Opposition MPs Real Camerin (third from right) and Um Sam An (second from right) travel with police chief to visit the border where Vietnam's encroachments have reportedly taken place.
Opposition lawmaker Um Sam An on Saturday led about 200 nationalist activists to inspect a non-demarcated strip of land along Kandal province’s disputed border with Vietnam where the Vietnamese government is constructing a military outpost.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday sent a diplomatic note to the Vietnamese government reminding it of a notice it sent in April, which accused Vietnam of wrongfully building the post on land in Koh Thom district designated as a non-usable “white zone” claimed by both governments.
Mr. Sam An, who has led a recent campaign by the CNRP to expose alleged Vietnamese violations of Cambodian territory, said authorities on Saturday at first prevented his team from entering the area at the heart of the dispute.
“The local authorities prevented us from trying to see the Yuon military base, but the people pushed through three barricades before reaching a fourth barricade,” Mr. Sam An said, using an often derogatory word for Vietnamese.
“We saw about 50 [Cambodian] border soldiers and police with shields and electric batons were deployed in each place, and the number increased to about 100 people blocking the road of the people when they tried to pass the fourth barricade to see the Yuon military base,” he said.
Yet he said a small group was eventually allowed to enter and found what he said was a territorial violation.
“Authorities allowed a few more than 10 of us to reach the Yuon military base, and we saw that this building was located inside Cambodian territory, at a distance of about 300 meters from the border,” Mr. Sam An said.
Kandal provincial governor Mao Phirun said authorities had done their job in managing the visit to the white zone.
“We did not allow all those people to reach the white zone because they wanted to make trouble with the Vietnamese side, so that’s why we only allowed some representatives to get in there,” Mr. Phirun said.
“We were worried it would be dangerous for them, because they would rant and rave in the banned area.”
Mr. Phirun also denied Mr. Sam An’s claim that the Vietnamese military base was being constructed in Cambodian territory, saying that it was clearly in the “white zone” that has been aside for future negotiations to demarcate.
He reiterated that Vietnam had been asked to halt the construction, but acknowledged the calls had been ignored.
“We requested that the Vietnamese temporarily stop construction and wait for the national-level talks between the two countries, but they have not listened,” he said.
Separately, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan on Sunday called local reporters to a Phnom Penh restaurant to defend the actions of the Kandal authorities, saying that it is necessary to avoid hostilities breaking out over the sensitive issue until demarcation is completed.
“I would like to thank our Khmer police for not allowing those Khmer people to get into the Yuon territory because Vietnam would arrest them and they would accuse them of crossing a border illegally,” Mr. Siphan said.
“We are not able to use military force to make war with Vietnam over the border issue, because our country has been defeated twice [in such endeavors] during the Lon Nol and Pol Pot regimes,” the spokesman added.
3 comments:
Thank You Mr. Um Sam An for your courage to protect our territorial integrity.
Yuon is a pest that has always wanted to kill Cambodia.
93 Years Old Woman
93 Years Old Woman I understand your angers because of Youn history with us but I am really disagree with you on calling other human being a pest. This will not help our cause because we can turn international opinions against us. It is also wrong. As a small nation and still poor country we need the world with us. We must think with our brain instead of our angers. I felt the same way because our neighbors in the east,west and north are always had bad intentions. Laos the least of the three they are a little better.
Why Cambodia armed forces are too afraid of Youn ? Now I know our country is still poor and trying to develop our economy. Youn had a much bigger economy, population, military strengths. These are reason enough to be cautious but Cambodia must not handicap itself from self defense. Every nation on Earth has the right to self defense.
Cambodia has to raise our border troops spirits and equip them with better weapons to do their jobs. They must be train and equip better. Their living must be improve so they can do their jobs. Hun Sen must take hand those cuffs off those troops to better defense their territories. Cambodia is not as weak as we are been told because our troops had been build up slowly for awhile now. Heavy weapons had been brought in for many years now. The problems are that the CPP governments are too concern protecting their powers by keeping those better equip and trains troops around Cambodia major towns not at the border areas where they should be kept.
Youn had a weakness also because of South China sea disputed with the world 2nd superpowers China. Youn had told the world that they are victims of a bigger powerful country but they didn't tell the world that they themselves are a major criminals on smaller neighbors Cambodia & Laos. This don't look good on them if Hun Sen decided to tell the UN of Youn are doing. Our Khmer govt. must decide.
Cambodia has a very powerful friend People Republic of China. China in 2015 now are not anything like China in the 60's, 70's when they are close to Pol Pot. China is now the world 2nd superpowers. Cambodia does has a strong backbones all it take is the wills of Hun Sen government requests helps. Don't forget 1991 Paris Peace Accords agreements.
Now most of our populations are youths and they don't owe these Youn anything like their pathetic parents. Face book, Yahoo, Google internet, radio, CNN, BBC, local tv
are powers. Cambodian no matter their ethnics must make a stand to bullies and thieves before we got no home to stay. If a bully start hitting you must fight back even if you know you might loose. At least the bully will also get a bloodied nose.
Mam 93 year old, look like you are busy to stand your ground and take care about dignity word and protect your enemy than the real daunting problem of your people face in this country now .
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