IMMINENT FORCED REPATRIATION OF MORE THAN
100 MONTAGNARD REFUGEES IN CAMBODIA:
URGENT
INTERNATIONAL ACTION NEEDED NOW. MONTAGNARD REFUGEES WILL RESIST WITH
NONVIOLENCE TO THE FORCED REPATRIATION
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According to reliable information just received from Cambodia, the Cambodian
government has informed UNHCR that 108 Montagnard refugees at site 1 camp, whose
asylum cases have been rejected by UNHCR, will be returned to Vietnam on July
20, 2005 without any kind of monitor or protection as mandated by the UN Convention
on Refugees.
On behalf of the Degar people in the Central Highlands and in the US the Montagnard
Foundation appeals to all democratic Governments, and in particular to the
US Government and the EU countries, to urgently intervene to stop this forced
repatriation that not only will violate the UN Refugee Convention, but will
put at risk the life of more than 100 refugees. No repatriation should be allowed
until a reliable monitoring system to protect these refugees is successfully
established by UNHCR and other UN agencies in the Central Highlands.
Cambodia and Vietnam are recipients of huge sums of development aid from the
US Government and the European Commission. The forced repatriation of human
beings without guarantees to a country like Vietnam, known for persecuting
and discriminating systematically, the Montagnards is contrary not only to
international law, but to the principles of humanity.
Democratic Governments must oppose such criminal behavior.
Despite all this, the Montagnards in the refugee camp will react in a nonviolent
way if the Cambodian authorities and the UNHCR will try to forcibly repatriate
them. They will sit down and pray to ask the democratic governments to intervene
to respect their human rights: they will not fight back the authorities.
Finally MFI wishes also to appeal to the new UN High Commissioner for refugees
Mr. Antonio Guterres to thoroughly review the operations of the UNHCR offices
in Vietnam and Cambodia to ensure that the UN Refugees Convention is properly
applied.
