Will History Haunt Us Again?

Op-Ed by Anonymous
Posted at http://khmerkrom.org

Our people compatriot must stop the present leader let our country plunging again and again. The Khmer leader must learn our history well before thinking to lead this nation.

Remember Kampuchea Krom? Remember Prey Nokor? A primary example is the Ho Chi Minh.

First, they asked our king to give them the place to train their troops; then ask to stay for safety, and then ask to give, then no tax and so on.

Now, there is something wrong again. WHY does it feel wrong to give over one hundred thousand acres of our sacred land to VN army forces? Think twice and must we have people involved in this matter?

Who else, the VN private companies – another offered land (Dei Sambatean)?

Do Khmer people keep quiet in this case and let the government give away free land to VN?

Do you see all Khmer farmers with no land and also those that are greedy and selfish help their master to take from the poor as well or do they actually think Cambodia already belongs to VN; so just sell it before it is too late for them?

I would like to appeal to all Khmer abroad in the third country – please do not afraid that you cannot go to visit the country or your family; be afraid that we will have no country to visit.

The way Vietnamese took our land (Kampuchea Krom) is just the way they are doing to Cambodia now. It will not be long before, we, Khmer, have no country to visit and also have no country to call our own.

Millions of Khmer people were killed and will continue to get killed no one of them take responsibility – for they are not afraid to give away the very heart and soul of Khmer land and life.

There is something wrong with the concept of “Royalist and Communist together” – look around!!!

We must act now and just one voice, there is no one Khmer smarter than with all Khmers together.

Khmer Krom people demand that Vietnam resolve the land dispute issue

03 September 2007
By Kim Pov Sottan
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

The Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) claimed that at least 200 Khmer Krom people have traveled on Monday to the office of the Vietnamese Assembly located in Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnamese) in order to demand for a resolution in the land dispute issue.

Monk Thach Binh, a KKF representative, said that these Khmer Krom people came from Motr Chrouk province (Chau Doc in Vietnamese), and they had split up in numerous small groups led by three Khmer Krom leaders: Chau Heng, Chau In, and Chau Uk. “There are 210 people altogether, but when we left, we split up into three groups: the first group arrived last night at midnight, when they arrived there (Prey Nokor) … their side (the Vietnamese authority) arrested them, they were prevented from leaving, they were threatened and suffered hardships. There is no break, so our (Khmer Krom) brothers are continuing the struggle until tomorrow, we will see how many more will arrive,” Monk Thach Binh said.

From Kampuchea Krom, Chau Heng, a leader of the demonstrators from Motr Chrouk who is currently standing in front of the office of the Vietnamese Assembly in Prey Nokor, said over the phone that Khmer Krom villagers reached here in secret. He said that his group counts 11 people, but two of them were arrested by the police. He indicated that many more are yet to arrive.

Chau Heng indicated: “They will come, there are some more still coming, a few at a time. Even if we are arrested, we will resist and fight on because we lost our ancestral lands, anybody would regret (this kind of lost). Also, the number of people who are suffering hunger is growing daily, they have no work. Like me for example, I had to swim across several water streams and rivers, it was flooding water level in these rivers, I swam across them all to reach here.”

The same source indicated that, for some groups, their leaders had been arrested by the Vietnamese cops, while other groups are ordered by the Vietnamese cops to return back to their villages, and wait for a resolution.

RFA could not reach the Vietnamese government yet. However, Trinh Ba Cam, Hanoi’s mouthpiece in Phnom Penh, indicated that he did not receive this information yet, but he said Hanoi’s prime minister ordered a resolution of land disputes at the local levels.

This is the second time that Khmer Krom people from Motr Chrouk province are protesting to demand back their lands and their farmlands in Prey Nokor. In June 2007, a group of more than 1,000 protesters, including both Khmer Krom and Vietnamese people, sustained severe repression from their public protest.

The Khmer Krom protesters said that they will maintain their demands because they have waited for a resolution, but so far none has come.

UNPO Demonstrates with Khmer Krom in Paris

2007-08-20
UNPO

UNPO has joined demonstrations organized by the Khmer-Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKF) in Paris, aiming to raise awareness of human rights violations in the Mekong Delta and the recent arrest of the Ven. Tim Sakhorn.

The Hague, 20 August 2007 – After Australia and the United States of America, it was France’s turn to stage a Khmer Krom demonstration. Organised by the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) numerous members of the Khmer Krom Diaspora, Buddhist Monks, and supporters filled Paris’ “Esplanade de Droits des l’Homme” (Human Rights Plaza) on Sunday 19 August 2007, raising awareness of the human rights violations from which their communities continue to suffer.

The Khmer Krom are the indigenous people of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and became a UNPO Member in 2001 where they are represented by the KKF. Since this time they have been actively involved in the organisation’s nonviolent struggle for the betterment of the human right situation in their region. As part of a broader assimilation policy, Khmer Krom Buddhists Monks have in particular been targeted for persecution. Breaches of their basic human rights have become increasingly common as they are identified as the primary bearers of the distinct language and cultural identity of the Khmer Krom people. Particular concern has been expressed most recently at the growing infringement upon the right to religious freedom, the right to freedom of speech, and the right to freedom of assembly.

The recent defrocking and subsequent disappearance of the Ven. Tim Sakhorn, a Khmer Krom Buddhist Monk living in Cambodia, has also raised concern amongst Khmer Krom communities. As the religious leader of a temple which assisted Khmer Krom refugees fleeing persecution in Vietnam, many viewed the Ven. Tim Sakhorn as an important defender of both refugees and human rights. Recent reports suggest however that he has been returned to Vietnam by Cambodian authorities, where he is now under detention and charged with “undermining national unity.” The KKF and UNPO have both appealed extensively for his release, as well as for greater protection for the region’s human rights defenders. The well attended demonstration in Paris represented a further opportunity to bring his case to international attention, ensuring above all that he is not forgotten.

[Further information about the Ven. Tim Sakhorn]

[Read the UNPO appeal]

In light of these recent developments the KKF has organized a number of demonstrations around the world. In Paris, Khmer Krom Buddhists, both from France and beyond, gathered across from the Eiffel Tower at the Esplanade des Droits de l’Homme, protesting human rights violations and calling for the safe return of the Ven. Tim Sakhorn. Colourful and lively protests were interrupted only by a moment of prayer, led by attending Khmer Krom Buddhist Monks, and remembering those who have suffered, and who still suffer, from human rights violations and persecution. Signatures were collected for a series of petitions, with the general public educated also about the ongoing situation in the Mekong Delta and the rich history of the Khmer Krom.

Amongst the many speakers were representatives from the Khmer Krom in the Netherlands, Lyon (France) and Grenoble (France), as well as representatives from the Cambodian Associated League for Human Rights in France, and the Association for the Victims of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. Later in the afternoon a delegation, which included a UNPO representative, marched to the Cambodian Embassy, delivering an appeal to the Cambodian government, urging further support for the Khmer Krom and in particular for the Ven. Tim Sakhorn.

UNPO delivered also an appeal, urging the Cambodian government to pressure its Vietnamese neighbours to respect international human rights standards, and to remember their own obligations to protect human rights defenders and those who seeking refuge within their borders.

[Read the UNPO appeal to his Excellency the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the Republic of France]

Against the backdrop of the peaceful prayers of an ancient culture, the Buddhist Monks and the many old and young gathered in the name of peaceful manifestation, it is hard to understand the justification of Vietnamese authorities for the continued severe repression of the Khmer Krom.

UNPO Appeals for Human Rights Defenders

2007-08-19
UNPO

The Hague, 20 August 2007 – UNPO remains concerned about the ongoing persecution of Khmer Krom Buddhist Monks in Vietnam. Following the recent arrest of the prominent Buddhist Abbot the Ven. Tim Sa Khorn, UNPO issued the following appeal calling for his immediate release, as well as for greater protection for the human rights defenders of the Mekong Delta.

On 8 February 2007, following a peaceful demonstration which gathered 200 Khmer Krom Buddhist Monks in a call for greater religious freedom, Vietnamese authorities arrested, intimidated, defrocked and imprisoned nineteen Khmer-Krom Buddhist Monks. A number remain imprisoned for their role in organising these demonstrations.

On 30 June 2007, the Ven. Tim Sa Khorn, Abbot of the North Phnom-Denh Temple in Cambodia was summoned to meet the Head Monk of the Takeo province. Cambodian authorities accused him of using the Temple as a place “to propagate activities that divide the relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam”. An order was subsequently given to defrock the Ven Tim. Sa Khorn.

On 3 July 2007, General Khieu Sopheak, Spokespersons for the Cambodian Ministry of the Interior, announced that Tim Sa Khorn, who had been living in Cambodia since 1979, had been returned to Vietnam. Reports from early August 2007 suggest the Ven. Tim Sa Khorn was subsequently arrested by Vietnamese authorities on charges of “of undermining national unity.”

UNPO is greatly disturbed by these recent developments which follow a number of similar acts of persecution aimed at Khmer Krom Buddhist Monks. UNPO condemns also in particular the persecution of individuals associated with the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF), a UNPO Member organisation noted for its non-violent principles.

UNPO has consequently appealed to the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Cambodia to France to:

• Urge respect for the Kingdom of Cambodia’s internationally recognised obligations to protect human rights defenders and those seeking safety within its borders;
• Call upon Vietnamese authorities to end their arbitrary and unlawful persecution of the Khmer Krom, in particular of Khmer Krom Buddhist Monks, who play a vital role in preserving and safeguarding the Khmer Krom culture, language, and religion; and
• Urge the Government of Vietnam to ensure the Ven. Tim Sa Khorn is granted his full range of human, civil, and political rights, and receives a free and fair trial compliant with internationally recognised standards of justice.