An advocacy group for the Khmer Kampuchea Krom people reported Friday the minority group sees a disproportionate amount of rights abuses compared to other Cambodians.
A report undertaken by the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Association claims their group suffers more human rights abuses than other non-Khmer groups, such as the Vietnamese or Cham. The group monitored human rights abuses over a four-month period, from January through April this year, in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville municipalities and Kandal and Takeo provinces.
The group said it documented 129 separate abuses, including three murders, in that period.
Other violations included arrests, illegal detentions, land seizures, threats of arrest and assault.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak dismissed the report's findings.
"Actually, there were no abuses," he said. "The important thing is the implementation of the law. We implement laws in every country. We act according to the law."
The report comes on the heels of the defrocking and alleged abduction of a defrocked Khmer Krom monk last week.
Rights groups say the monk, whose whereabouts remain unknown, was forced into a car after being stripped of his monk status for allegedly fomenting political turmoil between Cambodia and Vietnam.