Vietnamese Cambodians: Difference between revisions

VietnameseWith settlersthe beganunification toVietnam settleunder in modern-dayEmperor [[Cochinchina]]Gia and [[Ho Chi Minh CityLong]] from the 1620s onwards. To the Cambodians, these lands were known as [[Kampuchea Krom]] and traditionally under the controlCourt of theHue [[Khmerasserted Empire]].its Fromhegemony thein era1813 ofand [[Cheysent Chettha II]] onwards10,000 theytroops cameto underPhnom the control of the [[Nguyễn lords]]Penh.<ref>Corfield (2009),The p.Cambodian 3</ref>court Inwas 1813,split Emperorinto [[Giarival Long]]factions sentvying 10,000for Vietnamese troops into Phnom Penhpower and some members of the Cambodian royal family came undersought the controlsupport of the Vietnamese, courtthus implanting Vietnamese power within the kingdom.<ref>Schliesinger (2015), p. 258</ref> TheFavors Nguyenwere courtgranted imposedto Vietnameseallow customsmore uponVietnamese thesettlers Cambodianand populace,by andthe namesreign of townsEmperor and[[Minh provincesMang]], wereVietnam changedchose to Vietnameseimpose ones.its Vietnameserule settlersdirectly, wererelegating encouragedthe toCambodian settlecourt into Cambodiaa andminor officialrole. documentsAdministrative fromrenaming theof Vietnamesetown courtand recordedprovinces anwas averagecarried ofout 5,000while Vietnamese settlerscustoms comingwere intoforced Cambodiaupon inthe theCambodian 1830spopulace.<ref>Kuhnt-Saptodewo (1997), p. 154</ref> The heavy-handed policies imposed by the Nguyen court stirred resentment among the Cambodian populace, andprovoking provokedprotracted occasionalinsurgency rebellionsand unrest.<ref>Corfield (2009), pp. 17–18</ref> Vietnam was forced to withdraw, accepting the restoration of the royal candidate Ang Duong as the Cambodian king. Vietnam nonetheless joined Siam to hold Cambodia in joint vassalage.

In 1880, with the establishment of the [[French Protectorate of Cambodia|French colonial administration]], toCambodia providejoined Vietnam as part of [[Citizenship|subjectFrench Indochina]], the status to Vietnamese residents in Cambodia was formally legalized. Over the next fifty years, large numbers of Vietnamese migrated to Cambodia.<ref>Corfield (2009), p. 28</ref> Population censuses conducted by the French recorded an increase in the Vietnamese population from about 4,500 in the 1860s to almost 200,000 at the end of the 1930s.<ref name="Sch259">Schliesinger (2015), p. 259</ref> When the [[Japanese invasion of French Indochina|Japanese invaded Indochina]] in 1940, Vietnamese nationalists in Cambodia launched a brief but unsuccessful attempt to attack the French colonial administrators.<ref>Corfield (2009), p. 40</ref> In 1954, a citizenship law was passed on the basis of knowledge in the Khmer language and national origin, and effectively excluded most Vietnamese and [[Chinese Cambodian]]s.<ref>Ehrentraut (2013), p. 50</ref> At the grassroots level, Vietnamese also faced occasional cases of violent intimidation from the Cambodians. During a [[Sangkum]] congress in 1962, politicians debated on the issue of citizenship on Cambodia's ethnic minorities and a resolution was passed not to grant naturalization of Vietnamese residents.<ref name="Wil35">Willmott (1967), p. 35</ref>

With independence in 1954, Cambodia legislated a citizenship law based on knowledge in the Khmer language and national origin; this effectively excluded most Vietnamese and [[Chinese Cambodian]]s.<ref>Ehrentraut (2013), p. 50</ref> At the grassroot level, Vietnamese also faced occasional cases of violent intimidation from the Cambodians. During a [[Sangkum]] congress in 1962, politicians debated on the issue of citizenship on Cambodia's ethnic minorities and a resolution was passed not to grant naturalization of Vietnamese residents.<ref name="Wil35">Willmott (1967), p. 35</ref>

When [[Lon Nol]] [[Cambodian coup of 1970|assumed power in 1970]], the [[Khmer Republic]] government launched a propaganda campaign to portray the ethnic Vietnamese as agents of the [[Vietcong]]. About 30,000 Vietnamese were arrested and killed in prison, while an additional tens of thousands fled to Vietnam. Five years later in 1975 when the Khmer republic met its demise at the hands of the [[Khmer Rouge]], lessfewer than 80,000 Vietnamese remained in Cambodia. when theThe [[Khmer Rouge]] seizedproceeded power.to expel Closeclose to three quarters of them were expelledback to Vietnam, and; the remaining 20,000 whowere remainedclassified areas thosemixed who are of mixed-Vietnamese and Khmer descent. Those who remainedand were killed by the regime.<ref name="Sch260">Schliesinger (2015), p. 260</ref> By the time [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War|Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia]] in 1979, virtually all of Cambodia's Vietnamese population were either displaced or killed.<ref name="Tabeau48">Tabeau (2009), p. 48</ref> Vietnam established a new regime known as the [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]] (PRK), and Vietnamese advisers were appointed in the new government administration. In 1983, the PRK government formulated an official policy to encourage former Vietnamese residents of Cambodia to return and settle downin Cambodia. Even Vietnamese immigrants who had no family ties to Cambodia also came to settle in the country, as there was little border control to limit Vietnamese migrants from entering the country.<ref name="Eh56">Ehrentraut (2013), p. 56</ref> The Vietnamese were recognised as an official minority under the PRK regime, and Overseas Vietnamese Associations were established in parts of Cambodia with sizeable Vietnamese populations.<ref>Heder (1995), p. 154</ref> The PRK government also identity cards were issued to them until the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops in 1990.<ref>Heder (1995), p. 135</ref>

In August 1994, the [[National Assembly of Cambodia]] introduced an immigration law which authorisesauthorised the deportation of illegal immigrants. The [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]] perceivedassessed the law as singling out and targeting Vietnamese migrants in Cambodia, and; the Cambodian government laterhad steppedto inreassure tothe international assurecommunity that no mass deportations of Vietnamese refugees would be implemented. TheMeanwhile in the remote northwest, he Khmer Rouge continued to carry out sporadic attacks on Vietnamese civilians. untilThe theyKhmer Rouge formally surrendered to the government in 1999. Ethnicbut ethnic Vietnamese continue to face discrimination fromin Cambodian societyCambodia, andboth encounteredas physical intimidation from societythe general population and governmentadministrative threats by local authorities. Anti-Vietnamese are familiar rallying cries from politicians in especiallycampaigns during the general elections orand become even more acute when disputes betweenflared Cambodiain andthe news between the Vietnamtwo arisecountries.<ref>Amer (2013), p. 95</ref>