By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
10 June 2009
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Calls for freedom and more unity among Khmer Kampuchea Krom have become the main demand during gatherings worldwide to mark the 60th anniversary of the loss of Kampuchea Krom (lower Cambodia now part of Southern Vietnam).
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Below is an extract from report regarding to Khmer Krom issues:
The Vietnamese government‘s ongoing repression of the language, culture, and religion of ethnic Khmer living in Vietnam has led to growing resentment. Khmer Buddhism is associated with Theravada branch of Buddhism and has religious and ethnic traditions distinct from the dominant Mahayana Buddhist tradition practiced in most places of Vietnam. Some Khmer Buddhists have called for a separate religious organization, distinct from the government-approved Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS). Religious freedom concerns continue to be central to demands of ethnic minority Khmer for human rights protections and preservation of their unique language and culture.
On May 30, 2009, at 11pm (local time), the Vietnamese police, led by Duong Thanh Hung from Soc Trang Province went to arrest Mr. Huynh Ba (born in 1962) and his wife, Mrs Son Thi Kim Thu (born in 1962) while they were visiting their god-father at Ba Trai Commune, Binh An Village, Kien Luong District, Kien Giang Province. The police did not give a reason to why they had arrested Mr. Huynh Ba and his wife.
The police released Mrs Son Thi Kim Thu, but Mr. Huynh Ba is still being imprisoned at an unknown location. The current fate of Mr. Huynh Ba remains unknown.
On June 4 1949, the French colonial government illegally transferred the control of Cochin-China (Kampuchea-Krom) to Emperor Bao Dai of Viet Nam. Sixty years on, Khmer Krom suffers in the hand of the Vietnamese government from oppressions, genocide, human rights abuse and their Vietnamization policies.
This year on the June 13, the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation will commemorate the lost of our land in Paris, France, the place where one signature changed the life of 8 millions Khmer Krom until now.
Picture 1:Ven. Thach Berong and 96 KKF Theravada Buddhist Committee Delegates join the Intl. Buddhist Conference
View the speech by Venerable Thach Berong during the the
International Buddhist Conference on the United Nations Day of Vesak Celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation has the honour to announce an event to remember our sad and bitterness history and to commemorate and pay respect to the soul of the over two millions Khmer and Khmer Krom victims of genocide.
On 08 May 2009, Viet Nam's human rights record was examined for the first time by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). While the country's participation in the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism is an important step, words are outweighed by facts. Disappearances, censorship, institutionalised discrimination, cultural "homogenisation", lack of fair justice, lack of religious freedom, lack of freedom of association, marginalisation of indigenous peoples are all abuses which characterise current-day Viet Nam. On this historic occasion, 500 indigenous Khmer Krom traveled to Geneva to make themselves heard. Staging a massive 10-hour demonstration outside the UN and organising a side-event inside the UN, right next door to the Human Rights Council, Viet Nam's indigenous Khmer Krom called upon the international community for action.
The Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) in partnership with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) will hold a two day demonstration on May 7 and May 8 to draw attention to human rights abuses taking place in Vietnam. The demonstrations are timed to coincide with the very first time that Vietnam will undergo their Universal Periodic Review at the U.N Human Rights Council.
On 08 May 2009, as the United Nations Human Rights Council convenes to examine Viet Nam's human rights record for the very first time, 400 indigenous Khmer Krom people will assemble in front of the Palais des Nations in Geneva to denounce the distressing situation of ethnic minorities in Viet Nam.
Click to read the 2009 Khmer New Year wishes from KKF President, Mr. Thach Ngoc Thach.
For the Protection of Khmer Krom Human Rights
In front of the Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland
The history between Khmer and Vietnam has been going on for one decade to the next until the world has forgotten the indigenous people. There are 370 million who are caught up in an uncaring war; a war of modern colonization that eliminates their heredity and religion. In our case, the Vietnam leaders have escaped world pressure and continue to oppress the Khmer people living in Kampuchea-Krom.
