The Ministry of Interior Rejected Rong Chhun’s Request to Disclose the Number of Immigrants

The Ministry of Interior Rejected Rong Chhun’s Request to Disclose the Number of Immigrants

The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 668

“Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Interior will not respond to a request from Mr. Rong Chhun, a representative of the Cambodian Watchdog Council [he is also the president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association, surprisingly not mentioned in this article], for a public information about the number of immigrants in Cambodia.

“The spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, General Khieu Sopheak, told Deum Ampil by phone on Thursday, 10 June 2010, that the Ministry of Interior does not have the right to respond to Mr. Rong Chhun’s request; the Ministry of Interior is an institution under the administration of the fourth term Royal Government that has the role to serve the citizens.

“A letter signed by Mr. Rong Chhun, a representative of the Cambodian Watchdog Council, to the Ministry of Interior and the Deum Ampil newspaper on Thursday morning says that the Cambodian Watchdog Council noticed that the number of immigrants in Cambodia keeps increasing from day to day, which worries Khmer citizens.

“The letter adds that the Cambodian Watchdog Council asked for information about the number of legal and illegal Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants living in Cambodia. The Ministry of Interior does not broadly publish the number of immigrants and does not have clear procedures to be taken against illegal immigrants living in Cambodia.

“General Khieu Sopheak responded to the letter, saying, ‘The Ministry of Interior is not under the command of that council!’

“He added that the Ministry of Interior is controlled by the fourth Royal Government under Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen as the head of government, which is obliged to serve the citizens. Therefore, the Ministry of Interior does not have the right to answer to the above request, and he asked Mr. Rong Chhun to look at himself and to see how much rights he has.” Deum Ampil, Vol.4, #501, 11.6.2010

This article was first published by The Mirror, [3] Vol. 14, No. 668 - Friday, 11.6.2010
Have a look at the last editorial - you can access it directly from the main page of The Mirror. [3]

Norbert Klein is the Editor of The Mirror [4] – The Mirror is a daily comprehensive summary and translation of the major Khmer language press - More about The Mirror [5]