Petition
Introduction
On November 25, 2017, at Trianon Theater – 72 N 5th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, United States, the Champa Oversea Communities held Conference on Champa in remembrance of 185 years after the loss kingdom of Champa (1832-2017) with the theme of Indigenous Peoples of Champa. This historic event brought together activists from around the world to discuss the issues about the indigenous peoples of Champa.
The 2017 Conference on Champa was sponsored by the International Office of Champa (IOC-Champa), the Champa Cultural Preservation Association of USA, the Champa Culture and Tradition of USA, The Council for the Social – Cultural Development of Champa, the Cham Muslim Community of Santa Clara County, the Council of Indigenous Peoples in Today’s Vietnam (CIP-TVN).
The objective of the 2017 Conference on Champa is to identify the social-economic issues within the indigenous peoples in Vietnam. The delegates attending the conference included professors, scholars, and lawyers from the United States, France, Laos, and Malaysia, along with representatives from Champa communities in the United States, Europe, the Montagnards, Laos, Khmer Krom and Vietnam.
The Organizing Committee of the Conference recorded five most important recommendations for the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples in Vietnam, in line with the Declaration of the United Nations.
Petition
Article 1: The Peoples of Champa, Central Highland Montagnards, and Khmer Krom are the Indigenous Peoples
Historically, the Chams and the Montagnards are the descendants of Champa kingdom who reside in the Central of Vietnam long before the arrival of the Vietnamese. As for the Khmer Krom, their ancestral lands are in the Mekong delta in the south. Through military conquest, the Vietnamese took over their land from the Central to South of Vietnam. According to the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007, the Cham, Montagnards and Khmer Krom are not an ethnic minority, but classified as Indigenous People of Today’s Vietnam.
As a historical fact, the Delegates at the Conference of Champa 2017 and the Champa Oversea Community ask the Vietnamese government re-examine this fact and recognize the Cham, the Montagnards, and the Khmer Krom as the Indigenous Peoples.
Article 2: Champa Religious Temples and Shrines – The Spiritual Heritage of Cham People
The Cham Temples and Shrines are sacred places that hold religious ceremonies for the Cham Ahier such as Kate, Cambur, Yuer Yang, Peh Ba-mbeng Yang, etc. Traditionally, these Shrines are open only on special days held by Cham priests known as Po Adhia, Basaih, Camnei, Pajaw, and Kadhar. After the ceremonies, the gates must be closed and no one has the right to open the Shrines without the consent of religious council and the Ahier high priests. In opposition to the religious belief, the Vietnamese government ordered the Shrines to be to open for tourism all year long, deprive the religious heritage and spiritual life of the Cham people. However, the income generated from tourist business only circulate in the Department of Culture in the city not at all benefit the Cham communities. In the mean time, the Chams who already suffer from economic discrimination still have to pay for their religious affairs and the offerings with their own expenses.
The Delegates of Conference on Champa 2017 urges the Vietnam government return the Temples and Shrines to the Cham people as they are the true owners. These Shrines are not for tourism but have a sacred place in their religious and spiritual life.
Article 3: Promote Cham Language Classes in High Schools and Universities
As a cultural heritage, language is a tool to carry on the cultural and spiritual life from one generation to the next. It also connects the past, presence, and the future. Along with verbal communication, there is also writing system. At present time, the Vietnamese government only allows Cham language to be taught a number of hours in elementary schools in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces. Unfortunately, the Cham Scripts known as Akhar Thrah, a heritage of Cham culture is not promoted in other cities where Cham people also live such as Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang, Tay Ninh, etc. There is also a wealth of Cham poetry and literatures which are not being promulgated widely.
The delegates of Champa 2017 conference request the Vietnamese government to promote Cham language in high schools as well as in the university in the areas where the Cham resides. They should learn their own poetry and the richness of their own literatures and traditions.
Article 4: Free Education and Scholarships for Indigenous Peoples
Education is the primary concern in the forum of the 2017 Conference on Champa. The indigenous peoples in Today’s Vietnam are suffering from economic discrimination, therefore, their communities are isolated and their living standards are substandard compare with the national average; At this rate the Indigenous Peoples will fall further behind as time progresses. To lift this community out of economic depression, there should be a policy where Indigenous Peoples are granted free education and there should be a quota of scholarships provided for them to study abroad. The fact is every year there are more than ten thousands of Vietnamese students receiving scholarships but none of them are granted for the Indigenous Peoples. This shows the inequality and discrimination in the education system toward the Indigenous Peoples in Vietnamese society today.
The delegates of the 2017 Conference on Champa urge the Vietnamese government to have a clear policy granting a quota of scholarships for the Indigenous Peoples to study abroad and the school tuitions should be exempted for all levels of education toward the Indigenous Peoples.
Article 5: The Rights of Indigenous Peoples Under the United Nations’ Declaration
The delegates of the 2017 Conference on Champa ask the Vietnam government to recognize that the recommendations mentioned above are based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted on September 13, 2007, on which Vietnam was a member of. The delegates of the 2017 Conference on Champa do not exhort the people of Champa involve in the violent struggle to gain their Rights but we do so according to the Declaration of the United Nations. They Indigenous Peoples all over the world deserve their Rights unconditionally, and the government of Vietnam shall not persecute the Indigenous Peoples in any shape or form in pursuing their Indigenous status.
Respectfully Yours,
Qasim Tu
Director of Organizing Committee
Conference on Champa 2017