MEDIA RELEASE/SITUATION REPORT: 2 April 2003

While the world is focused on the Iraq conflict Vietnamese Security forces are escalating persecution of the indigenous (hill tribe) Degar Montagnards inside the central highlands. The Government of Vietnam has also continued to defy the 2002 Concluding Observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding the “serious violations” confronting the Degar Montagnards ((UN doc: CCPR/C/SR.2031) and allow independent human rights monitors into the central highlands and end the regime of martial law thus ceasing killings, Christian persecution, torture, coercive sterilizations and confiscation of the Montagnard’s ancestral lands. Persecution of the Montagnards is documented in the April 2002 Human Rights Watch report “Repression of Montagnards” (http://store.yahoo.com/hrwpubs/vietrepofmon.html) and the 21 January 2003 Human Rights Watch report, “Vietnam: New Assault on Rights in Central Highlands, Crackdown on Indigenous Montagnards Intensifies”. Amnesty International also published a report on 18 December 2002 “No Sanctuary: Plight of the Montagnard Minority” ASA 41/011/2002) while at the European Parliament Hon. Marco Panella MEP of the European Parliament and founder of the Transnational Radical Party asked the European Commission throughout 2002 –2003 to investigate the continuing persecution of the Montagnards by the government of Vietnam.

‘Secret’ Military prison camp and execution ground identified

At the ‘secret’ military camp at Buon Cu Mblim, Krong Ana district, Dak Lac province Vietnamese soldiers executed 3 Degars whose names we don’t know on February 27, 2003. After they had executed these 3, the soldiers placed the bodies outside of the camp and summoned approximately 100 villagers to look at the dead victims and told the villagers “this is how you are going to end up if you follow Kok Ksor and the Montagnard Foundation”. The soldiers also told the villagers not to believe in Christ as it was against the principals of Ho Chi Minh. The villagers saw that the eyes of those 3 victims had been cut out. The soldiers then buried the dead bodies outside the camp with their feet protruding from the ground and warned the villagers not to approach the burial ground or they will be executed.

Shootings of unarmed civilians by Vietnamese security Forces

On March 26, 2003, approximately 50 Vietnamese soldiers and security forces conducted a sweeping operation in the area of Dir Tok, Ia Pet commune, Dak Doa district, Gia Lai province. At 7:00 am just West of Plei Bia Bre about 700 meters they encountered 9 Degar people who were walking to the Ia Toi river for the morning clean up. The soldiers opened fire at these unarmed civilian Degar people and wounded two of them but the other 7 ran away. The soldiers took the wounded to the commune office. One of the two wounded died and they took his body to his family at the hamlet of Plei Nglom Thung for burial. The family of the dead examined the body and they found out that his skull had been crushed. They concluded he died not because of the bullet wound but because of being severely beaten after he was wounded. The name of the dead Montagnard person is Suoc who was born in 1962, from the hamlet of Plei Nglom Thung, Ia Pet commune, Dak Doa district, Gia Lai province. The name of the other Degar Montagnard who was wounded and captured is R’com Hui who was born in 1962, from the hamlet of Plei Khun, Tra Ba commune, Pleiku city, Gia Lai province. His whereabouts is unknown.

Arrests of refugees who had fled persecution

At the hamlet of Buon Jung, Krong Ana district, Dak Lac province a patrol of Vietnamese soldiers and police surrounded and arrested Y-Jo Nie and other 4 Montagnards who had been fleeing persecution since March 2003. Their whereabouts is unknown and their families worried about their physical condition.

Destruction of Montagnard Longhouse by Vietnamese Police

On 15 March 2003 at the hamlet of Buon Jung, Krong Ana district, Dak Lac province Vietnamese security forces destroyed the house of H’Rida Eban and stole all of her belongings because her husband was a refugee hiding in the jungles. At the present time H’Rida Eban and her two children have no place to stay.

The Montagnard Foundation herby requests the United Nations please take emergency action before more deaths occur and urgently:

Investigate and urge Vietnam to desist from these executions and human rights violations committed against indigenous Montagnards and Christians.
Urge Vietnam to release the 200 plus Montagnard prisoners listed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Ensure the Vietnamese government abides by the 2002 Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee regarding the “serious violations” confronting our people ((UN doc: CCPR/C/SR.2031) and allow human rights monitors into the central highlands.
Ensure refugee camps in Cambodia are kept open and that Vietnam abides by the UN refugee Convention and stop persecuting fleeing Montagnard refugees.
Urge international Donors, the United States, European Union, the United Nations bodies to reconsider granting of aid to Vietnam and Cambodia until they stop persecuting indigenous Montagnards as “aid without conditions” will only encourage these governments to continue with its human rights violations against the indigenous Montagnard Degar people and Christian followers.