“This is not the first time that Human Rights Watch has released false information about Vietnam. It is necessary to reiterate that in Vietnam, all fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom of religion and expression, are clearly enshrined in the Constitution,” said Mr Dung.

He affirmed that the Khmer community in the Mekong Delta is an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation, which boasts 54 ethnic groups. The Vietnamese State pursues a policy that ensures equality, unity and mutual assistance among these ethnic groups, and the State never allows any act that could create ethnic discrimination and division.

“This policy has been expressed in the Constitution and deployed in practice. The ethnic minorities including the Khmers are equally treated, and the State creates the best possible conditions to improve their material and spiritual lives,” said the spokesperson.

In 2008, the local authorities created 358,000 jobs for Khmer people (up 1.2 percent against 2007) and sent some 4,000 to work abroad. Their average GDP per capita was VND14.8 million (US$ 890) and the poverty rate dropped to 11.2 percent, down by 1.6 percent from 2007.

Currently, the provincial radio and television services are running programmes in Khmer. In Khmer-inhabited provinces, there are also weekly newspapers in Khmer. Local authorities have offered assistance to the Khmer to refurbish their places of worship. People of ethnic groups in these areas have shown their trust in Party guidelines and State policies.

The spokesperson said in recent years, due to process of land clearance for new socio-economic development projects and infrastructure construction, several residents have expressed their discontent with the local administration over compensation rates and lodged petitions. The authorities have been settling all these matters according to current legal provisions and real local contexts.

There is absolutely no oppression or restriction of the Khmer’s rights to freedom of religion and belief as well as expression in the Mekong Delta, said Mr Dung.

(Source: VOV)