Authorities attack Buddhist community during religious ceremony

A Khmer Krom Buddhist gathering was attacked by Vietnamese authorities during a ceremony at Chedey temple in Tap Son village, Tra Cu district, Tra Vinh province in southern Vietnam on 4 June.

The ceremony, held by the Khmer-Krom community to pay respect to their ancestors, was disrupted by approximately ten representatives of the Vietnamese authorities at 9:40am local time. The perpetrators did not wear uniforms and are thought to have come from outside the village.

The authorities reportedly physically attacked approximately ten community members, including two Khmer-Krom Buddhist monks.

Voice of Kampuchea Krom (VOKK) and the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF), global organisations that advocate for the rights of the Khmer Krom people, shared footage of the attack on social media and called on the international community to apply pressure on the Vietnamese authorities to bring an end to violations against the Khmer Krom community.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘Reports of a violent attack on Chedey temple in Tra Vinh province are deeply concerning and yet another incident in a worrying pattern of persistent targeting of ethnic and religious minorities in Vietnam. CSW urges the Vietnam authorities to immediately cease all harassment of Khmer-Krom Buddhists and other religious groups across the country.’

Note to Editors:

1. The Khmer Krom are ethnically Khmer people living in or from the region of Tây Nam Bộ in southwest Vietnam (Mekong Delta).