One Khmer-Krom Jailed as Vietnamese Authorities Ban Protests

According to a recent report by the Khmer program of Radio Free Asia, a Khmer-Krom man has been captured by Vietnamese authorities on the 28th of December 2006 for organizing a non-violent protest against land redistribution.

Coming forward as the leader of initiating the protest, Mr. Huynh Ba is currently held in police custody at the province of Khleang [renamed Soc Trang]. Mr. Huynh led a group of Khmer-Krom people to request for the return of their lands that were unjustly given to the Vietnamese people.

This non-violent protest was initiated to request the help of the Vietnamese authorities to correct the wrong doings of stealing their [Khmer-Krom] lands and redistributing to their ethnic Vietnamese people without permission of the Khmer-Krom indigenous peoples of the Mekong Delta.

Since the Vietnam War in 1975, thousands of Khmer-Krom people have lost their ancestral lands under various land redistribution policies implemented by the communist Vietnamese government.

According to Mr. Huynh, he had filed a complaint about this illegal land grabbing twelve years ago but until now nothing has been done.

Just one of many frustrated Khmer-Krom families finding themselves victims of an ineffective system of resolving conflicts such as these land grabbing incidents, Mr. Huynh decided to stage a peaceful demonstration in order to get attention.

However, the protest was stopped when local Vietnamese authorities arrived at the home of Mr. Huynh and silenced him with threats of imprisonment. He was then taken to the local police station and subjected to further intense questioning.

“They have not solved this land grabbing issue and I am captured!” says Mr. Huynh in his interview with RFA.

While these land grabbing incidents may appear to be trivial in the eyes of the Vietnamese authorities, it has affected the Khmer-Krom people in profound way, playing a significant role in elevating the poverty rates already found amongst these indigenous peoples of the Mekong Delta region.

Many have been rendered homeless and jobless as quick fix responses by Vietnamese authorities such as relocation has failed to secure appropriate livelihood for these desperate and hungry Khmer-Krom people.

Lack of long term investment and solutions into improving the lives of the Khmer-Krom people have seen increasing cases of Khmer-Krom people protesting across the provinces of the Mekong Delta in recent months.

In a separate case, a Khmer-Krom woman has told RFA about a similar case also happening in Mouth Chrouk [An Giang] where a peaceful protest was to be held but was stalled by Vietnamese authorities.

According to the report, a couple of hundred families were preparing to initiate a peaceful protest after being frustrated with a lack of help from local police in dealing with these land grabbing incidents.

They were hardly out of their houses when roads and access pointed were closed off by the local police. The protesters effectively stopped and dispersed.

Another report has also revealed that a group of twenty Khmer-Krom people have narrowly escaped capture by local Vietnamese authorities in Khleang by fleeing to a organization representing all ethnic living in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.

While the organization has accepted temporary refuge for these fleeing Khmer-Krom protesters, their fates and that of Mr. Huynh Ba for taking part in this non-violent protest remains unknown.

Source: Radio Free Asia l Listen to Radio Free Asia Report in Khmer