in what they say is religious persecution.

Khmers from southern Vietnam, land often referred to in Cambodia as Kampuchea Krom, or “Lower Cambodia,” say Vietnamese authorities continue to suppress their rights, including land seizures and a lack of access to education. Kampuchea Krom, in the Mekong Delta region, was ceded to Vietnam by the French in 1949.

“We want to see the Vietnamese government recognize that Khmer Krom land belongs to Cambodia,” said Thach Ngoc Thach, president of the Khmer Kampucha Krom Federation, who met with State Department officials on Tuesday. “Vietnam has to apologize to the Cambodian people for the persecution of Khmer Krom people.”

The State Department meeting included officials that work with Vietnam, Cambodia and refugees, he said, and particularly focused on helping Khmer Krom find asylum once they flee Vietnam. The Cambodian government has said it will grant citizenship to any Khmer Krom, but that has not always happened, leading some to flee to Thailand in search of asylum.

Also attending the meeting were Tim Sakhorn, a former Khmer Krom monk who was defrocked by Cambodian Buddhists in 2007 and expelled to Vietnam, and monks Dinh Tol and Kim Moul. All three spent time in Vietnamese prisons that year but have since been granted asylum status. They were each re-ordained in the US last week.

“I came to the US this time to submit documents and be present as a live witness to US officials,” Tim Sakhorn told VOA Khmer after the meeting.

Vietnamese and State Department officials declined to comment on Tuesday’s meeting.

Vietnamese Communist Police lectured to Vietnamese Students Who Protested against China

Story forwarded by Info Asia

After China claimed its ownership over the Spratly and Paracel islands, there were hundreds of Vietnamese youths and students in both Hanoi and Sai Gon cities protest against China for invading Spratly and Paracel islands which Vietnamese people claim that those islands are the Vietnamese ancestral islands.

Vietnamese Communist (VC) government usually use forces to suppress the protesters, but in this case, the VC government just used polices to surround the protesters to prevent the violent may happen.

Below is a dialog between a VC police who was trying to lecture to a Vietnamese student protester (see picture) in Hanoi about why the VC government does not stand up to against China regarding to the invasion of those islands.

Student: We want to send a message first to China: that the Vietnamese people are brave and undaunted.

Police: Our government, especially our party leaders, understands your concern. At this time, we should not protest against China. We need to build a good relationship with China, so our former enemy, the US will not use Human Rights and Democracy strategies to interfere with our internal issues.

Student: (angrily screaming) I know we need a good relationship with China, but we cannot stand that China invades our ancestral islands. Our government must stand up to protect our land. We must unite to defend our lands.

Police: (he was angry now and pushed the student to step back) I know we need to protect our land. If our government does not allow you all to protest against China now, do you think you can organize a protest like this? You should be smart and understand it…

Student: (keep screaming) Spratly and Paracel islands are Vietnamese ancestral islands. China must return it back to Vietnam.

Police: (try to calm himself) Listen brother; I know you are young and our government doesn’t allow you to learn the real history of Champa in the central of Vietnam and Khmer history in south of Vietnam in our public school, so you don’t know that the center of Vietnam used to belong to Champa and the South of Vietnam used to belong to Cambodia. Our Vietnamese ancestral lands are just the part of North Vietnam. (He started pulling out a map and showed it to the student) Look at this map, you can see that the Paracel and Spratly islands are actually not our ancestral islands because those islands are closer to the central of Vietnam and the south of Vietnam. Thus, you cannot say that those islands are our Vietnamese ancestral islands. This is why our former Prime Minister, Pham Van Dong, gave those two islands to China on September 14, 1958 because he knew that those islands are not our ancestral islands.

Student: I don’t agree with you. Our ancestor fought to get those lands and islands, so we must be responsible to protect it. Our government already gave to China some of our lands and seas near the border of our country and China.

Police: Don’t worry brother, the up-north lands that our government gave to China are the useless lands. We cannot do any farming with it because they are just mountainous areas and our Vietnamese people are not living there. We just have some of the Indigenous peoples live there, so it is OK to give to China. We don’t need those lands.

You all are too young to understand our government policies. You just see our lands lost to China, but do you see how many kilometers of lands we took from Cambodia and Laos? We don’t just take lands from Laos and Cambodia; we even now control their current governments. China is a big country, but they don’t have that capability, only our great government can do it in the 21th century. I don’t think the US can do that either. Be proud about that brother.

In Laos now, most of the leaders of that country are our Vietnamese or Laotians whose wife are our Vietnamese women. We control their government, military, and economy. Actually, on the world map, Laos is a country, but it already belongs to Vietnam.

In Cambodia, the current Cambodia government is running by a party that is our puppet. We say A they never bravely to say B, they are basically just like our slave in a different form. Some of the leaders, especially the head of the Cambodian police and the staffs in the interior department, are our Vietnamese who disguised to be Khmer. We control their economy and we even control the selling tickets to the tourist entering their ancestral temple, Angkor Wat. We get almost what we need from Cambodia, so Cambodia is basically another Champa Kingdom soon.

Student: I admitted that we are controlling Laos and Cambodia now, but our population is increasing very fast, we need to protect our lands so our people can have place to live.

Police: Take it easy brother, Cambodia still has lots of lands and their population is still very small. We can send couple millions of our people to Cambodia next year, so they can help Cambodia People Party to vote in the election of 2008. After election 2008, our Vietnamese people will be more than the real population of the Khmer in Cambodia. This way, it doesn’t matter what Cambodia tries to do, we still use our Vietnamese people living in Cambodia to vote for our benefits, and of course, we will always win. Then, we can start using our Vietnamization strategies just like we did to Cham people in the central, the Khmer in South, the Laotian, to make Cambodia to be provinces of Vietnam.

I just want to let you know more that our goal to take over Cambodia and Laos is already done, we start implementing our goal to take over Thailand next year. We have embedded our people in Thailand since the 1930s. Our great Uncle Ho used to ordain to be a Buddhist monk in Thailand while he was acting as the leader of the Indochina Communist Party.

We have our Vietnamese people living in Thailand for years already. If you followed the news, the Thai government allowed our people to become the Thai citizen couple years ago. Those people will use their “Power of Vote” and with assistant of our government to influent the Thai government. One day soon, we will target Thailand from both Cambodia and Laos directions because those two countries are already our provinces.

Student: (quietly and seem to be convinced by the police) I believed what you said because that is the truth, but our Vietnamese must protect what we already took from someone else because our ancestor had used many efforts, tactics, and strategies to take over those lands for us, and we must protect it. We are Vietnamese. We are patriots. We love our country; we are not Cambodian or Laotian who are willing to sell their country for their own personal benefits. We don’t scare of China. We are ready to die for our country. China colonized us for 1000 years, but they could not assimilate us. We just colonized Champa for couple hundred years; we can eliminate Champa Kingdom from the world map. So, don’t think that China is strong. We must stand up to fight them to get our land back.

Police: (angrily yell to the student) Shut up, Stop screaming. Our government even can imprison the Religious leaders like Thich Quang Do, Father Ly, and the Khmer Monks, you all are just students, watch out. Don’t make me mad, I will send you to prison anytime.

The Treaties Signed By Hun Sen/Heng Samrin/Chea Sim With Vietnam Are All Unconstitutional

Cambodia People Would Never Ever Recognize These Ignominious Treaties

Sun, 13 May 2007
OpEd BY BAPHUON
Posted Online

The pro-Vietnamese tried hard to discourage our effort to void the illegal and unequal treaties that HUN SEN/HENG SAMRIN/CHEA SIM had signed with Vietnam .

The Vietnamese insidious propaganda implied the idea of irreversibility. They said: it is irreversible; the 1979, 1983, 1985 and 2005 treaties became irremediably law of land. And those who attack these treaties would be considered as outlaws.

The pro-Vietnamese key argument was: all Cambodian institutions, and without exception, from the King to the National Assembly, the Senate, and the government, had all approved it, therefore, these 1979, 1983, 1985 and 2005 treaties between Vietnam - HUN SEN/HENG SAMRIN/CHEA SIM become laws.

Sean Péngsè, the President of Cambodia Border Committee in France and the world, during his meeting with Cambodian-American in the US last month had demonstrated the unconstitutionality of these ignominious treaties.

Péngsè said:

During the World War II, the French Vichy regime had signed also the treaty with Hitler ceding French land to the Third Reich. All Vichy institutions had also approved without exception that treaty, which was imposed by Hitler upon Marshal Pétain.

But when the Third Reich was defeated, the victorious De Gaulle declared that French-German treaty void and threw in prison all those who approved the cession of France land to the Third Reich. De Gaulle put in trial as traitor of France Nation those who approved the treaty. Some defendants were executed by a firing squad for crime of treason by De Gaulle.

For the same reason, Chili and Argentina didn’t recognize the treaties they had signed under the duress.

WE, Cambodian people, would never recognize all these ignominious 1978, 1983, 1985 and 2005 treaties signed by HUN SEN/HENG SAMRIN/ CHEA SIM with Vietnam , even though all institutions including the King, the government, the National Assembly, the Senate had approved it.

Through these treaties Cambodia will lose…

By these treaties 1978, 1983, 1985 and 2005, HUN SEN/HENG SAMRIN/CHEA SIM and all Cambodian institutions gave away to Vietnam about one third of Cambodian territorial sea (30,000 km2) plus 10,000 km2 of “ Historic Sea ” (rich in petrol) and one third of Cambodia land territory.

Indeed, according to a Vietnamese secret document distributed to Vietnamese cadres in 1979, on the day following Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia , Cambodia area was only: 120,036 km2, that was exactly one third less than the usual 181,040 sq km, or 176,520 sq mile (according to CIA World Factbook) recognized by the 1954 Geneva Peace Agreement Convention on Indochina .

Through these 1979, 1983, 1985 treaties between Vietnam and HUN SEN/HENG SAMRIN/CHEA SIM, Thailand was able to redraw new territorial sea border, then, consequently, grabbed another one third of Cambodia territorial sea (30,0000 km2).

Thai Prime Minister told Hun Sen in 1997: Don’t ask me about the new Thai-Cambodian territorial sea border. Don’t ask me how Thailand grabs (another) 30,000 sq km of Cambodian territorial sea, go to ask Hanoi instead. We can redraw the new territorial sea border with Cambodia because of your 1985 treaty (Hun Sen) with Vietnam .

First of all, all these treaties 1979, 1983, 1985 and 2005 are unconstitutional.

How could it be otherwise?

They are all UNCONSTITUTIONAL for the following reason:

Argument 1: The 1993 Cambodian Constitution prohibits any Cambodian government or King to cede any chunk of Cambodia land to other country. The article 2 and the article 3 of the 1993 Constitution stipulate the inviolability of the territorial integrity and the indivisibility of the Cambodia .

The treaties 1979, 1983, 1985 and 2005 were against primo the Article 2 relative the inviolability of Cambodia territorial integrity and second the Article 3 relative the indivisibility of Cambodia .

Hence, the King, the government, the Senate, and the National Assembly, all these institutions had committed a criminal act of UNCONSTITUTIONALITY.

I applaud all Sam Raingsy deputies and senators who dared to walk away to boycott the approval vote of these said treaties. It proved that there still are courageous leaders who stood up and opposed to the swallowing of Cambodia by Vietnam .

Argument 2: The 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia was a great international agreement under the United Nations auspice. Nineteen countries in order to protect the independence, sovereignty, inviolability, territorial integrity and the national unity of Cambodia:

Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, the French Republic, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Philippine, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

had signed and ratified the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement Treaty on Cambodia .

Then it is legitimate to ask the question: Is-it possible that a very simple bilateral Vietnam-Cambodia could void the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia which was signed and ratified by 19 countries including the UN five permanent members under the auspice of the United Nations?

Logically, the answer is: NO.

By the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, Cambodia area was: 181,040 Km2 (CIA World Factbook).

The 1991 Paris Peace Agreement implicitly void the 1979, 1983 and 1985 treaties between Vietnam and HUN SEN/HENG SAMRIN/CHEA SIM according to the Article 1.2.d) of the

“3. AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE SOVEREIGNTY, INDEPENDENCE , TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND INVIOLABILITY, NEUTRALITY AND NATIONAL UNITY OF CAMBODIA”

Article 1. 2. d: To this end, Cambodia undertakes: d) To terminate treaties and agreements which are incompatible with its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, neutrality, and national unity;

It needs only a governmental declaration to the press to void these 1979, 1983, 1985 treaties with Vietnam .

But no Cambodian government has the courage to declare to the press the termination or the void of these 1979, 1983 and 1985 treaties.

In spite of the express recommendation through the Article 1.2.d of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, all successive Cambodian government, Rannaridh government, Ung Huot government and Hun Sen Government continued to keep silence on these treaties and had no courage to void these ignominious 1979, 1983, 1985 treaties with Vietnam by a very simple act of declaration to the press.

The Cambodian King did not dare to void these treaties neither. No senator, no National Assembly member dared to denounce these treaties, except Sam Raingsy Party senators and National Assembly SRP members. What a shame! The SRP senators and SRP deputies were the only exceptional heroes who denounced these Vietnam-Hun Sen/Heng Samrin/Chea Sim treaties.

Hun Sen had signed with Vietnam the Supplemental Treaty in Hanoi on October 10, 2005.

By this 2005 Supplemental Treaty signed in Hanoi, Hun Sen government recognized the cession of about one third of Cambodia territorial sea and one third of Cambodia land (the land agreement is yet secret but according to some leak it would be also one third of land) and this would be legalized under the eye of the world.

The Supplemental Treaty signed in Hanoi on October 10, 2005 was additive to the treaties 1979, 1983 and 1985. This 2005 treaty reaffirmed and supported integrally all the cession of our ancestral land territorial sea to Vietnam and the legalization of immigration of four million Vietnamese to Cambodia concluded in the 1979, 1983 and 1985 treaties.

By the 1979 treaty, HUN SEN/HENG SAMRIN/CHEA SIM government must provide land, foods and security to million of Vietnamese immigrants.

Since the 1979, 1983 and 1985 treaties were void according the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement, it results that the 2005 Supplemental treaty must be void also.

Argument 3: The 1979, 1983 and 1985 treaties were forced upon Cambodia . Vietnam had invaded Cambodia and imposed these 1979, 1983 and 1985 treaties upon Cambodia . According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna, 23 May 1969) the 1979, 1983, 1985 and 2005 treaties signed during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia were void. Since these 1979, 1983 and 1985 treaties were void, it results the 2005 Supplemental Treaty which was based upon these void treaties was void implicitly.

Historical Background of the Article 1.2.d. of the AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE SOVEREIGNTY, INDEPENDENCE, TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY AND INVIOLABILITY, NEUTRALITY AND NATIONAL UNITY OF CAMBODIA.

The authors of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia would like to establish for Cambodia a strong Treaty following the model of the September 8, 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan . The 1951 San Francisco treaty with Japan voided all treaties that were forced by Japan upon the colonized countries.

For this reason, the authors of the 1991 Paris Peace Agreement would like void namely the 1979, 1983, 1985 treaties imposed by Vietnam upon Hun Sen/Heng Samrin/Chea Sim.

But Vietnam opposed to such article. Vietnam with the support of France proposed instead a much weaker article which is the article 1.2.d. (Source: Son Sann and Roland Dumas, former France Foreign Minister.)

All Cambodian institutions, including the government, the Senate, the National Assembly elected under the 1993 Constitution had never ever the courage to terminate all these ignominious 1979, 1983, and 1985 treaties. As De Gaulle had said, these collaborators were all traitors of the Nation.

Hun Sen said: If you want to claim Koh Tral from Vietnam , please, do it and I will award you a coffin.

Hun Sen had never understood the law. The primacy of the law was to protect the weak against the abuse of the strong, and the have-not and the without voice against the abuse of the rich and powerful.

Vietnam grabbed our land in violation of the law, but Koh Tral is always ours according to the international law. The law works tirelessly for the weak, and the have-not. For us, it might take a century to get physically our KOH TRAL back. We can wait because it is ours.

Who can predict that the USSR, the second super power, had imploded in 1989, after 78 years of existence, in spite of his formidable arsenal, his several thousand megaton war heads, her several dozen of thousand missiles ICBM and some 40,000 tanks T55s, T72s and T80s, T90s, and several thousands of Migs 25s, 29s and several hundred thousand of KGB agents and million of soldiers?

Baphuon

SOURCE: Sean Pengse speech

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REFERENCES

Cambodia 1993 Constitution:

Article 2:

The territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia , shall absolutely not to be violated within its borders as defined in the 1/100,000 scale map made between the year 1933-1953 and internationally recognized between the years 1963 - 1969.

Article 3:

The Kingdom of Cambodia is an indivisible state.

THE 1991 PARIS PEACE AGREEMENT ON CAMBODIA

3. AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE SOVEREIGNTY, INDEPENDENCE, TERRITORAL INTEGRITY AND INVIOLABILITY, NEUTRALITY AND NATIONAL UNITY OF CAMBODIA

Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, the French Republic, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

In the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations:

Convinced that a comprehensive political settlement for Cambodia is essential for the long-term objective of maintaining peace and security in South-East Asia .

Recalling their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and other rules of international law.

Considering that full observance of the principles of non-interference and non-intervention in the internal and external affairs of States is of the greatest importance for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Reaffirming the inalienable right of States freely to determine their own political, economic, cultural and social systems in accordance with the will of their peoples, without outside interference, subversion, coercion or threat in any form whatsoever.

Desiring to promote respect for an observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and other relevant international instruments.

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1:

1: Cambodia hereby solemnly undertakes to maintain, preserve and defend its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, neutrality, and national unity; the perpetual neutrality of Cambodia shall be proclaimed and enshrined in the Cambodian constitution to be adopted after free and fair elections.

2: To this end, Cambodia undertakes:

a) To refrain from any action that might impair the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and inviolability of other States;

b) To refrain form entering into any military alliances or other military agreements with other States that would be inconsistent with its neutrality, without prejudice to Cambodia’s right to acquire the necessary military equipment, arms, munitions and assistance to enable it to exercise its inherent right of self-defence and to maintain law and order;

c) To refrain from interference in any form whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, in the internal affairs of other States;

d) To terminate treaties and agreements which are incompatible with its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, neutrality, and national unity;

e) To refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

f) To settle all disputes with other States by peaceful means;

g) To refrain from using its territory or the territories of other States to impair the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and inviolability of other States;

h) To refrain from permitting the introduction or stationing of foreign forces, including military personnel, in any form whatsoever, in Cambodia, and to prevent the establishment or maintenance of foreign military bases, strong points or facilities in Cambodia, except pursuant to United Nations authorization for the implementation of the comprehensive political settlement.