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NEW PROTEST IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OVER DISCRIMINATION:
VIETNAMESE MILITARY SENDS IN TROOPS AS MONTAGNARD DEGAR PEOPLE WERE ATTACKED, THEN DENIED MEDICAL TREATMENT AND STUDENTS ARRESTED
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On 9 May 2006 an ethnic Vietnamese
man named Muoi used a machete to seriously injure three
Montagnard (Degar) villagers, where one of the victims
almost bled to death on the scene. Medical authorities
then refused to treat the Degar victims on the basis
of racial discrimination.Police also inflamed the situation
by; arresting Degar students who intervened to save one
of the victims and refusing to arrest the ethnic Vietnamese
man who had committed the attacks. The Montagnard Foundation
calls on the international community to assist authorities
in Vietnam in order to prevent an escalation of violence,
to get urgent medical attention to the three victims
and to ensure that discrimination against Montagnards
is stopped. Details of the situation are as follows:
BACKGROUND: In
2004 an ethnic Vietnamese named Muoi residing near the
Degar villages of Bon Bai and Bon Pung, Ia Hlom commune,
Song Hinh district, Phu Yen province borrowed money from
a Degar Montagnard named Ksor Seo, ($300,000 Vietnamese
Dong). Muoi promised to pay Ksor Seo back in 10 days
but he never did.
Machete Attacks: On May 9, 2006 Ksor
Seo went to Muoi's house and asked him to return his money.
Muoi took a machete and attacked Ksor Seo striking his
left arm and head. Ksor Seo escaped and ran back to his
village with Muoi in pursuit. Muoi could not catch Ksor
Seo and so Muoi then attacked another Degar Montagnard
named Nai Bo, who was merely walking down the street. Muoi
struck Nai Bo with the machete on his right shoulder causing
a severe laceration. Nai Bo then ran back to his village.
Muoi then walked up to another Montagnard Degar named Huing
Jun, who was filling his motorbike with gasoline. Muoi
attacked him with his machete striking Huing Jun near his
neck and he fell to the ground unconscious and bleeding.
Muoi tried to continue striking Huing Jun but some Degar
teenagers who witnessed the attack threw rocks at Muoi
to prevent him from killing him. At this time, more Degar
students returning from school saw what happened and threw
rocks at Muoi. So Muoi fled the scene and called the police.
Three jeeps of police then came to the site and arrested
two Degar students named Ksor Ngia and Ksor Thoai, and
took them to the communal office.
Refused Medical Treatment by
Vietnamese Medical Personnel: After
the attacks the Degar villagers took Huing Jun (who
was semi-unconscious) to the nearby clinic, however,
the Vietnamese personnel refused to treat him because
he was a Degar. So, the villagers carried Huing Jun's
body home to his village. The three Degar people who
have been severely wounded by Muoi are now suffering
at their homes without proper medical treatment.
Villagers
Demand Police Release the Degar Montagnard Students: Approximately
1000 Degar villagers from the villages of Bon Bai,
Bon Pung and Bon Ju went to the commune of Ia Hlom
to demand the release of the two students, Ksor Ngia
and Ksor Thoai. The police at first refused to release
them so the villagers threw rocks at the commune
office. Then, the police released Ksor Ngia and Ksor
Thoai but the villagers stayed there at the commune
office demanding Muoi be brought to justice. On May
10, 2006 the Degar protesters went to the Vietnamese
village and threw rocks at Muoi's house and demanded
all Vietnamese have to move from that area because
they are tired of being discriminated against and
assaulted by the Vietnamese villagers. At this time
the Vietnamese police refused to arrest Muoi, the
man who attacked the three Degar villagers.
Vietnamese
Soldiers Surround the Villages: The
Vietnamese government has ordered 20 trucks of soldiers
from the province of Gialai , Daklak, Danang, Nhatrang,
and Phu Yen to the site in order to send the protesters
back to their villages. And at the present time, the
three villages of Bon Bai, Bon Pung and Bon Ju
are surrounded by heavily armed soldiers.
THE
MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION CALLS ON CONCERNED EMBASSIES
IN VIETNAM AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO:
