ARREST AND DEFROCKING OF ETHNIC KHMER BUDDHIST MONKS IN THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L HO CHI MINH CITY 000489 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/8/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL KIRF SOCI PINR VM SUBJECT: ARREST AND DEFROCKING OF ETHNIC KHMER BUDDHIST MONKS IN THE MEKONG DELTA REF: A) PHNOM PENH 342, B) HO CHI MIN 234 CLASSIFIED BY: Seth Winnick, Consul General, EXEC, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Post has confirmed recent incidents of detention and/or defrocking of ethnic Khmer Buddhist monks in two Mekong Delta provinces, despite official denials (Ref B). Venerable Tang No, head monk of Kleang pagoda in Soc Trang (strictly protect), confirmed to us in early May that three monks -- Kim Muon, Ly Suong and Thach Thuong -- were defrocked and have been in police custody since February 8 for their affiliation with an "overseas-based anti-GVN" organization, the New Jersey-based Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKF). According to No, the three monks "took advantage" of an altercation between some Khmer monks and local traffic police to claim the GVN was repressing religious freedom by preventing Khmer monks from practicing their daily food-begging. They incited students from the local Buddhist Seminary to protest. ¶2. (C) Venerable No said that two other monks -- Ly Nau and Son Thanh Phia -- were interrogated by police on April 19 for their participation in the February 8 incident. They were released by police but later defrocked. Another monk from Wat Sam Rong pagoda in Soc Trang confirmed the defrocking of two more monks, Ly Hoang and Ly Tang Thong. ¶3. (C) Kim Hong Danh, the Chief of Staff of the Tra Vinh Provincial Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (strictly protect),confirmed that three ethnic Khmer monks -- Thach Thanh, Son Lum An and Son Cheng Cheon -- have been under pagoda arrest in Tra Vinh since January 19. Our contact said that Thach Thanh was picked up by police in January when he was transporting anti-GVN materials prepared by a Khmer Krom organization from Cambodia to Tra Vinh via Soc Trang. Danh said the monk was riding on a bus with two cameras and "anti-GVN materials hidden in an instant noodle box." The official said that, during his detention in January, Thanh telephoned a number of young Khmer student monks from the local Kompngchray pagoda and urged them to protest his arrest. The students "caused a disturbance" at the police station while filming their protest. Thanh was later sent to a pagoda where the provincial Monks Solidarity Association would "re-educate" him. Danh said that this was the second time Thanh was interrogated for circulating anti-GVN Khmer Krom materials. Danh said Son Lum An and Son Cheng Cheon were among the leaders of the monks who came to the protest at the police station. According to the official, the three monks are restricted to their pagoda and are to be reprimanded by the Khmer Buddhist authorities. ¶4. (C) Comment: Despite official denials, a crackdown against some ethnic Khmer Buddhist monks and acolytes in the Mekong Delta appears to have occurred. In addition to the ten ethnic Khmer Buddhists we have identified, the KKF claims another five monks -- Thach Do, Ly Thanh Suoi, Thach Xuan Hien, Tang Phien and Thach Phun -- were defrocked or are under house arrest. Although we have been unable to confirm this information -- abbots of the pagodas to which these monks were affiliated would not discuss the matter with us -- we believe the KKF information to be accurate. ¶5. (C) Comment Continued: The Khmer Krom are Theravada Buddhists while ethnic Vietnamese Buddhists generally follow the Chinese Mahayana tradition. As in Cambodia and Thailand, Buddhist temples are at the heart of ethnic Khmer society, so it is not surprising that unrest would involve the community's monks. The GVN action appears to be aimed more at a perceived threat of ethnic separatism than at suppressing religious belief. There are, however, strong indications that the U.S.-based KKF advocates Khmer separatism. The KKF website, , is replete with references that would alarm the GVN and lead it to conclude that the KKF is challenging Vietnam's territorial integrity. The website contains phrases such as the Khmer Krom have "rightful ownership of the land" and that the ethnic Khmer "illegally lost control" of the Mekong Delta to the Vietnamese "invaders." The website calls for the international community to recognize a right of self-determination for the ethnic Khmer of the Mekong Delta. We can expect the GVN to continue to move vigorously against any individual or organization that it believes is separatist. However, we have seen no evidence of a generalized crackdown or discriminatory policies against the ethnic Khmer community in the Mekong Delta. End Comment. WINNICK