Thach Thuol

Venerable Thạch Thươl is a Khmer Krom Buddhist monk and deputy abbot of Serei Ta Sek Temple in Sóc Trăng province.

As the head monk of Ta Set Pagoda, he often spoke out against the government’s mistreatement of Khmer Krom Buddhists who refused to be absorbed into the government-created Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. Venerable Thach Thuol also criticized the government for rejecting his multiple requests that his temple be allowed to teach Khmer language to Khmer Krom children. At the order of the government, the Patriotic Monks Association ordered Thạch Thươl and two other Khmer Krom monks to defrock or face imprisonment, alleging that the three were spreading “fabricated information” abroad about rights violations in Viet Nam, through interviews with foreign media and contact with the Khmer Krom Federation, a US-based advocacy group. As the representative of this association, escorted by the police, came to evict him from his own temple, his followers put up resistance. As he and three other Khmer Krom Buddhists attempted to flee to a safe location to seek political asylum, they were arrested on 05/20/2013.