More than 400 Khmer Krom families to demonstrate against canal construction plan

29 August 2009
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

A source indicated that more than 400 Khmer Krom families living in Krobao district (renamed Tinh Bien by the occupying Vietnamese regime), Motr Chourk province (renamed An Giang by neo-colonialist Vietnam) plan to hold a peaceful demonstration to protest against the plan to built a canal that would lead to the destruction and loss of several hundreds of hectares of their farmlands without any compensation.

Khmer Krom people among these 400 families told RFA over the phone from Krobao district, Motr Chrouk province, occupied Kampuchea Krom that there will be a joint uprising to stop these mechanical engines used to dig the canal: “For tomorrow, we have prepared ourselves, even if they (Viets) want to kill us, we are not afraid! I will go to the canal ditch on my land, I will not let them continue the digging anymore. We ask them to stop [the digging] right now, if they don’t resolve this issue for us, we will not allow them to continue their work, we’d rather die on our farmlands. They are currently digging [the canal], they will dig tomorrow, tomorrow is their main digging operation day. We have gathered from all the villages, we will not allow them to [dig] tomorrow.”

A representative of the group of protesting Khmer Krom people indicated that his family will lose 2 hectares of land from the plan to dig the canal across the rice fields that belong to 400 families: “The International human rights organization said that they will help Khmer Krom people to own lands for farm productions, just like the Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese families now own large tract of lands each, but for our Khmer people, who are the actual owners of our ancestral lands, we lose everything, there’s nothing left.”

A source indicated that a Vietnamese reporter from Prey Nokor city (renamed Ho Chi Minh city by the Vietnamese occupiers) came to investigate the issue with Khmer Krom people living in this area. The reporter asked whether the loss of farmlands was due to the plan to build the canal or not.

On Saturday 29 August, the Viet embassy in Phnom Penh could not be reached to obtain clarification about the Khmer Krom demonstration planned for 30 August, nobody at the embassy picked up the phone.

Thach Setha, President of the Khmer Krom Community in Cambodia, said that the Viet government should compensate for the damage and loss of these farmlands: “We share the grief of our Khmer Krom people who are facing serious violations from the Yuon authority. We will seek interventions from the international community. At the same time, with the current visit of H.E. Khieu Kanharith in Kampuchea Krom, we are asking him to take a detour to visit [the affected area] and find a resolution for our Khmer people living there.”

A source indicated that the occupying Vietnamese authority in Krobao district, Mortr Chrouk province, occupied Kampuchea Krom, is currently putting in application the plan to dig a 10-km-long by 50-meter-wide canal that will cross the farmlands belonging to 400 Khmer Krom families. This canal will lead to the loss of several hectares of farmlands belonging to Khmer Krom people and no compensation will be provided by this loss.

Khmer Krom Facing Vietnam Violence: Group

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
10 April 2008

At least five Khmer Kampuchea Krom minorities have been wounded and six arrested in Vietnam in the wake of a crackdown on demonstrations, according to an advocacy group and several alleged victims.

Vietnamese authorities have used tear gas, gunfire and arrests to quell demonstrators in a land dispute in An Giang province, which borders Cambodia, said Ang Chanrith, executive director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organization.

Vietnamese officials could not be reached for comment, and a Cambodian embassy official said he was not aware of the situation.

The Khmer Krom are culturally linked to Cambodia, but many live in Vietnam, where they say they face government discrimination. Their treatment is a political flashpoint for many Cambodians.

"Please help me," one Khmer Krom villager said by phone from Vietnam. "They destroyed my house, and I do not know where I and my crying children will stay."

"Save us," said a second villager, "or they will arrest us all."

Khmer Krom in Vietnam plans to demonstrate to demand their lands back

05 Dec 2007
By Kim Pov Sottan
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A source from the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) indicated that Khmer Krom people living in Motr Chourk (An Giang in Vietnamese) and Khleang (Soc Trang in Vietnamese) provinces, Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam) will hold their demonstration in Hanoi within 10 days to demand back their lands, if the Vietnamese authority does not provide a resolution to their land problems.

The demonstration plan was decided when about 100 (Khmer Krom) people from Motr Chrouk province protested about land problems in An Cu commune, Tinh Bien distritct, and about 30 other (Khmer Krom) people demonstrated about land problems also at the Native people committee located in Prek Russei city on Tuesday.

Neang Yer, the 50-year-old Khmer Krom woman who led the protest in Motr Chourk province, indicated that the Vietnamese provincial authority promised to resolve all these issues within 60 days, but that it has been almost two months already, and there is still no resolution yet.

Neang Yer said: “I promised them that if in 10 days, there is still no resolution (on the land disputes) for us to see, we will go to the central (communist) party, we will go to Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh City), and we will wait there to see what answer they will give us. If they don’t provide a decent answer (in Prey Nokor), my group will travel to Hanoi next.”

The same situation is also occurring in Khleang province, Vinh Ba, a Khmer Krom representative of the Khleang province protesters, said that the (authority) asked the people to remain calm a few months back, but it does not want to resolve this issue, that is why, the people came to protest one more time.

Vinh Ba said: “The delegate of prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung came here 2-3 times already, but there is no resolution whatsoever. My group from Khleang village asks for a resolution. It is very difficult for us, the situation occurs long ago, 17-year already and there is no resolution at all. And for me, I don’t ask for anything else other than my lands, they (VN authorities) took them and they did not compensate me, how can I not ask for my lands back? I must ask for them back.”

Land protests by Khmer Krom people are happening almost monthly. Villagers who lost their lands claimed that the Vietnamese authority confiscated several hectares of their ancestral lands to share among themselves (VN officials). Some saw their lands confiscated for more than 10 years already, while others have just seen their lands confiscated recently only.

RFA could not reach the Vietnamese authority on this issue.

Trinh Ba Cam, Hanoi’s mouthpiece in Cambodia, indicated that the confiscation of lands occurs in every country: “Land disputes are occurring in every country, however, their resolutions depend on the authority. The authority will provide a decent resolution according to the government’s determination.”

Recently, a Cambodian parliamentary delegation led by SRP MP Son Chhay visited South Vietnam, in particular in Kampuchea Krom. During the visit, Son Chhay discussed with his Vietnamese counterparts about cooperation (between the two countries) and he also asked Hanoi to resolve the land dispute issues suffered by Khmer Krom people.

Investments called for nine border gate projects [near Kirivong, Takeo province]

15/11/2007
Vietnam Agency (Hanoi)

The southwestern province of An Giang is calling for investment in nine key projects focusing on international and national border gates for the period up to the decade-end.

They include a 490 billion VND project on the development of the Tinh Bien border gate economy, an industrial park also to be built in Tinh Bien district with a designed investment of 330 billion VND, an international exhibition-fair centre on 5 ha of land at the Tinh Bien international border gate and an investment of 500 billion VND for the development of the Vinh Xuong national border gate economy.

Other projects are for the development of the Khanh Binh national border gate economy with an estimated investment of 320 billion VND, the construction of a whole-sale centre on 50 ha of land and a supermarket with investments estimated to total 55 billion VND and the construction of a farm produce market and a shopping centre on 9 ha of land.

An Giang province boasts two international border gates, one national border gate and two sub-border gates leading to Cambodia .

The province has exported products to 81 overseas markets with its seafood products alone now available in 63 markets abroad.

An Giang is now home to 91 investment projects, representing a 7-fold increase over the same period last year, thanks to its streamlined licensing procedures.

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.