Mr. Sam Rainsy being filmed by international TV crews leading villagers to uproot the demarcation poles he said were illegally installed by the Vietnamese authority.Source: Radio Free Asia
By Khmerization
Mr Sam Rainsy, the leader of the eponymous opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said he is not concerned about the lawsuits lodged against him by the Chatrea district authority on charges of “sabotage, destruction and theft of public property”, after he led villagers to uproot six border demarcation poles planted in their rice-fields by the Vietnamese authority, reports Radio Free Asia.
On 25th October, Mr. Rainsy led a group of 100 villagers in Chantrea district of Svay Rieng province to uproot six demarcation poles they said illegally installed by the Vietnamese authority in the middle of their rice-fields. On 30th October, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry condemned his actions by accusing him of violating Cambodian and Vietnamese laws as well as violating all the treaties and agreements signed between Cambodia and Vietnam in the past.
Speaking from France in an interview with Ms. Mao Sotheany of RFA, where he is staying after attending a conference of the International Organisation of the Liberals in Egypt, Mr. Rainsy said he is not shocked about the lawsuits because he said he can then bring this case to the International Court of Justice so that this court can help Cambodian farmers take back their lands, which have been encroached by Vietnam through these illegal border demarcation poles.
Mr. Rainsy said: "I am not scared. If the Vietnamese government sue me, it can do so. If the present Phnom Penh government sue me, it can do so. But I will in turn take the case to the international community so that they can help defend Cambodian territories. I want them to call an international conference about Cambodia to request the signatories, 18 countries that signed the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, organise a conference because at present Cambodian territorial integrity has been violated by some countries. The Paris Peace Accords guarantee that all the signatories will help Cambodia whenever there is a violation of Cambodian territorial integrity by some countries. Now Cambodian territorial integrity has been violated because we have enough evidence to prove it."
Mr. Rainsy said that the Chantrea district authority had sued him in the Svay Rieng provincial court. "I know that the Chatrea distict authoirity in Svay Rieng had sued me for destruction of public properties because they claimed that the six poles were the demarcation pillars of Cambodia-Vietnamese borders. The Sam Rainsy Party's representatives in the Chantrea district council informed me that now the lawsuits lodged by the Chantrea district authority had reached the Svay Rieng provincial court. They sued me for criminal offence which is very serious, in regard to destruction of public properties", he said.
Mao Sotheany: Did you really pull out the demarcation poles?
Sam Rainsy: (Before) the villagers always talked about their hardship, poverty, but this time they talk about the Vietnamese taking their lands. So when I listened to their complaints I understood them and wondered why no one talked about other issues, but only about the issues of demarcation poles? I asked them who were they (who planted the poles)? They said the Border Technical Committee of 10 Vietnames and one Cambodian officials. Before they came to plant the poles, they did some surveys with GPS equipments, but the villagers opposed their works because they said they farmed in these rice-fields for 10-30 years already and they never had any problems. But about a few months ago, a group people from the Border Techincal Committee came to demarcate in the area.
After a few surveys, they planted the demarcation poles in the middle of their rice-fields, encroaching hundreds of hectares of lands into Cambodian territories and some farmers have their rice-fields cut off in the middle. They were very hurt and angry and asked us, who are members of parliament, to help them, but they have pulled out some of the poles previously already and the provincial authority had reprimanded them and warned them not to uproot the poles again or faced prosecutions. So we are the members of parliament, so they implored us to help them because local authority had threatened them like that and we see they were so hurt and angry. I said to them that I will take full responsibility so we must uproot those demarcation poles because it will open ways for our farmers to take back their farms so they can toil their fields to make a living.
MS: Did the villagers who lost their rice-fields complain to the higher authority and what was the solution?
SR: They don't have any opportunity or capacity and they don't have any contacts with the higher authority because their village is a bit isolated. They only complained to village authority and the commune authority had complained to the border police but even the border police and border officials are very scared (to deal with the issue), so the farmers have no one else to turn to, so taking the opportunity during the time when the Sam Rainsy Party led a Kathen procession to the area, they came to see if there are senior government officvals present who can help them.//
By Khmerization
Mr Sam Rainsy, the leader of the eponymous opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said he is not concerned about the lawsuits lodged against him by the Chatrea district authority on charges of “sabotage, destruction and theft of public property”, after he led villagers to uproot six border demarcation poles planted in their rice-fields by the Vietnamese authority, reports Radio Free Asia.
On 25th October, Mr. Rainsy led a group of 100 villagers in Chantrea district of Svay Rieng province to uproot six demarcation poles they said illegally installed by the Vietnamese authority in the middle of their rice-fields. On 30th October, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry condemned his actions by accusing him of violating Cambodian and Vietnamese laws as well as violating all the treaties and agreements signed between Cambodia and Vietnam in the past.
Speaking from France in an interview with Ms. Mao Sotheany of RFA, where he is staying after attending a conference of the International Organisation of the Liberals in Egypt, Mr. Rainsy said he is not shocked about the lawsuits because he said he can then bring this case to the International Court of Justice so that this court can help Cambodian farmers take back their lands, which have been encroached by Vietnam through these illegal border demarcation poles.
Mr. Rainsy said: "I am not scared. If the Vietnamese government sue me, it can do so. If the present Phnom Penh government sue me, it can do so. But I will in turn take the case to the international community so that they can help defend Cambodian territories. I want them to call an international conference about Cambodia to request the signatories, 18 countries that signed the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, organise a conference because at present Cambodian territorial integrity has been violated by some countries. The Paris Peace Accords guarantee that all the signatories will help Cambodia whenever there is a violation of Cambodian territorial integrity by some countries. Now Cambodian territorial integrity has been violated because we have enough evidence to prove it."
Mr. Rainsy said that the Chantrea district authority had sued him in the Svay Rieng provincial court. "I know that the Chatrea distict authoirity in Svay Rieng had sued me for destruction of public properties because they claimed that the six poles were the demarcation pillars of Cambodia-Vietnamese borders. The Sam Rainsy Party's representatives in the Chantrea district council informed me that now the lawsuits lodged by the Chantrea district authority had reached the Svay Rieng provincial court. They sued me for criminal offence which is very serious, in regard to destruction of public properties", he said.
Mao Sotheany: Did you really pull out the demarcation poles?
Sam Rainsy: (Before) the villagers always talked about their hardship, poverty, but this time they talk about the Vietnamese taking their lands. So when I listened to their complaints I understood them and wondered why no one talked about other issues, but only about the issues of demarcation poles? I asked them who were they (who planted the poles)? They said the Border Technical Committee of 10 Vietnames and one Cambodian officials. Before they came to plant the poles, they did some surveys with GPS equipments, but the villagers opposed their works because they said they farmed in these rice-fields for 10-30 years already and they never had any problems. But about a few months ago, a group people from the Border Techincal Committee came to demarcate in the area.
After a few surveys, they planted the demarcation poles in the middle of their rice-fields, encroaching hundreds of hectares of lands into Cambodian territories and some farmers have their rice-fields cut off in the middle. They were very hurt and angry and asked us, who are members of parliament, to help them, but they have pulled out some of the poles previously already and the provincial authority had reprimanded them and warned them not to uproot the poles again or faced prosecutions. So we are the members of parliament, so they implored us to help them because local authority had threatened them like that and we see they were so hurt and angry. I said to them that I will take full responsibility so we must uproot those demarcation poles because it will open ways for our farmers to take back their farms so they can toil their fields to make a living.
MS: Did the villagers who lost their rice-fields complain to the higher authority and what was the solution?
SR: They don't have any opportunity or capacity and they don't have any contacts with the higher authority because their village is a bit isolated. They only complained to village authority and the commune authority had complained to the border police but even the border police and border officials are very scared (to deal with the issue), so the farmers have no one else to turn to, so taking the opportunity during the time when the Sam Rainsy Party led a Kathen procession to the area, they came to see if there are senior government officvals present who can help them.//
2 comments:
The authority who sues Mr. Rainsy are traitors. What Mr. Rainsy and the villagers did was for the interests of the Cambodian nation. They did it to protect and defend Cambodian territorial integrity. They tried to protect Cambodian borders from being encroached by Vietnam. So Mr. Rainsy had done something patriotic.
The Hun Sen government is a traitorous government. It has sold out to Vietnam and never protect Cambodian borders. Mr. Rainsy did a good job in defending the country.
Mr. Rainsy did a very good job to defend khmer land. The Hun Sen govt lets the Vietnam do whatever they like to innocent khmers because they are blind and deaf. In the past khmers lost a junk of land to Vietnam already and now they want more. The Vietnam never give up their tricks. How much more longer do khmers will have to suffer from all kind of abuses?
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