Vietnam intensifies repression of Khmer Krom, activists say

Authorities in southern Vietnam have stepped-up harassment of activists from the ethnic Cambodian Khmer Krom community who are trying to promote the rights of the indigenous people, according to representatives.

Nearly 1.3 million Khmer Krom live in the south. They face serious restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, movement and religion, community members say.

Relatives of a 35-year-old Khmer Krom activist called Trieu Sieu told Radio Free Asia the Immigration Management Department of Soc Trang provincial police refused to issue a passport to him.

The deputy head of the department, Lt. Col. Thanh Hoa, said in a letter on May 24 that Trieu Sieu is banned from leaving the country between Aug. 1, 2023 and Aug. 1, 2026.

He said Trieu Sieu  could not get a passport until he was removed from an exit ban list.

“The only reason Trieu Sieu is banned from leaving the country is due to his activities fighting for the rights of the local Khmer people,” said a relative who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. 

“He participated in disseminating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples along with many other human rights activists,” the relative said.

At the end of January 2023, Trieu Sieu was invited to Trung Binh Commune Police to discuss "a number of issues related to online activities on Facebook when sharing information about repression of the Khmer people.”

On a Facebook page of Hieu Khmer Krom, believed to linked to Trieu Sieu, there is a picture of him standing with activist Danh Minh Quang, who was sentenced to three years and six months in prison in February on a charge of "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals."

RFA Vietnamese contacted Trieu Sieu to ask for more information, but he declined to comment  saying that he was preparing to send a complaint to Soc Trang provincial police department to ask why he was banned from leaving the country.

The Soc Trang provincial police department and the Immigration Management Department declined to answer questions about Trieu Sieu's case over the telephone, saying the reporter should go to the agencies’ headquarters to get information.

Article 36 of the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens 2019 states that cases of delayed exit include people who have grounds to believe that their exit affects national defense and security, or are suspects, defendants, accused persons, or persons recommended for prosecution through inspection and verification. If there are grounds to determine that a person is suspected of committing a crime and it is deemed necessary to immediately prevent that person from escaping or destroying evidence according to the provisions of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code they will be prevented from leaving the country.

Vietnam denies accusations from international human rights groups that it represses religious freedoms and other rights. Freedom of religion is technically enshrined in the constitution but critics say authorities often override rights, including religious freedom, for purposes of national security, social order, social morality and community well-being.

Monk expelled from temple

Another case involves a Buddhist monk called Kim Som Rinh.

On March 26, the Giac Ngo Online newspaper reported that the Patriotic Monks Solidarity Association of the Khmer-Mekone Buddhist Association of Tra Vinh province had decided not to recognize Bhikkhu Kim Som Rinh as a member of the Sangha Chac A Kron Pagoda (Dai Tuong Pagoda); did not recognize him as a member of the Khmer Theravada Buddhist Sangha of Tra Vinh province and expelled him from the temple on March 14. They also asked all 143 Khmer pagodas in the province to refuse to accept him. 

The Buddhist group said Kim Som Rinh refused three times to accept an invitation from the Patriotic Monks' Solidarity Association of Tra Vinh province; posted or shared untrue images and videos on social networking sites with content that caused insecurity and threatened social order; invited monks and Buddhists to participate in his own activities causes disunity in the temple and the community; and is a Bhikkhu – or ordained monk – who is difficult to teach, stubborn and does not comply with the canon law and teachings of the abbot and leaders at all levels of the association.

Kim Som Rinh, now living with his family, confirmed that he was forced to leave the temple. He said it was because he promoted human rights and spoke in support of the victims of  miscarriages of justice, including Khmers whose land was confiscated in Kien Giang. 

“They do not want the monks and activists here to speak about indigenous peoples,” he told RFA Vietnamese.

“They also don't want us to use the words ‘Khmer Krom and the tricolor flag representing the Khmer Krom Federation,” Kampuchea-Krom Khmers Federation or KKF.

“They accuse Khmer activists of many things, and often summon them just because of disseminating the United Nations human rights law and indigenous people's law. They often accuse activists of distorting the truth and disrupting security and order."

Police summon Khmer Krom

On May 27, Cau Ke district police summoned 34-year-old Thach Nga to come to the headquarters to work on issues "related to the use of the organization's 3-color flag …  and posting and sharing false information on social networks."

Three days earlier, Ham Giang commune police sent a fourth letter to Thach Thi Huynh Thone to request her to come to the agency's headquarters the next morning to "discuss about carrying the KKF flag.”

And on May 15, Nhi Truong commune police summoned Thach Pho Reng on "some issues related to social networks."

Even though it was just an "invitation," the commune police chief told Thach Pho Reng "to strictly comply and go on the prescribed date, time, and location, without making any excuse for his absence."

The commune's police also summoned 37-year-old Thach Yen Sa Ray, concerning social media posts.

RFA telephoned  the police in those communes to verify the details but officials asked the reporter to meet them directly to receive the information.

Tran Xa Rong, second vice president of the KKF, told RFA that more Khmer Krom people had been learning about human rights and the rights of indigenous people, so they distributed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations International Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in their communities.

“The local police always monitor and harass every meeting of young people, and every celebration of every temple, and from then on, any young people who have any insight in that matter are always summoned for questioning," he said.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.