Dear Immigrant Officers of Foreign Embassies in Cambodia and Cambodian Community Leaders Abroad: A high profile Khmer-Krom activist, Tim Sakhorn, reported about how he was dramatically arrested, deported from Cambodia to be imprisoned in Vietnam by the monks in Cambodia. On June 30, 2007, Venerable Cheas Om, who was a high-ranking Buddhist monk in Takeo province in Seyha Rattana Ram Temple, called Venerable Tim Sakhorn to visit him. When Venerable Tim Sakhorn arrived at his temple, Venerable Tim Sakhorn saw other Buddhist monks from Phnom Penh waiting for him there. Venerable Sao Chanthol took a defrocking ordered letter, which was signed and stamped by the Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong and Non Nget, and read it to accuse Venerable Tim Sakhorn for using his temple to undermine the relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam. Venerable Tim Sakhorn denied the accusation and refused to be defrocked because he did not committed the crime as they accused him and he did not violate any Buddhism’s principles in order to be defrocked. Venerable Long Kim Leang directly stripped off Venerable Tim Sakhorn’s frock in front of everyone and threw him clothes that they already brought with them from Phnom Penh, dragged him to a car that was already parked outside of the room where they met, and pushed him into the car to deport him to Vietnam in the same day. Consequently, Tim Sakhorn, a Cambodian citizen, was thrown in Vietnamese prison for a year before being granted asylum to live in Sweden. These are the monks who involved with defrocking Venerable Tim Sakhorn: 1. Tep Vong, Wat Ona-Lom, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 2. Non Nget, Wat Bo-Tum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 3. Om Lam Heng, Wat Champu Ka-Ek, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 4. Long Kim Leang, Wat Khmer San Jose, California, USA 5. Sao Chanthol, Wat Langka, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 6. Noi Chruek, Wat Chan Bori Vong, Preuk Phnom Commune, Ponhea Leu District, Kandal Province, Cambodia 7. Cheas Om, Wat Seyha Rattana Ram, Takeo city, Takeo Province, Cambodia Venerable Tim Sakhorn was a well respected Abbott of Northern Phnom Denh Pagoda in Takeo province (Cambodia) and he was wrongly accused of undermining the friendship between Cambodia and Vietnam. Tep Vong, Non Nget, Om Lam Heng, Sao Chanthol, Long Kim Leang, Noi Chruek, and Cheas Om who involved with defrocking Venerable Tim Sakhorn are in fact the human rights abusers who serve the interest of the Vietnamese government. In this regards, I would like to: • Urge the immigrant officers of foreign embassies in Cambodia to stop issuing Visa for these monks to travel to your countries because they violated Mr. Tim Sakhorn’s right to be a Buddhist monk, especially to send him from Cambodia to imprison injustice in Vietnam. • Urge the Cambodian community leaders abroad to stop sponsoring these monks to visit your community or as religious workers because these monks violated the Buddhism’s principles and do not qualify to work as religious workers to educate our Cambodians about Buddhism. If you have any questions or concerns about how these monks involved with defrocking Venerable Tim Sakhorn, please do not hesitate to contact me. Respectfully Yours, Thach Ngoc Thach President of the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation
