Friday, June 05, 2009
By Eang Mengleng and Frank Radosevich, 
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Members of the Khmer Krom community, including nearly 2,000 Buddhist monks, gathered in the capital's Wat Butum Park Thursday morning to mark the 60th anniversary of the day France officially ceded the territory known as Kampuchea Krom to Vietnam on June 4, 1949.
But the ceremony was almost brought to an unexpected end the night before when officials at the Ministry of Culture told organizers they could not use the scheduled sites, Chaktomuk Conference Hall.
Ang Chanrith, head of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organization, said organizers were informed between 11 pm and midnight Wednesday that they could no longer host their observance at the riverfront center. He said the late-night notice sent planner scrambling to find a new location. The more than hour-long service was eventually held at the public park under two large tents with the Cambodian-Vietnamese Friendship Monument looming in the background.
Members of the Khmer Krom community said they viewed the last-minute change as an attempt to disrupt the garthering before it even began.
"They should have informed us beforehand," said Son Sobert, a member of the Constitutional Council and a Khmer Krom. "I don't think it is correct. It is a trick to jeopardize the meeting."
Culture Ministry Secretary of State Chuch Phoeurn said he was unaware of the issue but added that conference hall has suffered problems with its infrastructure and is in need of renovations.
"There is a problem with the electric system, water supply and air conditioner. So we could not rent this building to them to avoid the critizism of the government when they use it and then some of the systems inside the building do not work," he said of iconic center, which hosted the opening ceremony for the Asean-European Union ministerial just last week.
A man answering Culture Minister Him Chhem's phone said he was too busy to comment.
Besides commemorating history, the event also served as a chance to highlight the plight of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom community.
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