A Change of Guard

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Monday 29 October 2012

Danger on the Mekong [Vietnam is slowly and methodically colonizing and swallowing up Cambodia. Researchers estimate that over 40% of Cambodia's voting population is comprised of Vietnamese migrants]

October 28, 2012
Original article at: The American Thinker

Like a toxic fungus spreading its roots throughout Cambodia, communist Vietnam is slowly and methodically colonizing and swallowing up its neighbor. Researchers estimate that over 40% of Cambodia's voting population is comprised of Vietnamese migrants who have been awarded citizenship and voting rights by Vietnam's puppet -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. As part of its colonization process, Vietnam has established chapters of the United Front for National Construction and Defense of Cambodia -- a cover for Vietnam's Fatherland Front -- in all 23 provinces of the country. Thugs from this parastatal "Front," often supplemented by plainclothes police, are used to beat, disperse, and sometimes kill demonstrators protesting religious and human rights abuses, land grabbing, and other abuses by the government, which provides Vietnamese officials with plausible deniability of its repressive acts. The Hun Sen regime has also permitted Vietnam to place "advisors" throughout the Cambodian government and military, including those that oversee religious, cultural, and educational affairs.
After its failed and thinly-disguised attempt to colonize Cambodia during its December 25, 1978 invasion and the subsequent 10-year occupation, Vietnam was forced to withdraw its army with its dogmatic tail between its legs with 52,000 dead and over 200,000 wounded. Vietnam's army was in near-revolt, for Hanoi had promised that once it took over South Vietnam following the US withdrawal, there would be peace and soldiers would be given land to farm. In keeping with Vietnam's historical strategy of gaining territory, referred to as đồn điền (military colonization) and as a sop to the Army, Hanoi demobilized about 200,000 of its troops in Eastern Cambodia. These were given land titles and citizenship by the Vietnam's newly-anointed puppet, the former Khmer Rouge Prime Minister Hun Sen. The demobilized army units were kept as "ready reserve forces," and in keeping with another historical term tây tiến (westward movement), they soon brought their families, relatives, and friends, followed by waves of illegal immigrants. Hun Sen has also conceded several kilometers of land along the length of Cambodia's border with Vietnam; from the Laotian border south to Kampot, which had been part of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War.

At the recent Cambodian National Conference in Arlington, Virginia, Mu Sochua, a member of the Cambodian parliament and the general secretary of the newly formed opposition party -- the Democratic Movement for National Rescue, spoke passionately about a number of topics including the recent murder of an environmental activist and a journalist; fears of rigged upcoming elections; the suppression of free speech; the imprisonment of an opposition radio owner; and land-grabbing protesters. She also spoke on a plethora of other human rights violations not only by the government but also by the army, including the "blood wood" forestry scandal and the rape of Cambodia's other natural resources.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, gave a powerful presentation speaking about the horrendous working conditions and near slave-labor wages of garment workers in Cambodia, the products of which are imported mainly by the U.S., with no regard to the suffering of the workers. Mr. Chhun and other human rights advocates continually face judicial harassment and persecution by the government.
Chhun also spoke of his fears for this generation of students who are being ill prepared to move Cambodia forward because of the corrupt educational system with poorly paid teachers who lack proper training and/or are inept. Students have to pay teachers to attend class with what little money they might have to buy lunch goes to the teacher, and often grades not given based on skill or achievement, but rather on the amount of money a student can pay the teacher. Thus children from poor families are unable to get an education.
With a repressive and corrupt leadership and its government and army rife with Khmer Rouge commanders, Cambodia is a country for sale to the highest bidder, to Vietnam, China, or anyone else if the price is right. This includes the land of its farmers, its oil and mineral resources, and its timber. The proceeds are pocketed by Cambodia's nouveau riche billionaire kleptocrats, with little going to improve the lives of its citizenry.
Dams constructed by the Vietnamese through Cambodian shell companies are displacing thousands of farmers and fishermen and flooding tens of thousands of hectares of Cambodia's prime farmland, not to benefit Cambodia's economy or its people, but to provide power for Vietnam's growing economy.
Cambodia's corrupt and repressive army is for hire as enforcers to protect both private Cambodian and foreign interests while receiving military assistance from the American government. The military is used to evict Cambodia farmers from their lands without compensation, in order to create foreign-owned concession plantations of rubber, sugar cane, and other cash crops.
Elections in Cambodia are a charade, marred by intimidation based on Chairman Mao's philosophy that "political power comes from the barrel of a gun." Token opposition is allowed; however, a large percentage of the parliament belongs to the communist party or has been cowed and bought off by Hun Sen and his cronies.
Freedom of speech is limited, and those who dare speak out against the corrupt regime are often stripped of their parliamentary immunity, sued by Hun Sen in the rigged and inept legal system, exiled, or jailed. Such is the case of Beehive Radio owner Mam Sonando who was recently sentenced to 20 years in jail on trumped-up charges of conspiring to establish a separatist zone in Kratie province. Jail sentences were also handed out to 13 others supposedly involved in the alleged plot. Human-rights workers say the case stems from a protest over land-grabbing in Kratie last May that turned violent (shades of Vietnam's "Fatherland Front"). However, the real reason for the prosecution was that Prime Minister Hun Sen was angered by Mam Sonando's talks with a U.S.-based group that is highly critical of the government.
Last April, Cambodia's pre-eminent forestry and environment activist, Chut Wutty, who was investigating the "blood wood" scandal -- trees cut from the ecosystems in the southwestern Cardamom Mountains that are filled with unique and endangered species of plants and animals. Wutty was shot dead by one of three military policemen protecting an illegal logging concession. In September, Cambodian journalist Hang Serei Odom, who was investigating illegal logging, was hacked to death and stuffed in the trunk by a military officer and his wife. U.S.-donated camouflaged trucks full of first and second-grade timber operated by men wearing military uniforms are not an uncommon sight.
Wall Street Journal editorial pointed out that "the Obama administration has remained largely silent" on the persecution and state-sponsored murders of land defenders. Secretary of State Clinton kept mum on these matters during her recent visit with officials in Cambodia. In May 2009, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Carol Rodley admitted that approximately U.S. $500 million a year of foreign aid is lost through corruption. The Obama Administration has yet to utter a word about the far greater corruption and the human rights abuses in Cambodia by Hun Sen and his regime.

Michael Benge spent 11 years in Vietnam as a foreign service officer and is a student of South East Asian politics. He is very active in advocating for human rights, religious freedom, and democracy for the peoples of the region and has written extensively on these subjects.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very good article Mike. Remember KR invade Vietnam, Vietnam came back to occupied Cambodia. Cambodia reparations and of course winner take all. The world want peace in the regions, Vietnam will not give up Cambodia because KR was an invader so the puppet installed and Hanoi control in order have the world see that Vietnam withdraw from Cambodia. The fact is there are not Cambodia. You heard land being taking over by Vietnam and the Cambodia can't do anything about to help it people? NO!!! the government but no power....

Anonymous said...

Khmer Rouge invaded Vietnam? Get your fact right. Do you think a toddler (KR) dare to fight with an adult man (Vietnam)?

It was Vietnam who encroached on Cambodian border like what it did today that pushed the KR to try to defend the border that led to border fighting and eventually leading to Vietnam invading Cambodia in 1979.

The KR had shown restraint but it was Vietnam who pushed them to the brink by keeping to push the border deeper into Cambodian territory. How do you feel if someone try to push you out of your house or try to move the fence deeper into your land. You must defend it, right?

Anonymous said...

Good report of the facts about the criminal Vietnam - Thief nation.

Anonymous said...

Stop talking and start doing something before it's too late..

Anonymous said...

Dear Khmerization,

Can you send this article to President Obama, and a copy each to Secretary of State Hillery Clinton and American Ambassador William Todd.

To provoke President Obama's administration to take actions, may be send a copy also to Presidential candidate Mitt Romny.

We all thank you

Anonymous said...

You must be stupid to say such thing k.R. don't invade Srok Yuon,Yuon invaded Cambodian in 1979 facts.You need your facts check dumbo!

Ah To

Anonymous said...

To understand the situation and answer the question. How could Pol Pot an unarmed, untrained teacher from Battabang plan to invade Vietnam? Is he really responsible for the death of 2 million Khmer and responsible for invading Vietnam in 1970s?

1950

Pol Pot was forced to return to Cambodia in January 1953. He was the first member of the Cercle Marxiste to return to Cambodia. He was given the task of evaluating the various groups rebelling against the government. He recommended the Khmer Viet Minh, and in August 1954, Sar, along with Rath Samoeun, travelled to the Viet Minh Eastern Zone headquarters in the village of Krabao in the Kampong Cham (Hun Sen was said to be a Khmer Vietminh, also born in Kapong Cham, later joining the Khmer Rouge as a teen)

1954

Due to the 1954 Geneva peace accord, requiring all Viet Minh forces and insurgents be expelled, a group of Cambodians followed the Vietnamese back to Vietnam (as cadres Vietnam would use in a future war to liberate Cambodia). The rest, including Sar, returned to Cambodia.

1962

He fled to the Vietnamese border region and made contact with Vietnamese units fighting against South Vietnam.

1964

Sar convinced the Vietnamese to help the Cambodian communists set up their own base camp. The party's central committee met later that year and issued a declaration calling for armed struggle, emphasizing "self-reliance" in accordance with extreme Cambodians. In the border camps, the ideology of the Khmer Rouge was gradually developed.

1970

The Vietnamese had taken matters into their own hands and launched an offensive against the Cambodian army. A force of 50 Vietnamese quickly overran large parts of eastern Cambodia reaching to within 15 miles (24 km) of Phnom Penh before being pushed back. In these battles the Khmer Rouge and Sar played a very small role.

1971,

The Vietnamese (North Vietnamese and Viet Cong) did most of the fighting against the Cambodian government while Sar and the Khmer Rouge functioned almost as auxiliaries to their forces. Sar also put resources of Khmer Rouge organizations into political education and indoctrination.

1973

The orders led to futile attacks and wasted lives among the Khmer Rouge army. Vietnam realized that it no longer controlled the situation and began to treat Saloth as more of an equal leader than a junior partner.

1975

North Vietnam, as the rival socialist country in Indochina, was determined to take Saigon before the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh. Shipments of weapons from China were delayed, in one instance the Cambodians were forced to sign a humiliating document thanking Vietnam for shipments of Chinese weapons.

1975

Pol Pot tried to prevent border disputes by sending a team to Vietnam. The negotiations failed which resulted in even more border disputes. On April 30, the Cambodian army, backed by artillery, crossed over into Vietnam. In attempting to explain Pol Pot's behavior, one region-watcher

1976

Vietnam sent its air force into Cambodia in a series of raids. In July, Vietnam forced a Treaty of Friendship on Laos which gave Vietnam almost total control over the country. In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge commanders in the Eastern Zone began to tell their men that war with Vietnam.

My question is, did Pol Pot really invade Vietnam, in retaliation, did the Vietnamese kill 2.5 million Khmer?

Anonymous said...

I don't think they care about cambodia. Don't waste your time and their time. Cambodian must take care of its own problem "hun sen". Cut "assasinate" the root of the toxic fungus "hun sen" and cambodian children can have a better future.

Anonymous said...

Sooner or later in 40 years to come, in Phnom Penh city will be full of Vietnamese offspring (descendants) (all over srok Khmer) and Khmer people will be out of the city to live in outskirts or rural areas.
The majority of Vietnamese descendants will work as civil servants or top-officials, of course, they’re Cambodians they were born here in Cambodia but there will be no justice for Khmer people ever, it won’t be tolerated by authority of Nam-Yang city (Phnom-Penh city) to anyone who dares to speak out as a racial profiling.
Although these days Khmer populations are the majority but it’s hard to convince them if it is reverse, how about that? This is the way of expansionist of Vietnam she’s building the bridge to Cambodia in order to build the second bridge to Thailand in two hundred years or so. How can we stop that bad action from Vietnam? Only thing we can do is to rid of CPP, how? to unite all Khmers together, how? The only way we can do is power of Khmer people that’s a good idea in order to up-rise against CPP like the days of mourning the death of king Norodom Sihanouk but again how can we convince them to take action? If most of them believed that the face of King Sihanouk existed on the moon.

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen's men were shooting and beating people in the middle day light get a slap in the hand. Cambodian activists get 20 years and death. It's time for Hun Sen to go. I don't like opposition nonetheless, but they are at least not as evil as Hun Sen.

Anonymous said...

If what the article said is true, ie. 40% of voters are Vietnamese and Vietnam is slowly and methodically colonizing Cambodia, I think in 50 years time Cambodia will be full of Vietnamese people or their offspring and Cambodia will be another Kampuchea Krom and disappearing from the world map forever.

Anonymous said...

Vietnam and China is the worst enemy. during Khmer rough China own Cambodia and may be Vietnam as well. Vietnam help Khmer is helping Vietnam herself. right? wasn't it true Michael beng is the newdanger guy?for