Khmer Krom look to France
Thach Setha, the president of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom
Community, says he is planning to lead a group to an unlikely
destination: France, the country he accuses of illegally handing over
Kampuchea Krom to the Vietnamese in 1949.
But Setha isn’t interested in touring the Riviera or exploring medieval cathedrals.
Rather, he plans to visit French archives in the hope of obtaining
colonial-era documents that would be used to force Vietnam to apologise
for a spokesman’s remark that southern Vietnam had been Vietnamese – and
not Cambodian – land for many centuries.
At a meeting yesterday, Setha told his supporters that he is acting
on a reply from the French Embassy to a petition the group filed during
demonstrations on October 6.
But now, the time has come for the trip to become a reality, said
Setha, explaining that more than 10 representatives will be selected to
go.
But French Embassy spokesman Nicolas Baudouin said yesterday that the
embassy never indicated that Cambodian representatives should to be
sent to France to investigate the issue.
“We accepted the petition and responded by saying that regarding this
matter, he can very well consult the national overseas archives [in
Aix-en-Provence],” said Baudouin.
“Let me be clear: These archives are open to the public, anyone can
use them. This is not a favour granted to the president of the
association.”
In June, Vietnamese Embassy spokesman Trung Van Thong said in a radio
interview that Vietnam had ruled Kampuchea Krom for a “very long time”.
The comments sparked protests in Phnom Penh led by Setha, which have continued periodically since.
Van Thong was quietly removed from his post in Cambodia in September, but the nation itself has not apologised.
Bon courage à nos compatriotes Khmer Krom!!!
ReplyDeleteEspèrons-nous donc que la France ne nous a pas encore abandonné!!!