Sam Rainsy: Beware of sensationalist reporting!

២៩ សីហា ២០១៤ / 29 August 2014 - Beware of sensationalist reporting!

មានជន បរទេសខ្លះ បំភ្លើសរឿង ថា, ជនជាតិ ខ្មែរ រើសអើង ពូជសាសន៍ ចំពោះ ជនជាតិយួន ដែលរស់នៅ ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា។

លិខិត របស់ខ្ញំុ ចុះផ្សាយ ក្នុងកាសែត The Cambodia Daily កាលពីថ្ងៃ ទី២៦ ខែសីហា កន្លងទៅនេះ   បដិសេធ ការចោទប្រកាន់ បែបនេះ ដែលមិនយល់ អំពី ទឹកចិត្ត ពិតប្រាកដ របស់ ខ្មែរយើង ចំពោះ បរទេស ឈ្លានពាន ទោះ ជាមកពីទិស ខាងណា ក៏ដោយ។

BEWARE OF SENSATIONALIST REPORTING

This is my 24 August 2014 letter to The Cambodia Daily:

Dear Editor,

In your article titled "Researchers Attempt to Ease Racial Tensions" (August 23-24, 2014) you referred to the case of "a Vietnamese man [who] was killed by a mob in Phnom Penh following a traffic accident earlier this year," and you linked the street assassination to the fact that "the victim … was set upon after someone shouted that he was a ‘yuon,’ an often derogatory word meaning Vietnamese".

This linkage in the narration implies that "yuon" is a killing word in Cambodia, a country notoriously known for its Killing Fields. This is an exaggeration and distortion pertaining to simplistic and sensationalist reporting.

Let’s put the record straight.

First, "yuon" is definitely not a killing word judging by the frequency with which it is used in the every day’s language of the Khmer people. If you do a Google search in Khmer language by entering the word "យួន" (meaning "yuon") you will see 188,000 results versus 225,000 for "វៀតណាម" (meaning "Vietnam"), which shows that these two appellations “yuon” and “Vietnam” are actually used interchangeably. For more semantical explanation please go to http://tinyurl.com/l2ey7kr

Second, your article is inaccurate and misleading in that, according to witnesses questioned by the police, the rallying cry for a number of passers-by to set upon the victim was not just the word "yuon," but the whole sentence “yuon are fighting Khmers.”

This clarification is essential in putting the incident back into its context.

Any long-time observer knows that Cambodia is a country characterized by a tradition of violence and impunity. The most trivial dispute can lead to murder, the smallest robbery can result in the immediate death of the alleged thief, and the most unfounded allegation of black magic can lead to the assassination of alleged sorcerers given the tolerance for vigilante justice. Over the last few years, hundreds of Cambodians have lost their lives under such circumstances. In fact, in such a context of violence, the worst could happen anytime anywhere regardless of the ethnic background of the victims.

Besides, any historian knows the centuries-long tension or suspicion between the Khmer (or Cambodian) and the Yuon (or Vietnamese) communities. This history-based tension or suspicion dating back to a bitter colonial past still present in our national memory is similar to the one that could be perceived between Vietnamese and Chinese, Chinese and Japanese, Greeks and Turks, Palestinians and Israelis.

In such an emotional context, the worst could also happen, for instance, in the streets of any city of Palestine or Israel on such a cry as “Jews are fighting Arabs” or “Arabs are fighting Jews,” without anybody being entitled to simplistically accuse of racism those sadly involved in the street violence.

Sincerely,

Sam Rainsy

CNRP President

សម រង្ស៊ី / Sam Rainsy
www.facebook.com/rainsy.sam.5