Khmer Krom: Vietnam Embassy Protest Portrayed As Extremist Act
Vietnam condemned the Khmer Krom protest that took place earlier this week in front of the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia, claiming it was an extremist act that strains the relationship between the two countries. The protesters however pledge to organize an even bigger peaceful demonstration if the Vietnamese diplomat doesn’t apologise for his unfortunate statement.
Below is an article published by Globalpost:
HANOI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam asks Cambodian government to take effective measures to "prevent wrongdoings" by protesters in front of Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia, a Vietnamese official said on Thursday [10 July 2014].
At a regular press conference in capital Hanoi on Thursday, Le Hai Binh, spokesperson of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the protest held by what he called "some extremists" in Cambodia in front of Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Phenh is wrongful, disrupting the order and running counter to the good traditional neighboring friendly relations between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Vietnam on Tuesday [8 July 2014] strongly condemned ethnic minority Khmer Krom for holding an anti-Vietnam rally after a Vietnamese diplomat said the former Kampuchea Krom provinces belonged to Vietnam long before France's official transfer of the land in 1949.
"Vietnam vehemently condemns any fabrication, distortion, slander, legally-groundless opposition by any organization or individual against the unity and territorial integrity of Vietnam, " the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh said in a statement.
"Southern Vietnam (Kampuchea Krom) is an integral part of the territory of Vietnam, in compliance with international law, fully recognized by the United Nations, international organizations and all countries in the world," said the statement.
The statement came after more than 100 Khmer Krom monks and supporters tried to hold a protest in front of the Vietnamese Embassy on Monivong Boulevard in Phnom Penh on Tuesday [8 July 2014] to demand an apology from Trung Van Thong, a spokesman for the embassy, who told local media last month that the former Kampuchea Krom provinces belonged to Vietnam long before France's official transfer of the land in 1949.
Tuesday's rally was organized by the Federation of Cambodian Intellectuals and Students and the International Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation.
"Our protest is to demand apology from Trung Van Thong for his slandered remarks," Mao Pises, president of the Federation of Cambodian Intellectuals and Students, told reporters at the venue, "This is just the start if the Vietnamese Embassy spokesman does not publicly apologize for his remarks within three months, we will organize a bigger protest in the future."
