Khmer Krom

THE Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation has condemned the reported arrest of an ethnic Khmer abbot in southern Vietnam last month, while decrying the treatment of the country’s Khmer minority. According to a statement issued by the organisation on Wednesday, Thach Sophon was arrested by Vietnamese police on July 29, and his current location is unknown.

“This is only one instance of the many human rights violations carried out by the Vietnamese government,” UNPO General Secretary Marino Busdachin was quoted as saying. The statement called on the Vietnamese government to release Thach Sophon and “allow members of the Khmer Krom minority and other ethnic minorities and religious communities to voice their opinions freely”.

In an August 23 statement, the local Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community also slammed the arrest of Thach Sophon, calling for the Cambodian government to intervene on his behalf.

“We would like to appeal to the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia and both national and international organisations to legally intervene,” it said.