[Vietnamization: "Yuon"] Sam Rainsy: The Cambodian democratic opposition has no anti-Vietnamese sentiment and allegations to the contrary are ill-founded and unfair

៥ មេសា ២០១៨ / 05 April 2018

ការកែតម្រូវ អំពីការចោទប្រកាន់ រើសអើងពូជសាសន៍ / Clarification on racist allegations

THE CAMBODIAN DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION HAS NO ANTI-VIETNAMESE SENTIMENT AND ALLEGATIONS TO THE CONTRARY ARE ILL-FOUNDED AND UNFAIR

Most of the documents justifying the above assertion can be found on this website https://tinyurl.com/yacqoyce. They can be summarised as follows:

SUMMARY

There is an enduring foreign-entertained allegation of racism, more precisely of anti-Vietnamese sentiment, against the Cambodian democratic opposition represented by the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) led by Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha.

This allegation -- which is noticeably not made by Cambodian people -- stems from ignorance of the Khmer history, culture and language on the part of some Western observers, who then become prone to misjudgement or vulnerable to political manipulation.

Strangely enough, the whole allegation starts with -- and revolves around -- one single word: the term "Yuon" as used by opposition politicians and countless other Cambodians to mean "Vietnamese" (1).

Intriguingly enough, some Western observers pretend -- and have convinced a number of their colleagues -- that this term "Yuon" is offensive, derogatory and has a racist connotation. This has led to the publication of simplistic, sensational and repetitive reports on Cambodian politics actually built on the continuous misinterpretation of the word "Yuon."

In the same way as Thai people, before colonisation of the region, were known as Siamese, the Vietnamese were referred to in Cambodia as “Yuon”. The Khmer people have been using this word for centuries to just mean "Vietnamese,” which is a recently created word known in Cambodia only after the end of French colonial rule in 1953. The semantical controversy and the resulting allegation of racism created by some Westerners results from their misunderstanding of an old Khmer word as well as their inability to make the nuanced difference between political correctness and genuine civility. Please read explanations in three texts respectively titled "Yuon: What’s in a xenonym?" (2), "The word ”Yuon” and its origins" (3) and “Claim That ‘Yuon’ Is a Racist Term Should Be Put to Rest” (4).

In the late 1970s the ultra nationalist and anti-Vietnamese Khmer Rouge hijacked the century-old neutral word “Yuon” by giving it a negative meaning. In reaction, under the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia from 1979 to 1989, the word “Yuon” was virtually banned. Nowadays, given Vietnam’s lingering political influence, the word still faces a subtle political restriction in its usage when one speaks publicly. But many people, in a natural way, use “Yuon” and “Vietnamese” interchangeably.

Ironically enough, the government-applauded anti-Vietnamese allegation against the opposition took an unexpected turn when government spokesman Phay Siphan alleged that my mother was Vietnamese and attributed my “bad” behaviour to my being of Vietnamese descent. Hun Sen did nothing to disapprove his spokesman but I decided to set the record straight through a letter in The Cambodia Daily: "I would like to say to all government propagandists that even if my mother were Vietnamese there would be nothing wrong with it. Let’s be clear on this point: I am not against -- and all Cambodians should not oppose -- the Vietnamese just because they are Vietnamese. We should only oppose any expansionist policy conducted by any Vietnamese government (or any government of any country) at any point of time. I have been sometimes falsely and unfairly accused of having a racist inclination towards the Vietnamese people only because of my firmly defending the legitimate interests of the Cambodian people against a neighbouring country that does not respect them on many occasions. But what government spokesman Phay Siphan says or implies, i.e. that having Vietnamese blood in one’s veins is a liability, shows a really racist mindset and attitude" (5).

Beyond the ill-founded anti-Vietnamese allegation based on the use of a single word that is subject to misinterpretation, it appears more appropriate -- before making any judgement -- to examine the unambiguously stated position of the Cambodian opposition on concrete issues involving ethnic minorities.

Concerning the presence of the Vietnamese ethnic minority in Cambodia, how can I be "anti-Vietnamese" when a report in The Phnom Penh Post points out in its title that Sam "Rainsy courts Vietnamese"? (6). In the report I am quoted as saying, "While many Cambodians are fearful and suspicious of Vietnam due to historical grievances, a feeling hastily, unfairly and inaccurately attributed to racism by many foreigners, the CNRP would work to educate the public to respect ethnic Vietnamese citizens. We will educate Cambodian people as a whole to respect those [Vietnamese] people . . . Those who were wrongly considered as foreigners. We must educate Khmer people, these are Khmer citizens as you and I and we must respect their rights and grant them Cambodian citizenship."

Ironically enough, the anti-Vietnamese allegation has recently changed sides, with Prime Minister Hun Sen accusing Sam Rainsy of “treason” for promising Cambodian citizenship to Vietnamese residents born in Cambodia (see above paragraph). Asia Times attributes to Hun Sen "the [recent] harassment and deportation of Vietnamese citizens from Cambodia, some of whom had been living in the country for generations" (7). Furthermore, an ultra-nationalist Hun Sen accuses Sam Rainsy of “treason” when it comes to dealing with issues involving Vietnam. The Phnom Penh Post titles an article "Hun Sen questions Vietnam’s loyalty, accuses Sam Rainsy of treason," and specifies, "[Hun Sen] said [Sam] Rainsy, the former president of the now-dissolved CNRP, pledged citizenship to ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia, a position with which he [Hun Sen] professed to disagree" (8).

On the international scene the CNRP was the only political party in Cambodia to protest against the violation of human rights of ethnic minorities from neighbouring countries, such as the forceful repatriation by the Hun Sen government of asylum seekers from Vietnam (Montagnards from the Central Highlands) and China (Uyghurs from Xinjiang) (9), (10), (11) and (12).

Sam Rainsy was also among the first voices from Asia to condemn the inhuman treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma (a Buddhist country like Cambodia) and to call on Burmese leaders to respect Buddhist precepts of tolerance and compassion towards all living creatures, starting with human beings (13).

I therefore urge all Western observers not to fall into oversimplification and sensationalism when analysing Cambodian politics. They should first read this clarification before unprofessionally and unfairly repeating -- in a closed circle -- groundless allegations of xenophobia or racism they have heard some ignorant or ill-intended people professing against the CNRP and its leaders.

Sam Rainsy

Former President of the CNRP

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(1) Standard Khmer dictionaries continue to define "Yuon" as simply meaning “Vietnamese”. https://tinyurl.com/y82rjpku

(2) "Yuon: What’s in a xenonym?". https://tinyurl.com/ycvkd8c3

(3) "The word ‘yuon’ and its origins". https://tinyurl.com/y9xczhoj

(4) “Claim That ‘Yuon’ Is a Racist Term Should Be Put to Rest”.https://tinyurl.com/yc4n3at6

(5) "Defending Border Work, Gov’t Spokesman Shows Real Racism".https://tinyurl.com/y78meboy

(6) "Rainsy courts Vietnamese". https://tinyurl.com/yb5u8gbz

(7) "Hun Sen willing to risk losing his oldest ally". http://www.atimes.com/…/hun-sen-willing-risk-losing-oldest…/

(8) "PM Hun Sen questions Vietnam’s loyalty, accuses Sam Rainsy of treason". https://tinyurl.com/yaw6aphv

(9) "Degar-Montagnards: SRP Against Government’s Decision on Asylum Seekers". https://tinyurl.com/y9ugf5j5

(10) "Montagnard Arrested, Deported to Vietnam".https://tinyurl.com/y9nlas35

(11) "Cambodia treatment of Montagnards fleeing from Vietnam is tragic and inhuman". https://tinyurl.com/yajuc5l2

(12) "More China Aid to Cambodia". https://tinyurl.com/ybce4fml

(13) "Rohingya crisis: Cambodian opposition leader in exile Sam Rainsy calls for ‘restraint’". https://tinyurl.com/ycvfaluc

សម រង្ស៊ី / Sam Rainsy

www.facebook.com/rainsy.sam.5