Published by Human Rights Watch This report documents ongoing violations of the rights of the Khmer Krom in southern Vietnam and also abuses in Cambodia against Khmer Krom who have fled there for refuge. Wary about possible Khmer Krom nationalist aspirations, Vietnam has suppressed peaceful expressions of dissent and banned Khmer Krom human rights publications. It also tightly controls the Theravada Buddhism practiced by the Khmer Krom, who see this form of Buddhism as the foundation of their distinct culture and ethnic identity. Download report in PDF Download report with full cover Map of Mekong Delta Region Provinces, Vietnam I. Summary The crackdown in Vietnam Cambodia’s repression of Khmer Krom activists Key recommendations Methodology II. Background Nationalist movements Engaged Buddhism After reunification Landlessness Poverty Discrimination High illiteracy and school drop-out rates III. Crackdown on Protests in the Mekong Delta Pressure on Buddhist activists in Tra Vinh The 2007 Buddhist protest in Soc Trang IV. Other Rights Problems Faced by Ethnic Khmer in Vietnam Suppression of land rights protests Restrictions on religious freedom Restrictions on freedom of movement Restrictions on freedom of expression Statelessness V. Cambodia Cracks Down on Khmer Krom Activists Attacks on freedom of assembly Discrimination against Khmer Krom Monks in Cambodia Restrictions on travel, association, and expression The defrocking and arrest of Tim Sakhorn Cross-border collaboration in suppression of Khmer Krom Citizens, migrants, or refugees? VI. Recommendations To the Socialist Republic of Vietnam To the Cambodian government To UNHCR To Japan, the European Union, United States, and other key donor states to Vietnam and Cambodia Acknowledgments Appendix A: Indictment of the Five Monks Appendix B: Handwritten Appeals from Khmer Krom in Vietnam Appendix C: Vietnamese State Press Coverage, Tim Sakhorn Appendix D: Letter from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Norodom Sihanouk Regarding Tim Sakhorn Appendix E: Human Rights Watch Letter to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Appendix F: Vietnamese Embassy’s Response to Human Rights Watch106
