Click here to download the latest report by the USCIRF Below is an extract from report regarding to Khmer Krom issues: The Vietnamese government‘s ongoing repression of the language, culture, and religion of ethnic Khmer living in Vietnam has led to growing resentment. Khmer Buddhism is associated with Theravada branch of Buddhism and has religious and ethnic traditions distinct from the dominant Mahayana Buddhist tradition practiced in most places of Vietnam. Some Khmer Buddhists have called for a separate religious organization, distinct from the government-approved Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha (VBS). Religious freedom concerns continue to be central to demands of ethnic minority Khmer for human rights protections and preservation of their unique language and culture. There are as many as one million ethnic minority Khmer Buddhists in Vietnam, centered in the Mekong Delta region. Long simmering tensions emerged there in 2006 and 2007, as Khmer Buddhist monks peacefully started to protest government restrictions on their freedom of religion and movement and Khmer language training. On January 19, 2007, according to Human Rights Watch, Buddhist monks in Tra Vinh province protested the arrest of a monk for possessing a publication from an overseas Khmer advocacy group. The protesting monks were interrogated and accused of allegedly separatist activities, and three monks were detained in their pagodas for three months and later defrocked. In February 2007, more than 200 monks staged a peaceful demonstration in Soc Trang province protesting the government‘s restriction on the number of days allowed for certain Khmer religious festivals and calling on the government to allow Khmer Buddhist leaders—not government appointees—to make decisions regarding the ordinations of monks and the content of religious studies at pagoda schools. The protestors also called for more education in Khmer language and culture. Provincial officials initially promised to address the monk‘s concerns, but several days later, monks suspected of leading the protest were arrested and some reportedly beaten during interrogations. At least 20 monks were defrocked and expelled from their pagodas, and five monks sentenced to between two and four years in prison. Defrocked monks were sent home to their villages were they were placed under house arrest or police detention. As mentioned above, in January 2009, the five Khmer monks were released from prison, but they were not allowed to return to the monkhood. After the 2007 demonstrations in Tra Vinh and Soc Trang, provincial officials and police expanded surveillance and restrictions on Khmer Buddhists religious activity and pressured Khmer Buddhist leaders to identify and defrock monks critical of the government. In July 2007, the Vietnamese government arrested Tim Sarkhorn, a Cambodian Khmer Buddhist monk on charges of ―illegally crossing the border.‖ Sarkhorn was released in November 2008 but placed under house arrest. He has since reportedly been allowed to return to Cambodia and is seeking asylum.
