Hun Sen Tells US to Stop Deporting Ethnic Cambodian Felons to His Country

Khmer Circle: Why did Hanoi deport Xamdaach and his criminal gangs to Cambodia? In truth, these "Khmer Vietminhs" have done incomparably greater harm to the country than those ex-US convicts have ever done. And don't forget it was the Hun Sen regime that consented to the repatriation of these people in the first place so the aid flow could continue and its officials could enrich themselves with US dollars...

2017-04-27 

Prime Minister Hun Sen speaking during a graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, March 17, 2016

RFA

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called on the United States Thursday to end its practice of forcibly deporting convicts with Cambodian heritage to the Southeast Asian nation, a policy he said “splits up families.”

“We request an amendment to the agreement on deportation. Such deportation splits up families of our Cambodian people,” Hun Sen said at a speech at a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh.

“When they are jailed in the U.S., their families are allowed to visit them in the prison. However, when they are deported, they are far apart (from their families). The Cambodian government needs to address this matter,” he said.

Under a 2002 agreement, which the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said remains in effect until renegotiated, some 500 convicted felons of Cambodian descent after serving their sentences have been repatriated to a country most have never visited with a language they do not speak.

On April 25, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesperson issued a statement saying that the agreement has been widely criticized in Cambodia and among Cambodian Americans but had not been discontinued.

“The spokesperson rejects any information that the above memorandum has been discontinued and wishes to emphasize that Cambodia wants to amend the above agreement commensurate with the values of humanity and compassion,” the statement said.

“The agreement shall remain in effect while both parties are discussing the amendment,” it said.

The AFP news agency, reporting from Phnom Penh, quoted a U.S. embassy spokesman as saying Washington was aware of Cambodia’s desire to amend the memorandum.

Reported by Sovannarith Keo for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Paul Eckert.