Only a few months ago, Tiet's daughter was murdered in a pre-election attack on his village by Khmer Rouge. Kim Hourn called on Cambodian leaders to resolve political tensions and halt racial scapegoating before the situation becomes explosive. The elections were approved as fair by international observers. In early September, as passions escalated, some protesters attacked a Vietnamese solidarity monument with hammers and set it on fire with gasoline. A mob beat four Vietnamese merchants to death as rumors spread through the city that they sold poisoned rice wine which killed a dozen residents.
Opposition leaders deny playing a race card to whip up popular political support.
Many settled near the border with Vietnam, seeking to thrive on trade. During those same years, Cambodian resistance forces, aligned with the Khmer Rouge, and backed by the United States, China, and Thailand, launched a war against the Vietnamese-installed government. That war ended with peace accords and elections, and an uneasy coalition government, orchestrated by the U.N., was set up in the early 1990s. He conceded that there are problems of illegal immigration and border disputes involving Vietnamese, but says politicians are scapegoating them to gain support. In Vietnam, I wouldn't know what to do.