Kampuchea Krom Separatist Leader To Present Case to UN

Thach Sang, a former Funcin­pec parliamentarian and US-based leader of the obscure Kam­puchea Krom National Liberation Front, said on Tuesday he will take the cause of ethnic Khmers in southern Vietnam to the UN.

Speaking to Radio Free Asia, Thach Sang—who earlier this year vowed to form an armed force to gain ethnic Khmer independence in southern Vietnam—said his liberation struggle continues, but peacefully.

“Our stance had not changed,” Thach Sang told RFA.

“Firstly, we use international law to collect evidence related to our territory, and to in­form the international community in order to force the Vietnamese government to give us autonomy,” he said.

“We hope that one day the in­ter­national community…will sup­port our front,” he said.

The Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam is known to many Cambodians as Kampu­chea Krom, and is home to a large population of ethnic Khmers, for whom the the area’s sovereignty is an emotional issue.

Thach Sang said five years will be set aside for the legal route through the UN, but if that fails his movement will resort to force.

“We use the law…if that is im­possible, we should use force,” he said.

Both Cambodian and foreign military sources have completely discounted any claims that the KKNLF could pose a threat to Viet­nam.

But Thach Sang’s inflammatory comments ignited a police in­vestigation and caused consternation earlier this year for Khmer Krom people who feared a backlash in both Cambodia and Viet­nam.

Thach Sang announced his resignation from the National Assembly last month amid reported efforts to have him stripped of his parliamentary immunity and face criminal charges for leading the KKNLF.

He denied he was forced to resign his post, but admitted that Funcinpec was likely under pressure to have him dismissed.

The  for many Cambodians.

More than 2,000 monks, nuns, legislators and locals gathered near the Royal Palace in June to mourn the loss of Kampuchea Krom.

for whom the ceding of the territory to Vietnam in 1949 by the then French-colonial rulers of Indo­china is an emotional issue