Fw: Vietnamese authorities accusing and Cambodian government suing Sam Rainsy on unfounded charges

[Sam Rainsy Party of North America]

November 1, 2009





VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES ACCUSING AND

CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT SUING SAM RAINSY ON UNFOUNDED CHARGES



Late last month the Chantrea district (Svay Rieng province) authorities filed a 
criminal lawsuit at the Svay Rieng provincial court against opposition leader 
Sam Rainsy following the latter’s participation in a religious ceremony 
(Kathen) on October 25 at Ang Romdenh pagoda in Koh Kban Kandal village, 
Samraong commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province.



Ang Romdenh pagoda is located a few hundreds meters from the border with 
Vietnam. Several hundreds people from Phnom Penh and Svay Rieng province 
attended the Kathen ceremony. There are professionally made video footages of 
the whole October 25 event, from the procession from Phnom Penh to the ceremony 
itself at the pagoda to a subsequent short walk across surrounding rice fields 
to a newly delineated “white zone” along the border with Vietnam.



During the Kathen ceremony at the pagoda, several local villagers 
spontaneously, successively, unexpectedly and vehemently complained to Sam 
Rainsy and other National Assembly members present on that occasion that 
“Vietnamese authorities have grabbed their rice fields over the last few 
months.”



First taken aback by such grievances during a religious ceremony and invited to 
go to see the problem with his own eyes by the plaintiffs, who were supported 
by all the villagers present at the pagoda, Sam Rainsy said he would go to try 
to assess the situation on the spot after the end of the religious ceremony: 
Buddhist monks were having their mi-day only meal and offerings brought from 
Phnom Penh were to be ritually made to the pagoda.



After the end of the religious ceremony, several dozens villagers led the 
National Assembly members to their nearby rice fields and showed them a bunch 
of six newly planted wooden sticks which, according to what local authorities 
had recently told the villagers, were part of a “new line” delineating a new 
“white zone” they were not allowed to do anything on from now on. Villagers 
told the National Assembly members how furious they were since they had been 
told such a thing because they had worked and lived on these/their rice fields 
for decades without any problem. They said this was just land grabbing. Nobody 
understands the alleged technicalities of, and the rationale behind, the recent 
planting of those sticks on the Cambodian farmers’ rice fields. Villagers 
accused those who had planted the sticks of violating their private properties. 
Some villagers said they had pulled out some of the sticks from their rice 
fields but had been reprimanded by the local authorities. They emotionally 
called on the higher-level government and any justice-loving organizations to 
help them.   



Sam Rainsy then told the villagers he now understood their grievances and, as 
an elected representative of the Cambodian people, would not tolerate such 
injustice. He said such property-violating sticks arbitrarily planted on the 
villagers’ rice fields without any serious and convincing explanation, were 
unacceptable. He added he would like to see those sticks planted before his 
eyes and under his feet be symbolically removed pending an official 
investigation he would call for when he returns to Phnom Penh. While he was 
subsequently giving an interview on the phone to a Phnom Penh-based reporter 
from Radio Free Asia, who had just interviewed on the same phone some of the 
villagers present on the spot, the assistance in solidarity with the victims 
pulled out the six wooden sticks and threw them away on the spot. The video 
footages clearly show that neither Sam Rainsy nor any other National Assembly 
member took with them those sticks on their way back to Phnom Penh as claimed 
by both the Vietnamese and the Cambodian authorities who are accusing Sam 
Rainsy of “sabotage, destruction and theft of public property.”





SRP Cabinet         





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