Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the Cambodian Armed Forces and other authorities to stop the “network of Vietnamese rebels” that may be hiding in Cambodia, following the attack on two public offices in Dak Lak.
Hun Sen’s oral directive was issued on June 16 after the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security was holding nearly 50 suspects believed to be involved in the incident, and tracing the remaining escapees.
According to Khmer Times, the Cambodian PM asked the authorities of the two provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri, which have borders with Dak Lak and the Central Highlands provinces of Vietnam, to directly inspect local villages and not allow the Vietnamese insurgency network to live with Cambodian people.
In addition, Mr. Hun Sen also warned a number of international organizations in the country to stay away from aiding these groups, emphasizing that this is an international crime and Cambodia does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
As reported by Xinhua News Agency, the Cambodian leader called members of the armed group terrorists, adding that those who fled here would be arrested and sent back to Vietnam if discovered.
He also warned that any international organizations in Cambodia would be shut down if they allowed such defectors to seek asylum.
“Must do everything to not cause conflict with Vietnam”
Earlier, on June 13, 2023, also Khmer Times in English, in an article titled “Deputy General Director of National Police assigned to inspect the Northeast border in the context of violence in Vietnam,” said General Chhay Sinarith, Deputy Director of the National Police has been tasked with monitoring the situation along the border in Mondulkiri province and will report to the government if there are any unusual signs, to take prompt action.
“Chaos is happening in Vietnam, but we have to be careful who comes to our country,” he said. “We need to keep in touch with the Vietnamese side to protect our security and do everything we can to not cause a conflict with Vietnam.”
According to another article on the UCANews channel of the Asian Catholic News Federation, the Dega people, considered part of the Montagnard tribal community, fought alongside US and allied troops during the Vietnam War. This article says:
“Many people have converted to Christianity and are now complaining about repressive policies such as religious persecution and land grabs by local officials. Usually, Montagnards seek shelter during difficult times in neighboring Cambodia…
Security forces arrested, beat, tortured us. They destroyed our house. They destroyed our churches,” local Dega told UCANews in a statement on June 11, 2023.
The statement, according to UCANews, also said indigenous peoples’ arable land “has been confiscated and crops destroyed, while the Dega have been abducted and sold to other countries.”
Still, according to the channel, their list of complaints has, at least in part, been supported by human rights groups, while New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Montagnards have subject to “constant surveillance and other forms of intimidation.”
“This includes public criticism, arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment while in custody when authorities question them about their religious and political views, as well as attempts to flee Communist-ruled Vietnam.”
To reassure Montagnards, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has advised people to stay calm and follow the government’s instructions.
In a news that is expected to be announced soon internationally not long after the fatal shootings occurred in two communes Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur, in Cu Kuin district, Dak Lak province, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. French news agency AFP on June 11, 2023, quoted by China’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper in Hong Kong, commented:
“The Central Highlands, home to a number of ethnic minorities, is considered a sensitive area for Vietnam’s authoritarian government and has long been a hotbed of grievances on issues including land use rights.
Several tribes in the region – collectively known as the Montagnards – sided with the US-backed south in Vietnam’s decades-long war. Some are calling for more autonomy, while others abroad support independence for the region…”
From London, UK, on June 16, 2023, when asked by RFA Vietnamese to comment on this event, Dr. Bill Hayton, a longtime BBC journalist who once worked as a reporter in Vietnam and Myanmar, now a scholar at the British Royal Institute of International Relations (Chatham House), said:
“I’m afraid I don’t know the cause. But I can’t believe this came out of nowhere!”
According to Dak Lak newspaper online on the same day of June 16, it said:
“Currently, the police force is continuing to expand investigation and handle related subjects in accordance with the law; synchronously deploying measures to eliminate the risk of similar cases, taking advantage of this case to inciting insecurity and disorder; directing the review of plans to ensure absolute security in key areas, targets and fields; firmly grasping the situation of advising the Party committees and authorities to improve State management effectiveness, eliminating hidden and complicated factors arising early and remotely,” Dak Lak newspaper quoted Chief of the Office of the Ministry of Public Security, Major General Dang Hong Duc, in a “quick announcement.”
Thoibao.de (Translated)
