Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 August 2007
A Khmer Kampuchea Krom advocacy group has asked Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene in the case of a former monk being held in Vietnam.
The group asked to be able to visit Tim Sakhorn, a defrocked Khmer Krom monk who was arrested earlier this month and is being held in Vietnam for entering the country without a visa.
Khmer Krom groups have rallied around Tim Sakhorn, whom rights groups fear was forcibly taken to Vietnam, and the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community has asked Hun Sen for help with the Vietnamese government.
The former monk has been held since Aug. 2 and neither rights groups nor his family know his condition, the organization said. They asked Hun Sen to urge authorities in Hanoi to permit visitation.
"We sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen asking him, one, to help intervene with the Vietnamese government to allow his relatives and the human rights organizations visitation rights in the detention center in Vietnam to check his health. If we don't monitor closely, the Vietnamese authorities may torture him," said Thach Setha, President of Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community. "Two, to intervene with all diplomatic means in line with constitutional and national laws to help bring Venerable Tim Sakhorn back to Cambodia. And three, to investigate, to find and punish the culprits who sent Venerable Tim to Vietnam."
The Interior Ministry maintains the former monk asked to be taken to Vietnam after he was defrocked by Cambodian Buddhist leaders for allegedly stirring unrest between Cambodia and Vietnam, but witnesses said he was forced into a car by unknown assailants and was not seen again at his Takeo province pagoda.
Spokesmen for Hun Sen were unavailable for comment Monday.
The group asked to be able to visit Tim Sakhorn, a defrocked Khmer Krom monk who was arrested earlier this month and is being held in Vietnam for entering the country without a visa.
Khmer Krom groups have rallied around Tim Sakhorn, whom rights groups fear was forcibly taken to Vietnam, and the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community has asked Hun Sen for help with the Vietnamese government.
The former monk has been held since Aug. 2 and neither rights groups nor his family know his condition, the organization said. They asked Hun Sen to urge authorities in Hanoi to permit visitation.
"We sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen asking him, one, to help intervene with the Vietnamese government to allow his relatives and the human rights organizations visitation rights in the detention center in Vietnam to check his health. If we don't monitor closely, the Vietnamese authorities may torture him," said Thach Setha, President of Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community. "Two, to intervene with all diplomatic means in line with constitutional and national laws to help bring Venerable Tim Sakhorn back to Cambodia. And three, to investigate, to find and punish the culprits who sent Venerable Tim to Vietnam."
The Interior Ministry maintains the former monk asked to be taken to Vietnam after he was defrocked by Cambodian Buddhist leaders for allegedly stirring unrest between Cambodia and Vietnam, but witnesses said he was forced into a car by unknown assailants and was not seen again at his Takeo province pagoda.
Spokesmen for Hun Sen were unavailable for comment Monday.
1 comment:
I think asking Hun Sen to intervence with his boss, Vietnam is a wrong approach. former King Shihanouk even wrote a note to ask him, Hun Sen doesnot give a shit about what the King wrote, how can he care about a letter from a Khmer Krom Community in Cambodia???
This is a shamed for cambodian people, especially Cambodian leaders who called themselves are politician in Cambodia trying to form a party to fight for the benefits of the people in Cambodia. Now, Ven. Tim Sakhorn was arrested, defrocked, and deported to Vietnam by Cambodian government. Vietnam refused to claim that Ven. Tim Sakhorn was deported to Vietnam. Now, Vietnam said they just arrested Ven. Tim Sakhorn. Thus, the Cambodian politician should not let vietnam get away with this case.
This case totally violates Cambodia's sovernity. If Cambodian leaders cannot get Ven. Tim Sakhorn back to Cambodia from vietnam, then what the heck Cambodian leaders will do to protect Cambodian citizen.
Thus, Cambodian opposite party leaders better get this straight out to prove that you really work for the Cambodian people. If necessary, they must organize a protest nationally to show to the world that Cambodia now has no rights to protect its own citizen.
The student organizations in Cambodia should protest in front of Vietnam Embassy to ask them to return Ven. Tim Sakhorn back. If Vietnam still doesnot do it, let protest in front of US Embassy to ask the U.S. help. Dont talk to the puppet leaders of CPP because they never do anything to protect Cambodian if they have to deal with their YOUN boss.
If vietnam doesnot return Ven. Tim Sakhorn back, the people in Cambodia should protest everyday in Phnom Penh and around the countries. When we have a whole nation protest against Vietnam, Vietnam will loose face about it because they are the one standing behind the arrested of Ven. Tim Sakhorn. We should show this to the world that Vietnam is now totally interfering to Cambodian even they used to do that, but at least, they did behind the scence. Now, they showed it to the world that Cambodia now is really a province of Vietnam now. so they can do whatever they can to Cambodian people in Cambodia.
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