KKC's Congratula​tions to Honorable John Kerry on his confirmati​on to be the next US Secretary of State

The Honorable John Forbes Kerry

Secretary of State

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20520

 

Dear Secretary Kerry:

 

The Khmer Kampuchea Krom people and I would like to warmly congratulate you on your historic Jan. 29 confirmation by the United States Senate to be the 68th Secretary of State.

 

I highly hope Mr. Secretary, in your new challenging role, reminds the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, SRV, to respect the human rights of her own citizens, abide by her own Constitution, the United Nations Charter, the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially the rights of the more than 13 million Khmer people living in Kampuchea Krom, Mekong Delta, or South Vietnam. It is high time the indigenous Khmers deserve equal citizenship as the Vietnamese. "It was the right thing to do," you stated after you volunteered to serve in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.

 

KKC recommends that the United States re-designates Vietnam as a CPC nation, country of particular concern, for egregious violations of human rights and religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government.

 

Kampuchea Krom is formerly part of the Kingdom of Cambodia that France transferred her to Vietnam illegally in 1949 after World War II.

 

The indigenous Khmer people had fought bravely side by side with our American soldiers in the Vietnam War. They sacrificed their lives and many were lost for defending their homeland and freedom.

 

Mr. Secretary, may you succeed in leading the United States of America into economic prosperity, and lead the world to realize genuinely a peaceful, secured, human right adherent and democratic place for all of her residents.

 

Most Respectfully,

 

Saret Kim