Authorities have promised to crack down on a five-day Khmer Krom protest due to start this morning outside the Vietnamese Embassy and move to Freedom Park on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The groups are going ahead with their plans despite only having obtained permission from City Hall for a one-day protest at Freedom Park on Tuesday.

“We are still going ahead with our protest plan because until now we did not see or receive any official letter from the Ministry of Interior yet,” said Thach Setha, executive director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community organisation.

“According to our plan, there will be about 2000 people attending the protest.”

Activists continue to demand an apology from Vietnam related to controversial comments made by an embassy spokesman – who has since been removed – in June about the former Kampuchea Krom provinces in the Mekong delta.

City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said that the municipality had only granted permission for one day of protest at Freedom Park because the space had been requested by other groups today, tomorrow and Monday.

“If he is going to hold the protest tomorrow in front of the Vietnamese Embassy it will be considered that he is breaking the law and the government will take action,” Dimanche said.