Border Activists Fall Short of Mark

Activists and Vietnamese security officials face off at the disputed border in Svay Rieng province yesterday afternoon. KT Photo: Ven Rathavong 

Khmer Times/Ros Chanveasna and Ven Rathavong

Sunday, 19 July 2015

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SVAY RIENG (Khmer Tiems) – Most of the more than 2,000 activists who traveled to a disputed area of the border with Vietnam in Svay Rieng province’s Kompong Ro district yesterday afternoon were not permitted to reach their ultimate goal – Border Post 203.

That post, along with others, is deep within Cambodian territory, they allege. 

“We do not recognize this border post as legal at all,” said Am Sam An, a lawmaker with the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), who helped lead yesterday’s “inspection.” 

The post was placed along the border in 2009 and led to the loss of land belonging to Cambodian farmers, Mr. Sam An alleged.

He and his group – who had set off from Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park yesterday morning after a ceremony in which they were blessed by monks – arrived in the area in the early afternoon in a convoy of about 150 buses, vans and trucks. They continued the last leg of their journey on foot – marching on muddy road, waving flags.

Border Barricade

Before they could get to the disputed fields, however, they were blocked by a contingent of Cambodian police and soldiers – as well as a cordon of Cambodian farmers wielding clubs and bamboo rods at about 4 pm. 

The activists shouted at the farmers, accusing them of betraying their country and protecting Vietnam. 

Provincial officials also refused to allow the activists to move en masse to the border post they had intended to “inspect.”
Officials said they had told the CNRP not to bring too many people to avoid an altercation. 

Last month, two CNRP lawmakers – Mr. Sam An and Real Camerin – had led a group of activists to the same spot. It resulted in a brawl with Vietnamese villages that left people on both sides injured.

The clash sparked indignation in both countries.

Yesterday’s impasse with provincial officials was negotiated by Mr. Camerin, who asked first to lead 500 people to the border post. When this was denied, he requested that 150 activists accompany him. Eventually, he and officials agreed that 100 people could “inspect the border post.”

“If we allowed all those activists to walk to the border post, there may have been violence because they arrived with so much anger,” one army officer said.

Sok Ey San, spokesman for the ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) said the CNRP lawmakers are not technical border demarcating experts. They are demagogues playing political games, he said.

Sharing a River

Chim Savy, 52, a farmer in the area said he had no direct knowledge of Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory in the area.

“I don’t know anything about the Vietnamese government encroaching on Cambodian land, I just heard by word of mouth from some people,” he said.

“In the past, Cambodian farmers never had conflict with Vietnamese farmers where I grow rice,” Mr. Savy said. “We had a good atmosphere and we always share the same river, which is the natural borderline between Cambodia and Vietnam.” 

“However, if the Vietnamese government encroaches on land belonging to Cambodian farmers, I will protest to take it back,” he added. 

Opposition Anniversary 

Yesterday’s “inspection” coincided with the second anniversary of the return to Cambodia of CNRP president Sam Rainsy. Mr. Rainsy – who has frequently been accused of fanning anti-Vietnamese sentiment to gain votes – highlighted this anniversary on his Facebook page yesterday, with a status update entitled “Return to the Motherland.”

The opposition leader also repeated his accusation that Vietnam is planting “fake border posts” in Svay Rieng province.

“Today marks the 2nd anniversary of my return to Cambodia on 19 July 2013 after being forced into exile for four years due to a court sentence to 12 years in prison related to my uprooting a Vietnamese-planted fake border post in Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province in 2009,” Mr. Rainsy wrote. 

That year he was charged with inciting racial hatred and destruction of property after participating in the uprooting of six temporary border posts in Svay Rieng’s Chantrea district. After his conviction – which was criticized as politically motivated – he went into self-imposed exile in France.

Need for Unity, Trust

Political analyst Chea Vannith stressed that Cambodians need to be united. 

“If you negotiate border issue with other countries, you need to show your strength, your unity – even between different political parties,” Ms. Vannith told Khmer Times. 

“In Cambodia, the parties are too fractured. One chopstick, you can break. A bunch of chopsticks you cannot break,” she added. 

Ms. Vannith said the ruling CPP was “moving in the right direction” by working with the opposition on the issue, noting that the CNRP is “an ally to Cambodia in the process.”

She said the lack of trust in Cambodian society was contributing to confusion over the border issue. 

“There’s no trust in our society, and that’s the problem – a lack of trust,” Ms. Vannith said. “It’s good now, if [Mr. Hun Sen] takes this time to build trust.” 

Working with the CNRP could be a “win-win situation,” she said. “The two parties benefit from the border issue. When those parties gain, it means our pride gains. We did not have any national pride for so long, but [this] issue is one of national pride.” (Additional reporting by Pav Suy and Johnathan Cox)