BACKGROUND: Urgent action needed to prevent what happened last Easter. On April 10, 2004 tens of thousands of Christian Montagnards conducted peaceful demonstrations inside Vietnam’s Central Highlands calling for an end to years of persecution by the communist government. Vietnamese security forces brutally attacked the demonstrators and Human Rights Watch reported on 28 May 2004 that “Hundreds of demonstrators were wounded and many were killed on April 10 and 11 on key bridges and roadways”. Current information received from the region indicates Vietnamese authorities are conducting repressive operations against Montagnard Christians to prevent upcoming Christmas celebrations.

VILLAGES “MINED” BY SOLDIERS AND MORE “STAGED” VIOLENCE FILMED

October 7, 2004, approximately 1000 armed Vietnamese soldiers in seven military buses entered the four Degar Montagnard communal villages named Golar, Ia Pet, Adok and Ia Bang (and other surrounding villages in the area). Most of these villagers had participated in last Easter’s peaceful prayer vigil asking for the government to stop repressing the Montagnard Degar people and allow religious freedom and to return their ancestral lands. At approximately 6:00 PM, the troops stormed into the villages which made the villagers fearful for their lives. The soldiers warned the villagers not to go out of the village for they had placed explosives and mines all around their village boundaries. The soldiers stated, “We would not be responsible for whoever got out of the village and got killed by the wired explosives”.

Using megaphones the soldiers blared in the Vietnamese language “Trong chan duong am muu bon phan dong” which means “stop the strategy of rebellious forces”. While this was happening the Quan Doi News Agency filmed them by video camera. Then, the soldiers staged fighting scenes as they used banana stems to feign hitting each other. Some soldiers lied down as if they were dead and other soldiers picked them up and threw them in trucks. The cameras filmed these scenes from 6:00 o’clock PM until 12:00 o’clock midnight. One of the Degar villagers who had been working for the government as a chairman of the communal village of Go-Lar asked them “why did you rush into our villages with the soldiers fully equipped with war equipment? Why are you frightening and scaring our people like this? What have we done wrong this time?” The soldiers replied “We do not come here to harm you and your people. We just want to make a film and show it to ASEM so don’t you be frightened”.

ELECTRIC SHOCK TORTURE OF CHRISTIANS WHO REFUSE TO JOIN THE ECVN “GOVERNMENT APPROVED” CHURCH:

At around 9:00 o’clock AM commencing on September 14, 2004, paramilitary police from Dak Doa district arrested Christian believers in Go-Lar Commune, Dak Dao district, Gia Lai province. Police shoved the Christians into a jeep and took them to Dak Doa district prison. While they were in prison they were beaten and repeatedly tortured with electric shocks because of their faith. They are presently being held in jail in Dak Doa district. Their names are:

• Wui, (34 yrs) a layman of the house church at Plei Djrong village, commune A-Dok, district Dak Doa, Gia Lai province. He was arrested and tortured on September 14, 2004 for being a Christian who refused to join the “government approved” Evangelical Church in Vietnam (ECVN).

• Grac, (DOB unknown) a layman of the house church at Plei Bia Tih village, commune A-Dok, district Dak Doa, Gia Lai province. He was arrested and tortured on September 14, 2004 for being a Christian who refused to join the “government approved” Evangelical Church in Vietnam (ECVN).

• Blu, (23 yrs) at around 7:30 AM on 17 September 2004 the same group of paramilitary police arrested and tortured our Christian Brother Blu, who was from the village of Plei A-Luk, commune K’Dang, district Dak Doa, Gia Lai province. The reason for his arrest is that he is a Christian who refused to join the “government approved” Evangelical Church in Vietnam (ECVN).

• Ayuh, (29 yrs) a layman of the house church at the village of Plei Dor II, commune of Go-Lar, district of Dak Doa, Gia Lai province. He was arrested and tortured on 18 September 2004 at around 7:30 AM because he is a Christian who refused to join the “government approved” Evangelical Church in Vietnam (ECVN).

• Hlou, (42 yrs) a layman and Pri (DOB unknown) a deacon of the house church at Plei Wet village, commune Go-Lar, district Dak Doa, Gia Lai province. They were arrested and tortured on September 20, 2004 at around 7:30 AM because they are Christians who refused to join the “government approved” Evangelical Church in Vietnam (ECVN).

The paramilitary police who arrested and tortured the Christians cited above are:

1. Lt. Colonel Droc (Montagnard), district paramilitary police

2. Major Hung (Vietnamese), district paramilitary police

3. Capt. Tuan (Vietnamese), district paramilitary police

4. Chinh (Vietnamese), rank unknown, district paramilitary police

5.  Hoa (Vietnamese), rank unknown, district paramilitary police

6. Tuoi (Vietnamese), rank unknown, district paramilitary police

7. Yen (Montagnard), rank unknown, paramilitary police of the commune of A-Dok.

 

BEATINGS AND KICKING BY POLICE:

On September 27, 04, at around 7a.m the district paramilitary police of Xa Thai commune demanded five Montagnard Christians to report to the communal committee of the commune of Ia Sion. Here, they tortured them by beating and kicking until 5 o’clock in the afternoon because they were Christians who refused to join the “government approved” ECVN church. The paramilitary police who tortured them are: Chief of police of Xa Thai district, Nguyen Van Dung and Capt. Vo. Later the five Montagnards were released. The names of the five Montagnard Christians are:
 

• AGroh, (34 yrs), from Plei Grak village, commune Ia Sion, district Xa Thai, Kon Tum province.

•  Siu Nor, (42 yrs), from Plei Grak village, commune Ia Sion, district Xa Thai, Kon Tum province.

• AByie, (34 yrs), from Plei Grak village, commune Ia Sion, district Xa Thai, Kon Tum province.

• ALoh, (16 yrs), from Plei Grak village, commune Ia Sion, district Xa Thai, Kon Tum province.

• ANuh, (age unknown), from Plei Grak village, commune Ia Sion, district Xa Thai, Kon Tum province.

 

ARRESTED: WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN:

On October 5, 04, at around 6a.m in the morning, the paramilitary police of Cu Se district, arrested nine Degar Christians at the communal village of Ia Ko, District of Cu Se, Gialai Province. Currently the whereabouts of these nine Montagnard Christians is unknown and we do not know whether they are dead or alive. Their names are listed below:
 

• Siu Tan, (50 yrs) from the village Plei Ket, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• Kpuih Cur, (36 yrs) from the village Plei Ket, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• Kpuih Plem, (31 yrs) from the village Plei Cut, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• Kpuih Phe, (42 yrs) from the village Plei Du Pah, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• R’mah Hrot, (40 yrs) from the village Plei Du Pah, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• Siu Ablem, (29 yrs) from the village Plei Hra, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• Siu Bop, (42 yrs) from the village Plei Hra, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• Siu Nuai, (36 yrs) from the village Plei Gra Sur, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

• Siu Nam, (28 yrs) from the village of Plei Wel, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se, province Gialai.

Another Montagnard Christian was captured on September 8, 2004 at his village around 11AM. He had been hiding since July 24 of 2002. It is unknown whether he is dead or alive. His name is below.

• Ksor Rik, date of birth unknown, from the village Plei Bong Phun, commune Cu-A, Plei Ku city, Gia Lai province.

Since October 7, 2004, many Degar villages have been cordoned off from village marketplaces and soldiers have restricted villagers from buying some food for their families. Many Degar villagers are also thoroughly searched by soldiers and police before they can enter the market place.

THE MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION CALLS ON:

• The International community and United Nations Organization takes immediate action to prevent another military crackdown by Vietnamese authorities this Christmas and investigate these specific crimes denounced by the MFI and other International NGOs and to insist the Vietnamese government release our Montagnard people held in prison for peaceful political activity, for practicing Christianity or for their social and political activities, demanding fair treatment by the Government or for trying to flee to Cambodia as refugees.

• The International community and United Nations Organization takes immediate action in getting human rights monitors access to the central highlands as recommended by the UN Human Rights Committee of which Vietnam has continued to ignore. (July 2002 75th session Human Rights Committee Concluding Observations on Vietnam. UN doc: CCPR/C/SR.2031).

• The International community and United Nations Organization takes immediate action to ensure the UNHCR is permitted to operate freely in Cambodia, that both Cambodia and Vietnam abide by the Refugee Convention, (as recently identified by UN Special Envoy Hon. Peter Leupretch) and that the bounties paid by Hanoi for our fleeing refugees are immediately stopped.

 

“UNLESS URGENT INTERNATIONAL ACTION IS TAKEN I FEAR THIS CHRISTMAS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS WILL BE MARRED BY BLOODSHED.”  KOK KSOR