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An international group representing Vietnam’s Khmer Krom community is calling on the country’s leaders to release five Buddhist monks and four activists before their trial on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Abbot Thach Chanh Da Ra and buddhist Kim Khiem have been charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331 of the criminal code. Monks Duong Khai, Thach Qui Lay, Kim Sa Ruong and Thach Chop along with activists Thach Nha, Kim Khu and Thach Ve Sanal are accused of “illegally arresting and detaining people” under Article 157. All of the men were arrested in March.
About 1.3 million Khmer Krom – ethnic Cambodians and one of Vietnam’s 53 ethnic minorities – live in the southern provinces of Vietnam. The community often accuses the Vietnamese government of suppressing freedoms of religion and expression, and rights to speak their own language. The government denies that.
In a statement last Tuesday, the Khmers Kampuchea Krom Foundation, or KKF, said the arrested monks and activists were fighting for the right to express themselves and peacefully practice their religion.
The KKF called on the U.N., embassies in Vietnam and other international groups to push the government to guarantee justice and fair treatment for the detained monks and activists who it said had not been given legal assistance or the right to an adequate defense.
“We urge the international community, human rights organizations, and all concerned stakeholders to stand with the Khmer-Krom community and call upon the Vietnamese government to release the detained monks and activists who have been unjustly imprisoned,” it said.
“A fair trial must include access to legal representation, the right to defense, and the ability for family members to support their loved ones.”
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The KKF said it had received information that the government forced Khmer Krom villagers to sign statements which the court planned to use to support allegations against the detainees, and only people who signed the statements would be allowed to attend the trial.
The organization called on foreign embassies and international rights organizations to send representatives to observe the trial, and urged Vietnam to respect justice as a member of the U.N.Human Rights Council.
Tran Xa Rong, a vice president of the KKF, told Radio Free Asia that the nine facing trial were “simple, ordinary people who only want to practice what they can according to the laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as well as international law.”
RFA emailed Vietnam’s foreign ministry asking for comment on the KKF statement but had not received a response at time of publication.
Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.