VZCZCXRO3077
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0413/01 1120805
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210805Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4390
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 4613

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000413 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND PRM/A 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV VM
SUBJECT: CLASHES OVER LAND IN THE MEKONG DELTA 
 
REF: 07 Ho Chi Minh 1056 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000413  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Small-scale but violent clashes sparked by 
unresolved land disputes have reportedly broken out between 
Khmer ethnic minority people and Government of Vietnam (GVN) 
military in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.  Local 
contacts confirm a Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) report 
that the GVN military conducted raids in early April into the 
protestors' villages, leaving several injured.  Two ethnic 
Khmers have reportedly been arrested.  A second KKF report of 
the persecution of another Khmer ethnic minority person in Soc 
Trang province appears unfounded.  End summary. 
 
 
Clashes in An Giang Province 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The KKF - an exile pro-Khmer group based in the U.S. 
and long considered anti-GVN by Vietnamese government officials 
- released an April 9 report condemning the Vietnamese 
government for violently cracking down on peaceful Khmer ethnic 
protestors in Chau Lang commune, Tri Ton district, An Giang 
province.  According to the KKF, an unknown number of ethnic 
Khmers gathered on April 7, upset over the GVN's recent 
destruction of a bridge in the neighborhood.  GVN authorities 
reacted, said KKF, by raiding the protestors' villages on April 
8 and targeting two Khmer individuals, Mr. Chau Hen and Mr. Chau 
Ut.  The KKF report went on to state that police arrested Chau 
Hen but Chau Ut had gone missing, and that at least four of 
their relatives were injured during the raid. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) POL staff confirmed the demonstration and the police 
raid in An Loi and Ta On villages with a Khmer monk who lives in 
the area, who said the raid took place early on the morning of 
April 9 (rather than April 8 as reported by KKF).  According to 
the monk, on the night of April 6, Chau Lang commune police, for 
unknown reasons, destroyed a bridge leading to rice fields where 
local farmers go to work.  Frustrated, three hundred farmers 
gathered on April 7 and threw stones at the commune people's 
committee office.  During the retaliatory police raid on April 
9, the monk noted, several ethnic Khmers were injured, including 
Chau Ut's father. The monk confirmed the arrest of both Chau Hen 
and Chau Ut. According to the monk, most of the injured were 
denied medical attention.  He noted that aside from joining this 
protest, Chau Hen and Chau Ut are well-known to the GVN for 
their involvement in prior protests over land issues. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The monk went on to report that on April 10, over 100 
Khmer land protestors clashed with about 1,000 GVN soldiers in 
the villages of An Loi and Ta On.  According to the monk, the 
soldiers beat protestors with sticks, while the protestors were 
armed with knives.  Many Khmers were injured, the monk said, and 
again, most were denied medical attention. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Villagers from An Loi and Ta On told the monk that an 
unknown number of women were taken away in a police car, and 
that the villagers were so afraid they moved into the pagoda to 
sleep.  The monk talked with the provincial Executive Council of 
the government-recognized Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, district 
authorities, and the police, who assured him that there would be 
no more arrests.  By April 14, most of villagers had been 
persuaded by the monk to return home. 
 
Arrests in Soc Trang? 
--------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In a second KKF report dated April 2, the KKF accused 
GVN authorities of burning down the house of a Khmer woman, 
jailing ethnic Khmers who have been persistent with land 
complaints, and stealing Khmer crops in Boeng Ansa village, An 
Huyen commune, My Xuyen district, Soc Trang province.  Contacts 
noted that there are no such villages or communes by these 
names, even if pronounced in Khmer language.  However, a 
high-ranking dignitary of the provincial executive council of 
Vietnam Buddhist Sangha from My Xuyen district confirmed that a 
Khmer woman's house was burned down, but by her younger brother. 
 The brother had allegedly stabbed another person over some 
dispute, the dignitary said.  When police came to arrest the 
brother, he burned down the house to cover his escape, but was 
eventually arrested.  No other contacts could confirm any 
further arrests. 
 
Comments 
-------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Post is attempting to gain further information 
regarding the reasons for the demonstrations in An Giang 
province, but believes reports identifying land disputes as the 
cause of the unrest to be accurate. The ethnic Khmer minority in 
the area have a long history of land disputes (some violent) 
with both Vietnamese authorities and their Kinh majority 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000413  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
neighbors.  Details of incidents in the Khmer community are hard 
to obtain due to the isolation of the area and the language 
barrier (many Khmers do not communicate well in Vietnamese). 
 
¶8. (SBU) At present, it is unclear if there is any link between 
the two arrestees and the KKF.  However, faced not only with a 
restive Khmer population, but also with a yet-to-be reconciled 
portion of the historically militant Hoa Hao Buddhist sect, 
security forces in An Giang are known to be aggressive and 
hard-line (reftel), and post is not surprised to hear reports of 
a heavy-handed police crackdown on Khmer protestors in this 
region.  Post continues to track incoming reports and seek 
verification of these events, but does not expect to have 
conclusive information on the details surrounding the 
demonstrations for some time to come.  End comment. 
FAIRFAX