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WILL “QUIET DIPLOMACY” EVER WORK?
MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION ASKS INTERNATIONAL DONORS TO USE SOME
OF THE 2.84 BILLION GRANTED TO VIETNAM FOR PROTECTION OF MONTAGNARD
CHRISTIANS AND FLEEING REFUGEES
Recently
International donors granted Vietnam a total of $2.84 Billion for the
forthcoming year. However, there were heated debates between donors
and Vietnamese representatives on human rights as reported by the AFP
on 7 December 2003. Since February 2001 Vietnam has continued the
military crackdown and established martial law in the central
highlands where security forces arrest, imprison, torture and even
shoot Montagnard Christians. Throughout the country the Vietnamese
government has persecuted Buddhists, Christians, Hoa Hoa Buddhists,
Hmong Christians, cyber dissidents and anyone who criticizes the
government. In Cambodia Montagnard refugees are forcibly returned to
Vietnam where they suffer brutal retaliation and Radio Free Asia
reported on 3 December 2003 that the last remaining Montagnard
refugees were forcibly returned to Vietnam. It was only in May 2003
that the US International Commission for Religious Freedom stated,
“the increased repression of religious freedom has been reportedly
sanctioned at the highest levels of the Vietnamese government.” To
date it appears “Quiet Diplomacy” is not working in improving the
Human Rights situation in communist Vietnam. This has not gone
unnoticed however, noting the following:
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The US
Congress is currently considering linking non-humanitarian aid to
progress in human rights in Vietnam
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Human
Rights Watch has quite clearly urged donors to link aid to
improvements in Vietnam’s human rights.
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Amnesty International stated last December that the “softly
softly” approach of quiet dialogue with Vietnam on human rights
is not working.
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Olivier Dupius member of the European Parliament as well as the
Transnational Radical Party have called for concrete progress by
Vietnam be made before further European aid is granted to
Vietnam.
The
Montagnard Foundation however, acknowledges the difficult political
decisions concerning aid to Vietnam and also acknowledges the
importance of donors to assist developing nations like Vietnam.
However, the Montagnard Foundation is responding to the pleas of our
people inside Vietnam’s central highlands that the international
community needs to do something more to protect them.
Recently
we reported that Army Division 198 conducted a sweeping operation in
the villages of Boun Cuoi, Krang, Braing, Knul and Blang in Dak Lak
province looking for Christians and fleeing refugees. This however,
is just one example of repression our people are suffering and the
situation facing the Montagnard Degar population inside Vietnam has
reached a crisis point in what appears a sophisticated form of ethnic
cleansing by Vietnamese authorities that view Christianity and
freedom of expression as a threat.
Some
examples of persecution include the shooting of fleeing Christian on
October 16, 2003 where police and soldiers went to the village of
Buon Cuor Knia, Buon Don district, Dak Lak province and shot our
Christian brother Y-Hoang Buon Krong with an AK47 rifle. He was
wounded with four bullets and was hospitalized at Buonmathuot
Hospital. His present condition is unknown.
On October
10, 2003 group of 12 police from the district of Krong Ana, province
of Daklak, shot our Christian brother Y-Pho Eban in his house and in
front of his wife and children with AK 47 rifle. His wife and
children cried out for help but the police tied his pregnant wife to
a house pole, beat her and stuffed a cloth in her mouth. Y-Phon Eban
was wounded with three bullets in his abdomen and he was hospitalized
at Buonmathuot Hospital. Current situation unknown.
On
September 15th, 2003 Vietnamese police, in two jeeps from Mang Yang
district arrested and tortured 8 Montagnard Degar Christians during a
prayer meeting at Oai’s house in the village of Bong Mor, commune of
Ayun, district of Mang Yang, province of Gia Lai. Named Oai, Pral,
Pet, Djip, Ruk, Dun, Jak, H’Nip. The 8 church members above were
beaten along the journey to the local jail. The owner of the house
where the meeting took place was beaten until unconscious while the
others were kicked, struck and shocked into unconsciousness by
electric batons. They were finally released on 17 September 2003.
These are
just some of the human rights violations that our people are
suffering as Vietnamese authorities step up repressive measures to
prevent word of these atrocities from getting out of the region. The
Montagnard Foundation urgently requests:
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That
International Donors do something concrete with donor monies in
order to protect our people and other victim groups like
Buddhists, Hmong Christians and cyber-dissidents from Vietnamese
government persecution.
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That
international donors raise the issue of granting international
monitors access to the Central Highlands as recommended by the
concluding observations of the 2002 UN Human Rights Committee -
before further aid is granted.
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That
international donors also review the situation of Cambodia in
complying with the Refugee Convention and allow the UNHCR to
operate in Cambodia.
UNLESS URGENT AND CONCRETE ACTION IS TAKEN MONTAGNARD DEGAR
CHRISTIANS AND OTHER DISSIDENTS IN VIETNAM WILL SUFFER AND PERHAPS
DIE
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