Friday, March 02, 2007 By U.Ch. Cambodge Soir Translated from French by Luc Sâr In an open letter addressed to the king, the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, the prime minister, embassies, and news media, the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organization (KKKHRO) claims it received “from the police, as fax copy of a handwritten document, signed by the chief of the national police from the Ministry of Interior,” in which the latter called on reinforcing the controls against border crossing attempts into Cambodia by Khmer Krom people living in Vietnam. According to KKHRO, in this document, the “chief of the police” allegedly orders the police commissioner in the Takeo province to “fight against Khmer Krom people who try to enter the Kingdom.” “If it is found that some [Khmer Krom] succeed in entering the [Cambodian] territory, they must be pushed back to the Vietnamese border and prevent them to get back together again. If they insist, these Khmer Krom people must be officially handed over to the Vietnamese authorities,” the alleged order bearing the code number DX2501, would have stated. KKHRO did not provide a copy of the letter and its authenticity still has to be checked. “It is indeed a fax bearing the signature of the chief of the national police, our organization regrets this act which seriously violates Cambodia’s law,” KKHRO added. The organization considers this letter as a discrimination order issued against Khmer Krom people. Suon Phun, the Takeo province deputy police commissioner, categorically rejects these claims. “I never received such type of order from the chief of the national police” he said.
