~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

[Year 1997]
[Year 1998]
[Year 1999]
[Year 2000]
[Year 2001]

Cambodian Opposition leader detained by Vietnam

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy and 25 supporters were detained briefly on Saturday by Vietnamese soldiers at a village on the border between the two countries, his party and Cambodian officials said. Sam Rainsy was detained opposite Kirivong district of Cambodia's eastern Takeo province after crossing into Vietnam.

He was released after agreeing to delete video footage he had filmed there, his wife Tioulong Saumura said. Om Yentieng, personal adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, said that his staff had talked to Vietnamese authorities and that Sam Rainsy and his group had been released and were on their way back to Phnom Penh. A diplomat at the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, speaking earlier on condition of anonymity, said the embassy had no knowledge of the reported detention.

One other lower house lawmaker and two senators from the Sam Rainsy Party were among the 25 people, who were visiting the area to distribute food to 500 Cambodian families hit by heavy monsoon floods this year, party officials said. Sam Rainsy was also investigating reports of Vietnamese encroachment on Cambodian territory - an accusation often repeated by the outspoken opposition leader.

Tioulong Saumura, who is also a Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker, said the group had crossed into Vietnam through an official border checkpoint. She said Den village where he was detained belonged to Cambodia but had come under the control of Vietnam. Another party official Ou Sovann said Sam Rainsy had gotten into trouble for videotaping an area where there was border dispute between Cambodian and Vietnamese authorities.

A key element of Sam Rainsy's political platform is that Vietnam has progressively encroached on Cambodian territory, particularly after it invaded Cambodia in 1979 and maintained a large occupying force for a decade. Last week, Cambodia's Interior Ministry asked the Foreign Affairs Ministry to review alleged Vietnamese encroachment in a different Cambodian province. Cambodians traditionally fear encroachment by their larger eastern neighbour.

Associated Press - November 26, 2000.