1. religion and spirituality
2. buddhism

Joint Statement
For Asean People Froum/Asean Civil Society Conference (APF/ACSC)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
21-24 April, 2015
Khmer Kampuchea Krom Secretariat (KKKS) is a coalition of 11 Khmer Kampuchea Krom
Association/Organization members: Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development
Association (KKKHRDA), Friendship Khmer Kampuchea Krom Association (FKKKA), Khmer Kampuchea
Krom Buddhist Monk Association (KKKBMA), Union Khmer Kampuchea Krom Buddhist Students
(UKKKBS), Khmer Kampuchea Krom Cultural Center in Cambodia (KKKCCC), Khmer Kampuchea Krom
Community (KKKC), Khmer Kampuchea Krom Women Organization (KKKWO), Khmer Kampuchea Krom
and Development Association (KKKDA), Khmer for the Poor Fund (KPF), Khmer Kampuchea Krom Youth
Network (KKKYN), and Prey Nokor News (PKN).
Although all the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Organizations/Associations in Cambodia have their own policies
and goals, there has been cooperation whenever possible to speak with one voice. The main purpose of the
KKKS is to gather all Khmer Kampuchea Krom Associations/Organizations to work together towards a shared
vision of seeking freedom for Khmer-Krom people, who are victims of human rights abuses, currently living
in the Kingdom of Cambodia and Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam).
Kampuchea Krom means "Cambodia Below" or "South Cambodia." "Krom" in Khmer also indicates
"Southern." The Khmer-Krom describes themselves as the ”Cambodians of the South.” Kampuchea Krom was
the southernmost territory of the Khmer Kingdom. Once known as (French) Cochin China, it is now located
in the South-western part of Vietnam, covering an area of 89,865 km2 with Cambodia to the north, the Gulf
of Siam to the west, the South China Sea to the south, and the Champa's territory to the northeast. Prey Nokor,
later renamed to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, was one of the most important commercial cities in Kampuchea
Krom.
The Khmer-Krom people have inhabited the south-western part of the Indochinese peninsula since 2000 BC.
The famous ‘Khmer Empire’ rose to prominence in the 9th century and began to decline in the 13th century.
Ever since the 1600s the Khmer have struggled with their Vietnamese neighbors, and since 1949 their
territory had been handed over to Vietnamese administration by France, much to the detriment of the
Khmer-Krom. Today they are denied the right to freely practice their religion and pass on their culture, and
are treated as second-class citizens. The mission of the Khmer-Krom Coalition is to seeking for freedom,
justice, and the right to self-determination for the Khmer-Krom people who are living under the oppression
of the Vietnamese Socialist government, through the use of non-violent measures and the application of
international law.
Over the past few years, we, the working group of the KKKS, have monitored the living conditions of the
Khmer Kampuchea Krom people both in Cambodia and Vietnam. The Khmer-Krom people continue to
suffer with oppression and harassment when trying to exercise their rights to religious beliefs and practices,
and the rights to freedom of expression and access to information are muffled. Their freedom of movement
is closely controlled and restricted. All of these rights are the responsibility of the Vietnamese and Cambodian
governments to respect and uphold. We briefly describe some of the major violations below.
In Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam)
On 28 March 2013, at the Tuek Sap commune, Chroy Nhor district, Khleang province, Vietnamese called
(Xã Lai Hòa, Huyện Vĩnh Châu, Tỉnh Sóc Trăng). Vietnamese authorities accused the monks in the Prey
Chop temple and the abbot Venerable Ly Chenda of having connections with the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom
Federation (KKF) and other Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Associations abroad.
On May 16, 2013, an event occurred at Prey Chop temple in Lai Hoa commune, Vinh Chau district, Soc
Trang province. Police had fenced off the temple and arrested Abbot Venerable Ly Chenda along with 2
other monks and 2 of the Buddhist temple committee members. The police brutally defrocked the monks and
held them in custody. Upon his release, Venerable Ly Chenda was having difficulty remaining conscious and
had foam coming out of his mouth, signs indicating he had been drugged and tortured by the police. That
same day, the police assaulted 5 older women because they had tried to protect monks. The police beat the
women to the point of unconsciousness. On May 17, 2013, Venerable Ly Chenda was forced to confess on
Vietnamese television to alleged crimes that he did not commit. Under threat of further abuse and oppression
by Vietnamese authorities, venerable Ly Chanh Da was forced to flee Vietnam and seek refugee status in
Bangkok, Thailand, on June 17, 2013.
On 17 May 2013, at 8:00 pm, hundreds of Vietnamese police surrounded the Serey Tasek temple with the
intent of defrocking Venerable Lieu Ny and Venerable Thach Thoul. Venerable Thach Thoul and Venerable
Lieu Ny sought shelter at Serey Tasek temple in fear of arrest and torture by the Vietnamese authorities as
they were aware of what happened to Venerable Ly Chanh Da. Venerable Thach Thoul and Venerable Lieu
Ny accompanied by two temple members, Thach Phumirith and Tra Van Tha, were forced to flee to
Cambodia. On 18 May 2013, at the border of Cambodia-Vietnam (Chrey Thom-Long Binh), they were
arrested by the Vietnamese border authorities. The border authorities also arrested many other Buddhist
monks and others under accusations of leaking information about human rights abuses to the media and
abroad.
On July 1, 2013, Venerable Lai Lat, who was an Abbot of Don Tru Temple in Vinh Chau district, Soc Trang
province, was forced to flee to Cambodia because the Vietnamese government accused him of having contact
with Venerable Ly Chanh Da, Venerable Thach Thuol, and Venerable Lieu Ny.
On September 26, 2013, the Vietnamese authority arrested Khmer-Krom Buddhist followers who came to
support Venerable Ly Chanh Da protesting his defrocking by Vietnamese police that occurred on May 16,
2013. The following protesters were sentenced up to a year for the alleged crime of causing “public
disorder”:
Lam.1Thi Loan – Born 1957 - 1 year prison.
.2 Danh – Born 1970 - 1 year prison.
Ly Thi
.3
Ly Minh
Hai – Born 1978 – 11 months prison.
Tang.4 Phola – Born 1976 – 10 months prison
On September 27, 2013, Venerable Lieu Ny and Venerable Thach Thuol and their two students, Tra Quanh
Tha and Thach Phum Rich, were sentenced 2 to 6 years for the alleged crime of “fleeing abroad to oppose the
Vietnamese government” and “helping other people flee abroad”:
Venerable
.i
Thach Thuol, Born 1985, 6 years prison.
Venerable
.ii Lieu Ny, Born 1986, 4 years prison.
Thach.iii
Phum Rich, Born 1989, 3 years prison.
Tra Quanh
.iv Tha, Born 1978, 2 years prison.
On February 11, 2013, Venerable Sieng Sovanna, who is the Abbot of Samaki Rainsey temple and Vice
President of the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Buddhist Monk Association located in Phum Trea, Sangkhat
Stung Meancheay, Khan Meanchey, Phnom Penh Cambodia, took a trip to his homeland in
Kampuchea-Krom to visit relatives. A day after he arrived, more than 10 Vietnamese police officers came to
invite him to meet in the village of Hòa Khởi commune of Hòa Đông Vinh Chau district, Soc Trang
province. There, he was interrogated for 3 and a half hours from 8-11:30 am. Vietnamese Police treated him
like a prisoner and forced him to confess to being behind the event that occurred at the Australian Embassy in
Cambodia on January 30, 2013, where Khmer-Krom activists reported human rights violations committed by
the Vietnamese Government. Furthermore, the police interrogated him about the activities of the Khmer
Kampuchea Krom Association in Cambodia and abroad.
Venerable Sieng Sovanara’s time in Kampuchea Krom was under constant surveillance monitoring by
Vietnamese police. His movement within Kampuchea-Krom was severely restricted. He had to agree to these
stipulations in order to be allowed to visit his homeland.
On April 12, 2013, Mr. Ly Chhuon, the Editor-in-Chief of the Prey Nokor News magazine in Cambodia, his
wife and his daughter left Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to visit his relatives in his homeland of Kampuchea-Krom
(Mekong Delta) to celebrate Cambodian New Year. When Mr. Ly Chhuon and his family arrived at the
border of Cambodia and Vietnam, they were refused entry into Vietnam and the customs officers detained,
searched, and interrogated them.
There are many cases in which Khmer-Krom living abroad have been refused entry into Vietnam to visit their
families despite having appropriate travel visas. Some were allowed entry into Vietnam but only after
enduring interrogations, threats, and intimidation tactics by the Vietnamese police. There are also cases where
Vietnamese police have confiscated passports of Khmer-Krom visitors and forced them to spy on and report
the activities of Khmer-Krom activists.
From October 14th to the 28th in 2015, five Buddhist monks at Samaki Rainsy temple led a group of
Buddhist laymen and students from Cambodia in holding the Kathina traditional Buddhism ceremony at
Kveng Thotung village, Kveng Thotung commune, Khleang Moeung district, Kromuon Sar province,
Kampuchea Krom, known in Vietnamese as ấp Minh Hưng, xã Minh Hòa, huyện Châu Thành, tỉnh Kiên
Giang. However, local Vietnamese authorities stopped the group of Buddhist monks, students, and laypeople
from holding the traditional ceremony. On 28 October 2014 at 8 am, upon returning to Cambodia through
the border of Cambodia and Vietnam, at the gates of Prek Chak-Xa Xia (Kompot-Ha Tien), unidentified
civilian police confronted the group of Buddhist monks, students, and laypeople and questioned them.
Afterwards, the police arrested the group, subjected them to torture, and confiscated properties such as:
Mobile
.i Phone Samsung Galaxy 06
Mobile
.iiPhone iPhone 02
1,500,000
.iii VND (one million five hundred thousand Dong equal to seventy-five dollars US) and
another
$300 US (three hundred American dollars).
In the Kingdom of Cambodia
On January 2, 2014, in front of the Yak Jing factory near Phnom Penh’s Special Economic Zone, hundreds
of Cambodian garment factory workers went on a non-violent strike to demand monthly minimum wage
increase of $160. The workers had the support of thousands of ordinary people, workers, as well as monks
including who joined them to help call for justice for the workers. Among those were Khmer-Krom monks
from Samaki Raingsey temple from Meanchey district, Phnom Penh.
The Cambodian authorities’ crackdown on the strike included serious abuses to 5 Khmer-Krom monks from
Samaki Raingsey temple. Venerable Thach Hasamang, Venerable Lai Lat, Venerable Thach Saray, Venerable
Meas Vichet, and Venerable Kim Chanthorn were severely beaten and tortured by military force. They were
taken to the barracks parachute 911 and held for 13 hours where they suffered more torture. The military
force used batons and pipes to beat the monks before defrocking them.
Venerable Thach Duong, a Khmer-Krom Buddhist monk at Ta Prohm Stung Meanchey temple, Meanchhey
village, Meanchey district, Phnom Penh, was badly beaten by the security forces in Phnom Penh. On 4
January, 2014, hundreds of Cambodian authorities descended upon the protesters and monks in Freedom
Park who were calling for a re-election in Cambodia. The crackdown led to Venerable Thach Duong
suffering serious injuries to his leg and body.
Journalists were also targeted during the Freedom Park strike. Specifically, while reporting with Cambodian
and international journalists, a Khmer-Krom journalist from Prey Nokor News, Son Cheng Chon, was beaten
by the Khan Daun Penh security forces who also confiscated his $1,200 USD Canon 600D camera.
On 11 November 2014, the authorities arrested a Khmer-Krom Buddhist monk, Venerable Son Hai, when he
publicly called for the release of the imprisoned Boeung Kok Lake community members. After being beaten,
Venerable Son Hai was defrocked and sentenced to one year in prison. The day after, two additional
Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks, Venerable Thach Sang and Venerable Khit Vanak, were also arrested and
defrocked. They were punished for advocating for the land rights of a community near the temple of Samaki
Raingsey in Preah Vihear province. Currently, all three monks remain in prison.
The Samaki Raingsey temple (or Khmer-Krom temple) in Phnom Penh was built by the Khmer-Krom people
in 1997 and functions as a sanctuary for victims of land confiscations. The temple’s monks are mostly from
Kampuchea Krom who work with other Buddhist monks and ethnocultural communities to advocate for
freedom and an end to land confiscations and human rights violations. In 2013, the monks participated in
demonstrations and strikes calling for new elections, for the government of Cambodia intervention on the
behalf of dispossessed victims, and for all official records related to land seizures to be released. The monks
also participated in a rally in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh to demand an apology from
the embassy’s representative, Tran Van Thong, for distorting Kampuchea Krom history.
On 12 January 2015, a Khmer-Krom monk, Venerable Thach Khan, was stabbed in Samaki Raingsey temple
at Trea 2 village, Stung Meanchhey commune, Meanchhey district, Phnom Penh. Due to the severity of his
injuries, the monk died while being transferred to hospital. The KKKS believes this murder was politically
motivated.
​After the murder of Venerable Thach Khan, a Phnom Penh Deputy Governor, Mr. Khuong Sreng, came to
inspect Samaki Raingsey temple on 10 February 2015 accompanied by 50 police. The reason given for the
inspection was to examine the condition of the shelters provided for dispossessed victims within the temple
and to ascertain if the monks were legitimately providing care for them. Since this time, the temple has been
under constant surveillance. The monks and victims dwelling inside report that they are harassed regularly by
the police and feel that they are treated as criminal or terrorists.​ This unlawful and immoral surveillance and
harassment continues even though Samaki Raingsey temple is recognized by local authorities and was
authorized by the former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk to be a temple and headquarters of the Khmer
Kampuchea Krom Buddhist Monk Association (KKKBMA). The actions committed by the Ministry of
Religions and other Cambodian authorities are unlawful and outside their jurisdictions.
On 17 March 2015, five Khmer Kampuchea Krom Buddhist monks at Samaki Raingsey temple were
summoned to the Municipal Court to answer accusations that they orchestrated violence and defamed the
public authorities. These monks are Venerable Thach Hasamang, the deputy abbot of this temple; Venerable
Lieu Noeu, Venerable Lieu Nen, Venerable Thach Vanna, and Venerable Thach Den. The KKKS believe that
these charges are politically motivated and being used for the purposes of harassment.
On behalf of Khmer-Krom people, we the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Secretariat in Cambodia urgently appeal
to the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia,​ the Human Rights committee of the United Nations,
diplomatic embassies in Cambodia and Vietnam, national and international human rights organizations, and
ASEAN leaders to intervene and protect the Khmer-Krom indigenous people who have been facing grievous
violations of their rights by the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments.
Recommendation for the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Stop.1the spread of misinformation and discrimination against the Khmer-Krom. Encourage
local residents and government authorities at all levels to learn more about the culture and
customs of the Khmer-Krom.
Work
.2 closely with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to protect the rights and safety of the
indigenous Khmer-Krom people and stop further human rights violations.
Welcome
.3
the Khmer-Krom people in Cambodia and acknowledge them as active contributors
to society.
Stop.4restricting the Khmer-Krom people’s rights to freedom of assembly and expression.
The Recommendation for the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
The.5
Vietnamese authorities must cease intimidation tactics against the Khmer-Krom.
Vietnamese
.6
authorities must recognize and respect the rights of the people ratified in the
constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The.7Vietnamese authorities must stop unlawfully detaining Khmer-Krom people for
interrogation, stop monitoring and surveillance of Khmer-Krom people, and stop threatening
Khmer-Krom people who travel to and from their homeland of Kampuchea Krom.
The.8Vietnamese authorities must stop restricting the movement of Khmer-Krom people in
their homeland of Kampuchea Krom and stop the harassment phone calls demanding to know
their whereabouts and their plans for leaving Vietnam.
The.9Vietnamese government must stop interfering with the internal affairs and work of the
Khmer-Krom Buddhist monasteries.
The.10
Vietnamese government must respect fully the rights of Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks
and Khmer-Krom children to learn their heritage, mother language, geography, and history
without any interference.
Respect
.11 the rights of the Khmer-Krom, who have been positive contributors to Vietnamese
society, to practice their traditions and customs without interference from the Vietnamese
government.
The Recommendation for the United Nations, National and International Organizations and the State
of the Asian Members
We .12
implore national and international organizations make human rights a priority, with
compassion and empathy, and intervene in support of the indigenous Khmer-Krom people.
We request
.13
country donors please promote and support the implementation of human rights in
Vietnam and pressure the Vietnamese government to respect human rights to the fullest.
We .14
implore the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international
organizations to send representatives to Vietnam to investigate and monitor human rights
issues in Vietnam.
We .15
recommend the State of Asian members to encourage the Government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam to respect and uphold human rights and allow NGOs working in the field
of human rights to operate unimpeded in Vietnam.
Capital of Phnom Penh, 20 April, 2015
Khmer Kampuchea Krom Oganizations/Association in Cambodia.
Any Information Please Contact:
Mr. Thach Len
​
​(855) 11 451 617
Mr. Son Chum Chuon
​(855) 11 724 583
Venerable Thach Thaovry
​(855) 10 253 990
Page 4