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