Khmer Krom in Europe Demand Vietnamese Apology over Kampuchea Krom
On Friday 1 August 2014, Khmer Krom diaspora from across France gathered in Paris, in the vicinity of the Vietnamese embassy, to protest against a recent statement by the spokesperson for the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia. In July 2014, the said spokesperson, Tran Van Thong, claimed that the former Kampuchea Krom provinces belonged to Vietnam long before France’s official transfer of the land in 1949 – a claim that has created a wave of reactions and protests among Khmer Krom people around the world.
Upon invitation by the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF), a member of UNPO since 2001, UNPO partook in the demonstration in solidarity with the Khmer Krom people. Following three hours of peaceful manifestation, the Khmer Krom protestors had planned to hand over a list of demands, including an apology on behalf of Tran Van Thong for twisting the history of Kampuchea Krom, to the Vietnamese embassy in Paris. Not surprisingly, the embassy refused to receive the petition.
Similar peaceful protests in Phnom Penh in July of this year resulted in excessive use of force by local security forces. Already then it was reported that the Vietnamese government would not consider petitions or protests and that Tran Van Thong intended to maintain his position of not issuing an apology.
Vietnam continues to refuse recognition of the Khmer Krom as indigenous to the Mekong Delta, and consequently the Khmer Krom keep suffereing from religious, linguistic and socio-economic inequalities, as well as from a lack of political representation. Khmer Krom human rights publications are banned, while the practice of Theravada Buddhism – the foundation of the distinct culture and ethnic identity of the Khmer Krom – is being strictly controlled by the Vietnamese government.
