Khmer Krom Monk Seeks To Stay in Cambodia [-Khieu Sopheak demands for Tim Sakhorn to show documentations that were confiscated from him]

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
09 April 2009

A Khmer Kampuchea Krom monk who was jailed in Vietnam in 2007 and was at the center of a human rights debate arrived in Cambodia for a visit over the weekend and is now seeking to stay legally.

Under strict supervision by Vietnamese authorities since his release last year, the former monk, Tim Sakhorn, was allowed to return to Takeo province for his mother’s 100-day funeral ceremony.

“I want to live in Cambodia, to see my family members and my father,” he told VOA Khmer by phone Thursday.

Tim Sakhorn, who is ethnically Khmer but was born in Vietnam, was defrocked by Cambodian Buddhist authorities in mid-2007, for allegedly fomenting trouble between the two countries. He was later jailed in Vietnam’s An Giang province.

His imprisonment highlighted the problematic situation of the so-called Khmer Kampuchea Krom, those who are culturally Khmer but who inhabit Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, an area that once belonged to Cambodia.

Many Khmer Krom now reside in Cambodia, where they advocate for greater rights of the Khmer Krom in Vietnam and can be recognized as Cambodian citizens. Human rights groups say they suffer persecution in Vietnam.

“I don’t want to live in Kampuchea Krom,” Tim Sakhorn said, referring to Vietnam. “There, I live alone, and I am very poor, without anything to eat. I would like to call on the Cambodian government and the king to let me live in Cambodia legally.”

Tim Sakhorn was arrested followed clashes in early 2007 between Khmer Kampuchea Krom and Cambodian monks, during demonstrations against Vietnam’s treatment of the ethnic minority.

The clashes were an expression of a thorny political problem for Cambodia, because many Cambodians are still angry that the Mekong Delta was made a part of Vietnam following French-colonial rule.

Tim Sakhorn claims he was seized by Cambodian authorities and handed over to Vietnam in May 2007, where he spent a year in jail before his release in July 2008, a claim the Cambodian government has rejected.

He traveled to Cambodia last week on a Vietnamese passport with a 15-day visa.

Ang Chanrith, executive director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organization, told VOA Khmer Thursday Tim Sakhorn had requested human rights groups help him find legal residency in Cambodia.

“This is the right thing, because Tim Sakhorn is Khmer, so he must have the right to live in Cambodia legally,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said Thursday a royal decree by former king Norodom Sihanouk in 2003 allowed for Cambodian citizenship of Khmer Kampuchea Krom people.

“In this meaning, if Tim Sakhorn stays in Cambodia, Tim Sakhorn does not have to apply for Cambodian nationality,” he said. “If Tim Sakhorn is a Cambodian national, Tim Sakhorn should have some documentation, such as…a family book or residence book.”

However, Tim Sakhorn said Thursday all of his documentation disappeared after a defrocking ceremony and his subsequent immediate deportation.

Vietnam Assailed Over Khmer Krom Rights

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
08 April 2009

A US-based advocacy group for the Khmer ethnic group in Vietnam has prepared questions to send to the UN’s Human Rights Council, criticizing the Vietnamese government over its treatment of the minority group.

The Khmer Kampuchea Krom live in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, in areas that once belonged to a former Cambodian state. Their treatment under Vietnamese authorities has come under scrutiny in recent months, with the release of a Khmer Krom monk from a Vietnamese prison and a recent report on their persecution by Human Rights Watch.

The New Jersey-based Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation says it will forward its own criticism of Vietnam to Geneva for an upcoming Rights Council meeting May 8, outlining the limited freedom of religion and expression Vietnam allows for its Khmers.

The questions were prepared for the council, comprised of 47 countries and 192 representatives, for Vietnam’s presentation on its human rights report, Thach Ngoc Thach, president of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation, told VOA Khmer.

Khmer Kampuchea Krom organizations from Europe will hold a rally in front of the Rights Council’s office as the Vietnamese delegation presents its case, he said, adding that his group had recently participated in an international religious freedom meeting in Washington and had established good rapport with some members of the Rights Council.

“Our hope is to see more attention brought to the Khmer Kampuchea Krom issue by the international community and liberal countries that love democracy,” he said.

Vietnam is signatory to international conventions on civil, political, economic and cultural rights, but the country is widely criticized for rights violations and restrictions of political freedoms. Vietnamese officials say the country’s rights record is improving.

“The Khmer Kampuchea Krom people come at a real disadvantage, in that they are quite vulnerable,” Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, told VOA Khmer by phone. “We apparently see that the Vietnamese government treats certain ethnic groups with real either skepticism or hostility.”

Human Rights Watch reported in January that Khmer Krom were being jailed for political expression and suffered other rights suppression.

Khmer Kampuchea Krom issues came under a spotlight in 2007, following the arrest of one of its former monks, Tim Sakhorn, who was running a pagoda in Cambodia’s Takeo province. He was defrocked by Cambodian Buddhist authorities, for allegedly fomenting unrest against Vietnam and claims he was taken by Cambodian authorities to Vietnam, where he was imprisoned until July 2008.

Tim Sakhorn returned for a visit to Cambodia this week but will have to return to Vietnam by April 17, according to local media reports. Rights groups say at least five Kampuchea Krom monks remain in Vietnamese detention.

Dissident to seek residence

Hochimonk Non Nget, supreme patriarch of the Buddhist Mohanikay sect - whom Tim Sakhorn claimed in Monday's interview was responsible for defrocking him after his arrest - told the Post he had little sympathy for the arrested monk.

Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

During Khmer Krom activist Tim Sakhorn's temporary visit to Cambodia, rights groups say they will lobby the govt and UN in a bid to head off his return to Vietnam next week.

DESPITE being allowed to return to Cambodia after nearly two years of detention in Vietnam, former Buddhist monk Tim Sakhorn faces an uphill battle to extend his stay beyond the Khmer New Year.

The 41-year-old Khmer Krom activist arrived in Takeo province Saturday, where he attended a funeral ceremony for his mother and religious services at Wat Phnom Den in Kiri Vong district.

But his visa is only valid until April 17, and local and international rights groups are campaigning to head off his impending forced return to Vietnam.

"We are now trying to find ways to intervene and allow Tim Sakhorn to return to Cambodia to live with his relatives, since he is not willing to return to Vietnam," said Thach Setha, general director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Association.

"It is a violation of human rights to separate him from his family and clamp down on his freedom of speech."

Thach Setha said also that the former activist has been under the close eye of the authorities since his arrival in Takeo and could risk further jail time if he speaks out against the Vietnamese or Cambodian governments.

"Tim Sakhorn feels scared for his safety and fears speaking openly now that police are patrolling around his house and [near the pagoda] during the ceremony," he said.

Ang Chanrith, executive director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organisation, said that Tim Sakhorn could not meet with reporters Tuesday due to fears for his security.

But in a Monday interview with Radio Free Asia, Tim Sakhorn said that he had been "forced" to live in Vietnam and said he wanted to return home to Cambodia.

"I want to stay with my father and my brother in my hometown and farm the land," he said during the interview.

"I am calling on the Royal Government, the King, the United Nations and other NGOs to help me stay in the country and guarantee my security."

"It is a violation of human rights to separate him from his family."

Senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said the state would do its best to ensure a legal resolution to Tim Sakhorn's requests.

"The state will do its best to guarantee his Cambodian citizenship," he said, but added that the fact that Tim Sakhorn holds a Vietnamese passport might complicate matters.

"This issue will be considered by the Royal Government and the King."

Christophe Peschoux, country representative of the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), confirmed UN officials would meet Tuesday with Tim Sakhorn to assess the nature of his situation and "how his rights should be best protected".

"Being a Cambodian national, Tim Sakhorn should be able to remain in Cambodia if he wishes so, and his citizen's rights and safety should be protected by the Royal Government," Peschoux said by email.

Secret extradition

Tim Sakhorn's fate after April 17 will likely hinge on perceptions about the legality of his arrest and extradition. On June 30, 2007, Tim Sakhorn, a leading activist for the rights of ethnic Khmers in southern Vietnam - also known as Khmer Krom - was arrested in Takeo by Cambodian police and defrocked by senior monks before being extradited to Vietnam.

In November, a People's Tribunal in Vietnam's An Giang province sentenced him to one year in prison on charges of violating national unity under Article 87 of the country's penal code.

One of the crimes under this article is that of "undermining the implementation of policies for international solidarity".

Non Nget, supreme patriarch of the Buddhist Mohanikay sect - whom Tim Sakhorn claimed in Monday's interview was responsible for defrocking him after his arrest - told the Post he had little sympathy for the arrested monk.

"I have not paid any interest to Tim Sakhorn's arrival in Cambodia," he said. "He broke Buddhist discipline when he incited people and attempted to destroy the friendship between Cambodia and Vietnam."

But activists say the extradition was illegal and that the government has a legal obligation to allow him to remain in Cambodia. Ang Chanrith said Tim Sakhorn was a Cambodian citizen under local laws, which also provide protections against unlawful deportation.

Article 2 of the Kingdom's 1996 Law on Nationality states that "any person who has Khmer nationality/citizenship is a Khmer citizen", and is therefore exempt from being "deprived of nationality, exiled or extradited to any foreign country unless upon [sic] there is mutual agreement".

Although a Kampuchea Krom native, Tim Sakhorn moved to Cambodia in 1979 and was a full Cambodian citizen by the time of his arrest. In a 2007 report, OHCHR argued that Tim Sakhorn's deportation was a "prima facie violation" of these prohibitions.

Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, described his condition in Vietnam in the past year as one of "illegal house arrest" and said the ex-monk also enjoyed protection under international refugee agreements to which the Kingdom is a party.

"The Cambodian government should abide by the [1951 UN] Refugee Convention by not deporting people to countries where they have a well-founded fear of persecution," he said.

"The Cambodian government - and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees - should provide protection to Khmer Krom fleeing persecution in Vietnam, allowing them to seek asylum in Cambodia if they want."

Vietnamese embassy spokesman Trinh Ba Cam could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Ministry of Interior: Tim Sakhorn can live in Cambodia

Tim Sakhorn, the former abbot of Phnom Den North pagoda (Photo: Mundulkeo, RFA)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
By Ouk Sav Borey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

On Tuesday 07 April 2009, the Cambodian ministry of Interior (MoI) indicated that Tim Sakhorn, the former abbot of the Phnom Den North pagoda, can live in Cambodia if he wanted to.

Khieu Sopheak, MoI spokesman, told RFA that the Cambodian Constitution stipulates that Khmer Kampuchea Krom are Cambodian citizen, therefore, citizen Tim Sakhorn has the right to live in Cambodia.

Khieu Sopheak confirmed that: “If he lives within the kingdom of Cambodia, under the Cambodian Constitution, he is a Cambodian citizen.”

Khieu’s Sopheak made this claim after Tim Sakhorn was released from the Viet jail, and he was allowed by the Vietnamese to attend a Cambodian ceremony in Ta Loeung village, Phnom Den commune, Kiriving district, Takeo province, with his father and relatives to commemorate his mother’s death during the Cambodian New Year.

On Tuesday, Tim Sakhorn could not be reached to find out whether he wants to live in Cambodia or in Vietnam. Tim Ban, Tim Sakhorn’s younger brother, indicated that Tim Sakhorn went to visit relatives and he has not returned home yet.

However, in a recent interview with RFA, Tim Sakhorn said: “I am very scared when I came to Cambodia. I am more scared than when I was in Vietnam, I am scared about my personal safety.”

Tim Theang, Tim Sakhorn’s father who now lives In Ta Loeung village, claimed that he wants Tim Sakhorn, his son, to come and live with him in Cambodia.

Tim Theang said: “He (Tim Sakhorn) wants (to live in Cambodia) also. I asked all organizations, all levels of the government, the UN etc… to help resolve this issue. If my son can come back (to live in Cambodia), I would be very happy because I am old now.”

Regarding Tim Sakhorn’s issue, Chan Saveth, an official for the Adhoc human rights organization, said: “Based on the information (received), we think that Tim Sakhorn seems to be very concerned about his personal safety.”

Tim Sakhorn, the former abbot of Phnom Den North pagoda, was hastily defrocked by force by the Cambodian authority. He was then sent over to be jailed in Vietnam for a 1-year duration. He was accused of fomenting the breakup of the solidarity between Cambodia and Vietnam in 2007.

During his stay in jail in Vietnam, he was visited by Cambodian parliamentarians and following the intense criticism from the UN Human Rights commission, Tim Sakhorn was subsequently released. However, one human rights official claimed that he was still under close surveillance by the Vietnamese.

Former Buddhist Monk and Abbot Tim Sakhorn at his house in Phnom Den, Kirivong district, Takeo province, Kingdom of Cambodia on April 6, 2009

April 2009
Source: Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community

Former Buddhist monk and abbot Tim Sakhorn had to use this Socialist Republic of Vietnam passport to re-enter Cambodia on April 4, 2009.
Former abbot Tim Sakhorn in civilian clothe in his Takeo home with KKC Executive Director former SRP Senator Thach Setha holding Tim Sakhorn's Vietnamese passport and identification card.

Former abbot Tim Sakhorn with visiting Khmer Krom human rights activists.