Thursday, 25 December 2008

Khmer Krom: MEP Refused Entry Into Vietnam

Wednesday, 24 December 2008

Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community is outraged at the recent refusal of Vietnam to let MEP Pannella and his delegation visit the country.

Statement of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community

The Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community strongly condemns the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for obstructing Hon. Marco Giacinto Pannella, Member of the European Parliament and President of the Transnational Radical Party, and Hon. Marco Perduca, Member of the Italian Senate from boarding the airplane from the Kingdom of Cambodia to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the morning of December 23, 2008. Both lawmakers have been officially issued entry visas by the Embassy of Vietnam to Rome granting them to visit Vietnam .

However, the Vuntau Intourco Hanoi tourist agency notified [the lawmakers] at the time of their boarding the airplane that the Vietnam ʼs entry visas have been refused. Thus they would not be able to visit Vietnam due to their staunch supports for the ideal struggle of the citizens of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom.

This event occurred following an extraordinary meeting between the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community and their honorables at the Samakkirangsey Buddhist Temple in Phnom Penh [ Cambodia ] on Sunday December 21, 2008 because the lawmakers vehemently expressed their supports for the peaceful struggle of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom people for human rights and freedom.

The action of the communist Vietnamese authorities clearly shows the public and the international community that the Government of Vietnam is seriously suppressing her own citizens, especially Khmer Kampuchea Krom [indigens] and systematically sweeps their violation underneath the carpet to cover up from the international community. Furthermore, it is a vindictive act toward the European Parliament for adopting an October 22, 2008 resolution to pressure the Government of Vietnam to fully respect the [human] rights of her own citizens in accordance to the international human rights standard.

The Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community appeals to the international community, especially the European Community, to push the Government of Vietnam to allow Hon. Marco Giacinto Pannella and Hon. Marco Perduca to visit Vietnam in order to conduct field investigation of the situation of human rights.

Phnom Penh , December 23, 2008

The Secretariat
The Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community

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