14 July 2007By Keo Nimol
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
There is still no official news on the whereabouts of Monk Tim Sakhorn, the abbot of Phnom Den North pagoda who disappeared since his defrocking.
A group of national and international human rights officials declared on 13 July that there are several rumors regarding the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn. Some claimed to have seen him in Prek Russei in Vietnam, while others said they have seen him in Takeo province. “Until now, I only receive unconfirmed information, but I sent my officers to investigate this case,” a human rights official said.
Regarding the declaration made by Thach Ngoc Thach, the President of the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) in the world, which stated that Monk Tim Sakhorn is still alive and is currently jailed in Vietnam, there is no official confirmation about this information yet.
An anonymous human rights official said that the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn after his defrocking can be considered as a kidnapping case because if he is accused of committing a religious mistake, after his defrocking, he becomes a simple citizen protected by the laws of Cambodia, and if he committed other mistakes, the authority can officially charge him according to the law, he should not be forced into a car which took him away without informing his own family.
The same human rights official added: “Such action seems to be fraught with extreme mystery, and for example, if he committed something wrong, he can only be defrocked, he cannot be deported and they cannot hide his whereabouts like this, it is not right.”
The group of human rights organizations representing the family of Monk Tim Sakhorn, sent a complaint to the Takeo provincial court on the kidnapping case, asking the court to help find Monk Tim Sakhorn.
Khieu Kanharith, the ministry of the information, and Khieu Sopheak, spokesman of the ministry of interior, could not be contacted to obtain further information on the current whereabouts of Monk Tim Sakhorn.
A source indicated that a KKF delegation plans to visit Cambodia and meet with leaders of the ministry of Interior to ask about the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn.
Recently, former king Norodom Sihanouk forwarded to prime minister Hun Sen, a letter from Thach Setha, President of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, regarding Monk Tim Sakhorn, asking Hun Sen to help clarify this case. So far, there is no response from Hun Sen.
Monk Tim Sakhorn was accused of creating a movement to break the solidarity between Cambodia and Vietnam and of participating in two demonstrations opposing Vietnam.
A letter issued by supreme patriarch Tep Vong dated 12 July, indicated that Monk Tim Sakhorn voluntarily returned to Vietnam after his defrocking, and there was no Cambodian authority which forced him to return to Vietnam at all.
However, the spokesman of the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia told RFA that the issue of Monk Tim Sakhorn is an internal affair of Cambodia. Monk Tim Sakhorn was the abbot of the Phnom Den North pagoda, he was defrocked last 30 June 2007.
A group of national and international human rights officials declared on 13 July that there are several rumors regarding the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn. Some claimed to have seen him in Prek Russei in Vietnam, while others said they have seen him in Takeo province. “Until now, I only receive unconfirmed information, but I sent my officers to investigate this case,” a human rights official said.
Regarding the declaration made by Thach Ngoc Thach, the President of the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) in the world, which stated that Monk Tim Sakhorn is still alive and is currently jailed in Vietnam, there is no official confirmation about this information yet.
An anonymous human rights official said that the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn after his defrocking can be considered as a kidnapping case because if he is accused of committing a religious mistake, after his defrocking, he becomes a simple citizen protected by the laws of Cambodia, and if he committed other mistakes, the authority can officially charge him according to the law, he should not be forced into a car which took him away without informing his own family.
The same human rights official added: “Such action seems to be fraught with extreme mystery, and for example, if he committed something wrong, he can only be defrocked, he cannot be deported and they cannot hide his whereabouts like this, it is not right.”
The group of human rights organizations representing the family of Monk Tim Sakhorn, sent a complaint to the Takeo provincial court on the kidnapping case, asking the court to help find Monk Tim Sakhorn.
Khieu Kanharith, the ministry of the information, and Khieu Sopheak, spokesman of the ministry of interior, could not be contacted to obtain further information on the current whereabouts of Monk Tim Sakhorn.
A source indicated that a KKF delegation plans to visit Cambodia and meet with leaders of the ministry of Interior to ask about the disappearance of Monk Tim Sakhorn.
Recently, former king Norodom Sihanouk forwarded to prime minister Hun Sen, a letter from Thach Setha, President of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, regarding Monk Tim Sakhorn, asking Hun Sen to help clarify this case. So far, there is no response from Hun Sen.
Monk Tim Sakhorn was accused of creating a movement to break the solidarity between Cambodia and Vietnam and of participating in two demonstrations opposing Vietnam.
A letter issued by supreme patriarch Tep Vong dated 12 July, indicated that Monk Tim Sakhorn voluntarily returned to Vietnam after his defrocking, and there was no Cambodian authority which forced him to return to Vietnam at all.
However, the spokesman of the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia told RFA that the issue of Monk Tim Sakhorn is an internal affair of Cambodia. Monk Tim Sakhorn was the abbot of the Phnom Den North pagoda, he was defrocked last 30 June 2007.
