Not only Vietnamese threatened by racism, rights worker says
The beating death of a Vietnamese-Cambodian earlier this month was the first incident in several years that some are calling a hate crime.
Leaders of the Vietnamese community in Cambodia, as well as the Vietnamese Embassy, say they want the Cambodian authorities to pay more attention to the issue, especially with the escalation of anti-Vietnamese rhetoric by the opposition in recent months. But the Vietnamese in Cambodia are not the only victims of such attitudes. Ou Virak, head of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, recently received death threats on Facebook for speaking out against racism within the speeches of opposition leader Sam Rainsy and anti-Vietnamese racism in general.In an interview with VOA Khmer, Ou Virak said racism is a prevalent threat to Cambodia.
The problem stems from traditional animosity between the two cultures, the Khmer Rouge, and the post-Khmer Rouge occupation of Cambodia by Vietnam. The opposition has traditional exploited the mistrust of many Cambodians of the Vietnamese by incorporating anti-immigration and anti-encroachment into its political platform. But Ou Virak said the practice needs to stop.“In my view, the whole of Cambodia will lose because our country will start to split,” he said. “Firstly, because we start to discriminate against Vietnamese; and secondly, we start to paint colors on each other, accusing supporters of a different political party as an enemy or Vietnamese puppet. At the end of the day, we see each other as enemies and can kill each other easily.” …
Men Kimseng
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/not-only-vietnamese-threatened-by-racism-rights-worker-says/1858791.html
