KKF Attends Democracy Service Medal Ceremony to Ambassador Max Kampelman

Three members from the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF), Mr. Prak Sereivuth, Mr. Thach Lenny, and Mr. Duong Hoang, were honored to be invited by the National Endownment for Democracy to attend the Banquet Reception during the presentation of the Democracy Service Medal to Ambassador Max Kampelman at the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC on Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Left: Prak Sereivuth, Thach Lenny, Ambassador Max Kampelman, and Duong Hoang There were about 200 guests who attended that special event, among them were high ranking U.S. Government officials, diplomats, members of the U.S. Congress, and other foreign dignitaries. Below is a partial list of these VIP guests:

The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman, U.S. Senator
The Honorable Howard Berman, U.S. Congressman
The Honorable Josh Bolten, White House Chief-of-Staff
The Honorable John D. Negroponte, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
The Honorable Paula J. Dobriansky, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
The Honorable Richard Solomon, Former U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State on East Asia and Pacific Affairs during President George H.W. Bush’s Administration (1989-1992)
The Honorable James Hadley Billington, Librarian of the U.S. Congress
The Honorable Vin Weber, Chairman of the National Endownment for Democracy
The Honorable Carl Gershman, President of the National Endownment for Democracy

During this banquet reception, the three KKF members, Sereivuth, Lenny, and Hoang, were able to mention briefly to some of these American government officials about the current situation of the Khmer Krom people who live under the oppression of the Communist regime of Vietnam in the Mekong River Delta. The KKF representatives told officials that the Khmer Krom people used to serve bravely, courageously, and loyally with the U.S. Special Forces in numerous top classified operations behind the lines of the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese troops along the Ho Chi Minh trails in Laos and in Cambodia. From the fall of Saigon in April 1975 until today, the Communist Vietnamese Government still keeps slaughtering us to seek revenges for our close colaboration and loyalty with the U.S. Green Berets during the war. These American dignitaries expressed their sympathy for the tragedy of the Khmer Krom people and some of them told the KKF represenatives that they will take a close look into their case.