Keo Remy speaks at a press conference in Phnom Penh, June 6, 2014.
RFA
RFA
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s administration on Friday hit out at opposition leaders for accusing the government of ceding territory to Vietnam at a ceremony this week commemorating the 65th anniversary of loss of land belonging to the Khmer Krom ethnic minority to Hanoi.
Government spokesman Keo Remy said Friday that opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief Sam Rainsy and his deputy Kem Sokha were “playing politics” by making such accusations.
“Their allegations are groundless,” he said of the claim that Hun Sen had ceded islands, such as Phu Quoc (in Khmer, Koh Tral), and other land to Vietnam, during a press conference in the capital Phnom Penh on Friday.
On Wednesday, while attending an event to mark the day in 1949 when France officially turned over its Cochinchina colony—which included the former Kampuchea Krom provinces—to Hanoi, Sam Rainsy accused Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of facilitating the loss to Vietnam of additional Cambodian territory through economic land concessions.
“Hun Sen’s government is granting land concession licenses to Vietnam,” Sam Rainsy said, referring to the many Vietnamese companies that have set up rubber plantations and other businesses in the country.
“They are allowing Vietnam to encroach on our land,” he said.
Sam Rainsy likened the granting of concessions to a form of “colonization” which he said led to Vietnamese control of Kampuchea Krom.
Sam Rainsy who, along with Kem Sokha, attended the event at Phnom Penh’s Wat Samakki Raingsey on the invitation of Khmer Krom activists, also promised the roughly 600 people in attendance that if the CNRP was elected to government, he would grant identification cards and citizen’s rights to members of the ethnic minority that leave Vietnam and move to Cambodia.
Earlier, Kem Sokha had said that if his party was elected, he would make June 4 a national holiday to remember the loss of Kampuchea Krom, and pledged to provide greater protection of rights to Khmer Krom who resettle in Cambodia.
Princess Sisowath Pong Neary Monipong, a representative of the Royal Palace who attended the ceremony, and who is also Khmer Krom, ended the proceedings by saying that she neither “praised nor blamed” the speakers or the issues that were discussed, according to a report by the Cambodia Daily.
Phnom Penh municipal officials earlier in the week had banned Wat Samakki Raingsey, which is about 60 percent populated by Khmer Krom monks and is often seen as a refuge of last resort for members of the minority, from hosting a public forum at the ceremony, fearing a rise in racial tension.
Protecting rights
France’s Cochinchina colony, which included the former provinces of Kampuchea Krom, was officially ceded to Vietnam in 1949, but had been under Vietnamese control since the mid-17th century.
One of the most important seaports of Kampuchea Krom was once called Prey Nokor, but is now known as Ho Chi Minh City—the financial hub of Vietnam and one of the most bustling metropolises in Southeast Asia.
Since Hanoi took control, the Khmer Krom living in Vietnam—believed to number considerably more than one million and who are ethnically similar to most Cambodians—have increasingly faced social persecution and strict religious controls, according to rights groups.
Khmer Kampuchea Friends Association director Thach Setha told RFA’s Khmer Service that the Khmer Krom in Vietnam are not demanding their land back, but simply asking Hanoi to grant them their indigenous rights.
“It is the responsibility of the government and King [Norodom Sihamoni] to decide whether they want to claim the land back,” he said.
Some Khmer Krom groups have recently called for Cambodians around the world to travel to the former Kampuchea Krom provinces to “bridge the gap” with the ethnic minority.
Tran Van Thong, a spokesman with the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh, told RFA that Hanoi welcomes all visitors to the country, but warned that any revolt campaign would be dealt with according to Vietnamese and international law.
“Americans, Laos, Thais or Cambodians that travel to Vietnam in peace are welcome, but if they go to Vietnam to break any laws we will resolve those violations according to law,” he said.
He denied that Cambodia had “lost” Kampuchea Krom to Vietnam, adding that the land had “never belonged” to the kingdom in the first place.
“The claim that Cambodia lost land to Vietnam is groundless,” he said, adding that “there is no evidence” to support it.
Persecution
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has said the Khmer Krom face serious restrictions of freedom of expression, assembly, association, information, and movement in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese government has banned Khmer Krom human rights publications and tightly controls the practice of Theravada Buddhism by the minority group, which sees the religion as a foundation of their distinct culture and ethnic identity.
On the other side of the border, the Khmer Krom who leave Vietnam for Cambodia remain one of the country’s “most disenfranchised groups,” Human Rights Watch said.
Because they are often perceived as Vietnamese by Cambodians, many Khmer Krom in Cambodia face social and economic discrimination.
They also face hurdles in legalizing their status in the country, as authorities have failed to grant many Khmer Krom citizenship or residence rights despite promises to treat them as Cambodian citizens, according to Human Rights Watch.
Reported by Morm Moniroth and Samean Yun for RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
6 comments:
His job is barking and he gets pay and senior post for this easily earned living. He is one of jump-ship rats.
អាឡប់ អើយយួនប៉ុន្មានលាននៅស្រុក ខ្មែរឥឡូវនេះ?????? អាឡប់ឯងមានទៅមើលបឹងទន្លេសាបទេ?????
The Vietnamese government want to lie to the world. If not mistaken, there is about 12-14 million Khmer Krom since it originally a part of Srok Khmer.
I would appreciate if Khmerization administrator would pin this article below on its front page. Please note the this sentence "Phu Quoc aka Koh Tral is currently administered by Vietnam". Clearly the independence of the island is neither in the hands of the Khmer or the Vietnamese occupiers. We must take this Koh Tral issue to the world court. As far as issue with Ke Remy, the guy is ignorant and can't read.
Phú Quốc (known as Koh Tral by Cambodians) is the largest island currently administered by Vietnam, although the island is the subject of territorial disputes between Vietnam and Cambodia (see History).
History
On May 25, 1874, the island was placed under French protectorate and together with Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos to form what was called French Indochina.
After Cambodia obtained independence from France, there have been disputes over the sovereignty of the island, since no colonial decision on the latter remains. In 1939, the general-governor of French Indochina, Jules Brévié drew a line to define the administrative responsibilities on the gulf islands: north of the line, the islands will be administrated by the Cambodian protectorate, and south of the line, by the colony of Cochinchina. Brévié underline that such a statement only concerns police and administrative task, and that no sovereignty decision have been made. The line let Phu Quoc island under Cochinchina administration.
On May 1, 1975, a team of Khmer Rouge soldiers raided and took Phu Quoc Island. Hanoi soon retook the island but a new war had begun. Phu Quoc became a major military stronghold over 50,000 military housed in bases over the north of the island. The struggle did not end until Vietnam withdrew its troops in the late 1980s.
http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/814680
This fucking idiot Keo Remy needs to quit his dirty CPP job. This guy must do something or he must be a Yuon/Vietnamese spy.
This fucking idiot Keo Remy needs to stop his CPP dirty job that served evil Communist Vietcong in Hanoi.
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