A human rights group representing the ethnic Khmer community in Vietnam voiced concern Monday over a supposed initiative to demand support from the US government for Khmer Krom war veterans that fought alongside the US military during the war in Vietnam, as it is unclear who is behind the plan.
Ang Chanrith, director of the Khmer Krom Human Rights Organization, said he had heard some veterans had been approached by an organization that did not state its name or ultimate goals, but asked for signatures and photos from the former soldiers who had fought with US forces.
“I would like to appeal to all Khmer Krom people to think seriously about putting their name on this list,” Mr Chanrith said. He added that his organization would soon investigate the issue.
During the 1960s and 1970s ethnic Khmers in South Vietnam were trained by the US military as Special Forces, alongside other minorities such as the Montagnards, to fight the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong. Many Khmer Krom fled abroad after the fall of Saigon, with some heading to Cambodia.
Mr Chanrith said he knew veterans that had submitted their name and photograph to the unknown petitioners.
“A man asked them later to meet them in Phnom Penh, but they did not go,” he said, adding, “They are worried their personal information might be used for something else and endanger them.”
“There is one man from the US who takes the names of Khmer Krom soldiers to submit an appeal to the US government, but I don’t know what organization he works for,” said Kim Youn, a Khmer Krom war veteran approached for his personal information.
Mr Youn, who came from Vietnam to Cambodia in 1970, added, “On Saturday, there were three different numbers calling me and asking me to give one photo and signature, but they don’t tell us why they need it.”
“I am concerned about this,” Mr Chanrith said, adding the information could end up with organizations with a political agenda and signatories could become subject to government investigation.
Mr Chanrith cited the 2007 case of the supposed “Khmer Empire Movement” plot, in which a group of people, some of them Khmer Krom, were arrested as their names appeared on lists found with the alleged insurgent movement.
The Khmer Empire Movement was supposedly a group that aimed to raise an armed force to take back Kampuchea Krom and the kingdom of Champa—both areas now part of Vietnam—as well as Surin province in Thailand.
The government claimed at the time that the group was responsible for the 2007 attempted bombing of the Vietnamese Friendship Monument in Phnom Penh.
Two suspects were ultimately convicted in June 2008 to several years in prison for their alleged involvement in the scheme, while 18 others were released earlier in 2007.
Mr Chanrith said Khmer Krom should be careful about getting involved with politics, adding that “the Khmer Krom issue is a sensitive issue.”
“The government does not help or protect Khmer Krom people, because the government is under the influence of the Vietnamese government,” he said, adding, that even Khmer Krom monks cannot live peacefully in Cambodia.
Thach Den, another Khmer Krom war veteran, said he had recently also seen a list consisting of the names of over 100 US-trained Khmer Krom soldiers living in Cambodia, which his friend ob-
tained from an unidentified man claiming to be seeking support in the US for the veterans.
This list did not show which organization had compiled it, nor did it have contact details, he said, adding, “If it is from US government, it is good for the former soldiers, but I don’t believe it, because if it was from the US Embassy, it would have a stamp.”
Ministry of Interior spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said Sunday the veterans should identify the organization that is collecting their details.
US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said he could not comment as he was not aware of any initiative of Khmer Krom veterans appealing to the US government for support.
