The symbol of the Vietnamese aggression against Cambodia
CFC/CBC Newsletter Sep 27, 2006
Communiqué
The symbol of the Vietnamese aggression against Cambodia
The Hanoi’s decision to install today the first new Cambodia-Vietnam border marker in Bavet, in Khmer Svay Rieng province, is not certainly the merest chance. As always, even before the arrival of the French in Indochina, and even after the signing of the Vietnamese 1985 Treaty until this year 2006, Cambodian people in Svay Rieng have never stopped fighting fiercely against the encroachment and the occupation of their ancestral land by the Vietnamese forces resulting from their successive political regimes.
In fact, the installation of this border marker is another political act without appropriate juridical basis. This marker just replaces the first one erected by Hanoi in 1986, just after the signing of the treaty dated on December 27, 1985, during the occupation of Cambodia by Vietnam. The invocation of the “Additional Treaty to the 1985 Treaty” signed in October-November 2005 is not sufficient for the installation of border markers. The process of border demarcation and border markers planting must be subordinated to another law voted by the Parliaments of both countries, defining in detail, at level of the bordering communes, the respective land ownership of the both countries. This law, which defends also the interest of population living along the borders, is legitimated by the principle of “respect of the reality of administration and the real occupation by the population for several generations”, principle which is stipulated in the mentioned “Additional Treaty”.
None of the above procedures has been done. In fact, none of documents from various Cambodian Administrations dated before 1979 has been used by Hun Sen government for its negotiations with Hanoi. And, even with the pretext that all these documents have been “destructed during the Khmer Rouge regime”, there are still evident proofs attested by the “actual occupation of the population for several generations” on these Khmer lands that must be taken into consideration.
For the province of Svay Rieng case, there are not, as we all know, a shortage of the Cambodian villagers’ testimonies. In addition, the testimonies from the CPP members are not lacking either, from those who were high ranking “revolutionary” leaders of this province as they know the fact even more than other people. We just mention three of them: Mr Chea Sim, born in Svay Rieng, was Secretary of Kampuchea’s Communist Party for the Section Ampil from 1954-1959, and then a leader in this province from 1959 to 1966, before becoming the Secretary of Sector 20 for the East Zone until 1978; Mr Heng Samrin, who always lived also with his family in Svay Rieng, was the Commander of Kampuchea’s Communist Party in the South East provinces since 1970, and then the Commander of the 4th Division of the East Zone during the Democratic Kampuchea era until May 1978; Mr Chan Vèn, also born in Svay Rieng, previously teacher in Svay Rieng and ex-General Secretary of the Popular Republic of Kampuchea’s State Council, has already, according to a document at that time, contested against the “transfer of lands in Svay Rieng to Vietnam”… Why all these Cambodian “high ranking” leaders chose to keep quiet now?
Consequently, the new Vietnamese border marker is very symbolic for several reasons. Firstly, it is the symbol of Vietnam’s aggression “triumph” against Cambodia and the witness of Cambodian People Party’s total submission to the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Paris, September 27th 2006
Sean Péngsè
President of the Cambodia’s Border Committee
in France and Worldwide,
Communiqué
The symbol of the Vietnamese aggression against Cambodia
The Hanoi’s decision to install today the first new Cambodia-Vietnam border marker in Bavet, in Khmer Svay Rieng province, is not certainly the merest chance. As always, even before the arrival of the French in Indochina, and even after the signing of the Vietnamese 1985 Treaty until this year 2006, Cambodian people in Svay Rieng have never stopped fighting fiercely against the encroachment and the occupation of their ancestral land by the Vietnamese forces resulting from their successive political regimes.
In fact, the installation of this border marker is another political act without appropriate juridical basis. This marker just replaces the first one erected by Hanoi in 1986, just after the signing of the treaty dated on December 27, 1985, during the occupation of Cambodia by Vietnam. The invocation of the “Additional Treaty to the 1985 Treaty” signed in October-November 2005 is not sufficient for the installation of border markers. The process of border demarcation and border markers planting must be subordinated to another law voted by the Parliaments of both countries, defining in detail, at level of the bordering communes, the respective land ownership of the both countries. This law, which defends also the interest of population living along the borders, is legitimated by the principle of “respect of the reality of administration and the real occupation by the population for several generations”, principle which is stipulated in the mentioned “Additional Treaty”.
None of the above procedures has been done. In fact, none of documents from various Cambodian Administrations dated before 1979 has been used by Hun Sen government for its negotiations with Hanoi. And, even with the pretext that all these documents have been “destructed during the Khmer Rouge regime”, there are still evident proofs attested by the “actual occupation of the population for several generations” on these Khmer lands that must be taken into consideration.
For the province of Svay Rieng case, there are not, as we all know, a shortage of the Cambodian villagers’ testimonies. In addition, the testimonies from the CPP members are not lacking either, from those who were high ranking “revolutionary” leaders of this province as they know the fact even more than other people. We just mention three of them: Mr Chea Sim, born in Svay Rieng, was Secretary of Kampuchea’s Communist Party for the Section Ampil from 1954-1959, and then a leader in this province from 1959 to 1966, before becoming the Secretary of Sector 20 for the East Zone until 1978; Mr Heng Samrin, who always lived also with his family in Svay Rieng, was the Commander of Kampuchea’s Communist Party in the South East provinces since 1970, and then the Commander of the 4th Division of the East Zone during the Democratic Kampuchea era until May 1978; Mr Chan Vèn, also born in Svay Rieng, previously teacher in Svay Rieng and ex-General Secretary of the Popular Republic of Kampuchea’s State Council, has already, according to a document at that time, contested against the “transfer of lands in Svay Rieng to Vietnam”… Why all these Cambodian “high ranking” leaders chose to keep quiet now?
Consequently, the new Vietnamese border marker is very symbolic for several reasons. Firstly, it is the symbol of Vietnam’s aggression “triumph” against Cambodia and the witness of Cambodian People Party’s total submission to the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Paris, September 27th 2006
Sean Péngsè
President of the Cambodia’s Border Committee
in France and Worldwide,
