Border Expert Says Old Vietnam Treaties Should Be Nulified

Sean Pengse

Meanwhile, Cambodia and Vietnam have yet to reach full agreements on border demarcation.

15.09.2012

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

WASHINGTON DC - Despite assurances from Prime Minister Hun Sen that no Cambodian land has been ceded to Vietnam, a France-based border expert said the government has failed to nullify treaties with its eastern neighbor that would do just that.

Sean Pengse, former Cambodian minister of industry and president of the Paris-based Cambodia Border Committee, told “Hello VOA” that at least four border treaties were made during Vietnam’s occupation of Cambodia, from 1979 to 1989, causing the loss of territory.

A supplementary agreement was made in 2005, sparking protests from many Cambodians.

With the national election approaching next year, and border questions often at the forefront of heated political debate, Hun Sen recently gave a five-hour speech to the National Assembly, broadcast live on state television, defending his government’s border policies.

Under Hun Xen, the area of the country grows by 300 sq.km. and his head grows by 100%

Hun Xen's head grows proportionally to the country land mass area

Cambodian Land Mass More Than Originally Thought, Hun Sen Says

13.09.2012

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

Hun Sen said in a public speech that new measuring technology showed Cambodia’s land to be 181,335 square kilometers.

WASHINGTON DC - Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that Cambodia’s total land mass is some 300 square kilometers more than historically stated and wants to put the number in the constitution. His announcement is thought to be a response to political opponents and critics who accuse him of ceding land to Vietnam in a 2005 border agreement.

Hun Sen said in a public speech that new measuring technology showed Cambodia’s land to be 181,335 square kilometers, greater than the traditional number in fact books, though he did not elaborate on the technology.

RFA Webcast: Mr. Sean Pengse's reaction to the Cambodia-Vietnam border problem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBOiisTW4OQ

Koh Wai Island belongs to Cambodia - CBC communiqué

https://www.box.com/s/7cf5504350f220e0cfbc


https://www.box.com/s/ea4e43496f835beb48dc

Criminal, slandering and libeling charges!

Mr. Sean Pengse maybe facing criminal charges for criticizing the government's handling of border disputes with Vietnam, and on the top of that, according to anonymous sources, both Mr. Hun Sen and Mr. Var Kimhong will also sue him for "slandering and libeling" them in the Cambodian court.

CBC's letter to the UN regarding the border with Vietnam - UN's Response letter

https://www.box.com/s/b3cb0ca11d54bc3a0af9


https://www.box.com/s/a4932fcf09a098021727

Border discussion between Messrs Kuch Ly and Sean Pengse on 22 June 2012

Mr. Sean Pengse

Click the control below to listen to the discussion:

Click here to download the audio program in MP3

https://www.box.com/s/0c13c166734cf07cdaf8

Cambodia to cede two villages to Vietnam [-Hun Xen lied when he promised that no Cambodian land will be lost in the border demarcation with Vietnam]

National Assembly president Heng Samrin speaks during a meeting in Phnom Penh last year. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post

Monday, 18 June 2012
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

“As I know, the map that France has kept [for us] has [Ponhea] Krek [district] belonging to the Khmer ... There has never been such an exchange, like an exchange of bread and oranges. [We] must have agreement from all people, because that land does not belong to Mr Va Kimhong and Mr Hun Sen.”

Cambodia would have to give two villages to Vietnam if it wanted to retain another two deemed the territory of the Kingdom’s eastern neighbour by the former French Indochina colonial administration, a government minister said yesterday.

Last year, the Cambodian government announced it was speeding up the process of demarcating its borders with Vietnam and Laos, which were renegotiated in 1985, six years after Vietnam ousted the Khmer Rouge.

sVa Kimhong, senior minister in charge of the Cambodian Border Affairs Committee, said the government would have to compromise to keep Thlok Trach and Anlung Chrey villages, in Kampong Cham province’s Ponhea Krek district, as part of the border demarcation process.

“We have still kept both the villages the same, but we have an obligation to find any area in Kampong Cham province to give back to Vietnam,” he said. “That is what we call a compromise.”

Sean Pengse's reply to Soy Sopheap on Cambodia's border

Click to listen to Mr. Sean Pengse's reply to Soy Sopheap

Click here to download the audio program in MP3

ជំរាបជូន លោក សយ សុភាព

ខ្ញុំបាទ​សៀង បេងសែ បានបំភ្លឺជាសាធារណៈហើយ

បើខ្ញុំចង់ទៅលេងប្រទេសកម្ពុជា មិនចាំបាច់ត្រូវពឹង លោកសយ សុភាព ឯងទេ គឺ ខ្ញុំទៅដោយខ្លួនឯង ពីព្រោៈ ប្រទេស កម្ពុជាជា ប្រទេសខ្ញុំដែរតើ?

ខ្ញុំអត់បាននិយាយថា លោក ហ៊ុន សែនក្បត់ជាតិទេ គឺ គណកម្មការ KCI

បាននិយាយថា លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ជាអ្នកក្បត់ជាតិព្រោៈកាត់ទឹកដីអោយទៅយួន ។

តើ លោក សយសុភាព ឯងហ៊ានសួរទៅ លោក ហ៊ុន សែន រឿងនេះពិតដែរ ឬទេ?

សូមអរគុណ

In US, Cambodians Mark Peace Accord Date With Pessimism

More than 100 Cambodian-Americans gathered on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 to commemorate the anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords, in Alexandria, Virginia. (Photo: by VOA Khmer)

Friday, 28 October 2011
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC

"Opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly “can’t suggest to parliament to change even one comma in a law.”

More than 100 Cambodian-Americans gathered in Alexandria, Va., on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 to commemorate the anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords, but participants said that two decades later, Cambodia still struggles with issues of human rights, democracy and the encroachment of neighboring Thailand and Vietnam.

“Democracy in Cambodia has gone backward,” said Yab Kimtung, who helped organize the conference. “Big opposition parties have been oppressed. Information about human rights, democracy, free and fair elections or land grabbing has not been widely spread to the public.”

Kem Sokha, president of the minor opposition Human Rights Party, was a guest speaker. He said Cambodia has become a country with a “unilateral” political system, exactly as it was before the peace accords were signed on Oct. 23, 1991.

“The ruling party won 90 seats in an election that I think was not fair,” he said.

RFA's interview with Mr. Sean Pengse, President of the Cambodia's Border Committee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KTElMfS7N4

Mr. Sean Pense's invitation to a conference-discussion

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please find below our invitation for a conference-discussion.

Please distribute it widely to everybody you know.

Thank you,

Sean Pengse
------------------
Mesdames, Mesdemoiselles et Messieurs

Je vous prie de bien vouloir trouver en attaché notre invitation à une Conférence-débats.

Je vous prie également de le faire une large diffusion auprés de nos compatriotes.

Je vous remercie.

Sean Péngsè


http://www.box.net/shared/t0ztv1gji6

Var Kim Hong lied to former monarch: Krom Preah [crying over spilled milk he helped spill?]

Ranariddh (Photo: Tin Zakariya, RFA)

14 Dec 2010
By Tin Zakariya
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

In the eastern border problems between Cambodian and Vietnam, border activists have accused Vietnam of encroaching inside Cambodian territories.

Norodom Ranariddh, president of the NRP, indicated his clear stance in defending Cambodia’s territorial integrity and avoiding any loss, especially along the eastern borders with Vietnam. He said that he regrets very much that the government border commission gave false maps to former king Norodom Sihanouk, then the leader of the Supreme National Border Committee, in 2005.

The declaration was made by Ranariddh, the former prime minister and former president of the National Assembly, who left politics about 2 years ago. On 14 December at his residence in Phnom Penh, Ranariddh accused sVar Kim Hong, the chairman of the government border commission, of lying to the former king about the use of the official maps of Cambodia which were agreed upon: “However, Vietnam should recognize Cambodia’s current borders as clearly shown on the 1:100,000 scale maps by the [French] Service Géographique de l’Indochine [Indochina Geographic Services, or SGI]. Why didn’t we negotiate with Vietnam by using these as bases, because then, Vietnam and the Vietcong already recognized them, but it was such a disaster when the king wrote in his own hand [based on what] Var Kim Hong duped him by telling him that they were maps from the Sangkum Reastr Niyum [SRN] era, whereas in reality, they are not from the SRN era.”

Ranariddh’s accusation came at a time when SRP MPs traveled to visit the planting of border posts between Cambodia and Vietnam in Memot district, Kampong Cham province. Local villagers claimed that border post no. 109 was planted inside their orchards.

Var Kim Hong reacted by saying that Ranariddh did not tell the truth because the maps he handed over to the former king was based on the maps deposited at the UN in 1964 at a scale of 1:100,000 and prepared by the SGI. The SGI maps include 26 sheets and the Supplemental border treaty signed with Vietnam in 2005 is based on these maps also: “Furthermore, as the president of the Funcinpec party which was allied with the CPP, we reported to him all the way to the Funcinpec party headquarters. He agreed to everything, he understood all that we used as our basis, but what he just said earlier, he didn’t say it right, he said that we took 1:100,000 UTM scale maps, but in reality they were 1:50,000 UTM maps prepared by the US.”

At the beginning of December, the joint border commission between Cambodia and Vietnam announced a public bidding in order to select a company that will print border maps between the two countries. A total of 5 companies competed for the bid.

Nevertheless, Mr. Sean Pengse, President of the Paris-based Cambodia’s Border Committee, explained that maps prepared during the French colonial era were the most perfect and they can be used to easily find the old border posts with the help of a GPS device. He indicated that the Cambodian government does not put to use these old maps because of the 1985 treaties with Vietnam, therefore new maps were adopted with strong influence by Vietnam.

Cambodia's Border Committee's Declaration by Mr. Sean Pengse, its President

Click on the statement in Khmer and French to zoom in

SRP branches plan to form a party union in Europe

SRP party congress in Phnom Penh in 2009 (Photo: SRP)

Tuesday 07 September 2010
By Tim Ravy
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

A reliable source indicated that the SRP party in France plans to organize a congress dubbed: “The SRP congress in Europe” which will take place at the end of September. If there is no plan change, this new congress will take place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 September 2010 in Paris, France, under the leadership of Sam Rainsy. Participants to the congress will include SRP MPs from Phnom Penh, party branch representatives from various countries in Europe and several guests of honor from various associations, as well as various experts.

A source indicated that several representatives from various EU countries, such as Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Italia, have sent in the names of their representatives who will officially attend the party congress. In addition, SRP representatives from various provinces, such as Rhone-Alps, Mulhouse, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille, Amiens, Lille, Tour, Troye, Angers etc… will also come to share their work activities with other members of the congress.

The draft of the schedule that we received, the congress organizers have also invited several guests of honor, including:

1. Mr. Sean Pengse, a former government minister and the current president of the Cambodia Borders Committee, will be invited to talk on the current border disputes.
2. Mr. Thach Vien, president of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation in Europe (KKFE), will talk about the Khmer Krom people living in Vietnam and the rights violations of the indigenous people.
3. Venerable Tim Sakhorn will talk about the sentence handed down on Khmer Krom monks in Cambodia and Vietnam.
4. Professor Vandy Kaon and Mr. Sakou Samuth will talk about the fate of Cambodian intellectuals who are currently fighting in the Cambodian political arena.
5. Prof. Prum Thuch, a professor at the university of pharmacy in Montpellier, who will talk about: “Are the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements for Cambodia in full application or not?”
6. Mr. Pin Yathay, an engineer who penned the book “Your life is precious, son, you must survive”, will talk about the possibility of a union of democrats for Cambodia.

This is the first time that the SRP organizes a major congress outside the country since it was formed 15-year ago. The congress is aimed at strengthening the cooperation between party branches in various European countries prior to the upcoming 2011 commune election and the 2012 general election. A reliable source added that the SRP party branches in Europe will discuss about the possibility of forming a community or union of SRP in Europe before the end of this year. They will also discuss in details the leadership structure during this congress.

The SRP is the largest opposition party in Cambodia, it also includes the most numerous party branches overseas. In Europe, the party is represented in almost every single country where Cambodian people reside. Furthermore, in France, the SRP also counts branches in various provinces and in the US and Australia, the SRP counts branches in numerous states and cities. A large portion of the party’s funding comes from contributions received by these party branches from donations from party supporters who are concerned about the situation in Cambodia.

The Human Rights Party (HRP) and the CPP are also trying to exert their influence overseas as well, and these 2 parties are seen as trying to attract away SRP supporters to come to support them. The CPP was able to attract some opposition activists to support them in exchange for [government] positions and money. The people used by the CPP to attract new members are no other than Cambodian embassy officials who abuse their government duty to serve the party interest instead. As for the Funcinpec party which used to have branches overseas also, it does not receive any support anymore, unlike what it used to be. The Nationalist party (formerly the Ranariddh party) does not have any branches at all.

No source can confirm if the congress will announce the alliance of democrats formed from the fusion of the SRP and the HRP, however, HRP party representatives will be invited to attend the congress also. It appears that SRP branch leaders seem to be hesitant to form an alliance with the HRP, however, the final decision will rest with Sam Rainsy and SRP leaders in Phnom Penh only.

Som Niyeay Phorng - Op-Ed by Angkor Borey News

Click on the article in Khmer to zoom in

Rainsy visits Rainsey: Sam Rainsy and Sean Pengse visit Cambodian community in Wat Khemara Rainsey, San Jose, California

Thank you note to SRP supporters in Montreal

The attendants pay a moment of silence
Attendants to the meeting
Speech given by Mr. Sean Pengse
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy giving his speech
Attendants to the meeting
Sam Rainsy paid a visit to Wat Thammikaram Pagoda in Montreal

Dear Compatriots,

We wish to convey our deepest thanks to each and everyone of our friends and supporters of Sam Rainsy Party who graciously took the time to attend our public meeting with H.E Sam Rainsy and Mr. Sean Peng Se in Montreal on 05 June 2010.

Your participation and exchange of ideas, including your generous contribution helped make our conference truely a sucessful and yet a memorial one.

On behalf of Sam Rainsy Party Montreal, Once again thank you for your participation.

With Love and solidarity to all Khmer Compatriots!

SRP Montreal Team

Meet Messrs. Sam Rainsy and Sean Pengse in Canada and along the US East Coast

Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 4th June 2010

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Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 5th June 2010

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Falls Church, Virginia on 10th June 2010

Sam Rainsy Rails Against Loss of Land in US Talk

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy (R) and Mr. Sean Pengse (2nd from right) during their US tour (Photo: Free Press Magazine Online)

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C Thursday, 03 June 2010

“I’m certainly confronting Vietnam, because when I pulled out the border posts on Oct. 25, 2009, the authorities in Phnom Penh were very quiet. No reaction. Nothing happened. And the reaction out of Hanoi when they learned that it was touching Vietnam’s heart, touching the policy of the invasion of Vietnam, then Vietnam got angry.”

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy addressed about 100 Cambodian-Americans in Seattle on Monday night, claiming he remains committed to what he calls a struggle against the “swallowing” of Cambodian land along the border allowed by the current administration.

The courts have issued an arrest warrant for Sam Rainsy, who remains in exile and is already facing at least 2 years in jail on charges stemming from the uprooting of border markers near Vietnam, in Svay Rieng province’s Chantrea district. He now faces charges for the publication of a map on the Sam Rainsy Party website that alleges the loss of land.

“I pulled one, then a Vietnamese nearby, he pulled one out, as he knew it was wrong,” Sam Rainsy said, referring to the October 2009 incident. “Now the measure of another 300 [posts] are all wrong, so [they] are fearful that I’ve touched the breath, touched the heart, life, of the communist regime in Cambodia.”

Sam Rainsy, who is on a US tour to build political support, said he was not confronting Prime Minister Hun Sen, but rather Vietnam.

“I’m certainly confronting Vietnam, because when I pulled out the border posts on Oct. 25, 2009, the authorities in Phnom Penh were very quiet,” he said. “No reaction. Nothing happened. And the reaction out of Hanoi when they learned that it was touching Vietnam’s heart, touching the policy of the invasion of Vietnam, then Vietnam got angry.”

The Vietnamese “tried to cheat, they try to propagandize, [saying] that they came to liberate Cambodia, that they came to help the Khmers,” he said. “Help what? Come to swallow our land.”

The border encroachment, he said, was a “trick.”

“Now when we catch it, there is reaction from Hanoi, not from ordinary people, but Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reacted himself,” Sam Rainsy said. “This is a very big problem. Vietnam’s prime minister reacted from Hanoi, asking Sam Rainsy to be condemned. Why did you yourself in Vietnam order Hun Sen to arrest Sam Rainsy? Until Vietnam made the order from Hanoi, then followed the order, but I will not back off what I have done and will continue to do it.”

A spokesman for the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh declined to comment on the statements immediately, asking that questions be sent for a later reply.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan called Sam Rainsy’s comments an instigation of racial discrimination and “sabotage” of the relations between the neighboring countries.

“I’m not really impressed,” Phay Siphan said. “Such language is a strategy to raise suffering, look down on nationalities, or create war with neighbors that counters our constitution, which says the Kingdom of Cambodia lives with its neighbors in co-existence. That’s our policy. What is a conflict, we do not want, but what is resolution through cooperation and a good relationship, that is the goal of Cambodia.”

Phay Siphan denied that Cambodia was under the control of the Vietnamese and said the country has its own independent institutions, including the National Assembly, king and elected government. He also rejected claims that court action was taken against Sam Rainsy at the behest of the Vietnamese government.

In public statements, Nguyen Tan Dung called for Cambodia to take action against Sam Rainsy after the uprooting of the border posts and to ensure such action would not take place again.

Sam Rainsy has said his protests against Vietnam and government followed complaints from villages in Chantrea district who asked for help in what they said was land encroachment from Vietnam.

Cambodia and Vietnam signed a treaty in 2005 that some experts say caused a loss of territory for Cambodia. Sam Rainsy has said he has evidence that the border posts he removed were in fact 300 to 500 meters inside Cambodia’s actual boundary.

Phay Siphan said Monday Sam Rainsy should speak to the court and claimed the government has properly demarcated the border. Only a court can say who is right or wrong, he said.

“Now that he’s been charged with displaying a fake document, he himself has an obligation to speak to the court, through any action or means, that’s his business,” Phay Siphan said. “But it’s regretful that he still walks around and speaks about it in this manner, without clear knowledge [of the fact], as a member of parliament.”

Sean Pengse, a border expert who lives in France and has been traveling with Sam Rainsy to explain the border issue, said the problem stems from the governments of Vietnam and Cambodia using US and Vietnamese maps, not the French map at the UN.

“We recognize the French map,” he said. “Why do we not use it? Why use the American and Vietnamese maps, which are different scales, too?”

On Monday, Sam Rainsy also criticized the government’s policy on illegal immigration, corruption, lengthy land concessions to foreigners and election fraud.

Sinuon Hem, a resident of nearby Tacoma who attended Monday night’s talk, said she was happy Sam Rainsy had raised the border issue and said she supported democrats who help people live in peace.

“I think it’s time to raise the issue, to remind the conscience of the Cambodian children to stand up and unite and love each other among Khmer,” she said.

The border issue remains a main political platform for the Sam Rainsy Party, as the government seeks to complete border demarcation with Vietnam by 2012. Thailand’s political crisis has halted demarcation attempts along that border.