UPDATE OF THE TWO MEDIA RELEASE REPORTS OF 20 AND 22 MAY 2006 VIETNAMESE NAMED MUOI INJURED 3 DEGARS WITH MACHETE BUT POLICE ONLY ARREST DEGAR MONTAGNARD STUDENT ON 30 MAY 2006

 

UPDATE FROM PREVIOUS REPORTS OF 20 & 22 MAY 2006: The incident started on 9 May 2006 when 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. Medical authorities then refused to treat the Degar victims on the basis of racial discrimination. Police inflamed the situation by; arresting Degar students who intervened to save one of the victims and refusing to arrest the Vietnamese man who had committed the attacks. Now heavily armed soldiers have surrounded the Degar villages and conducted many arrests and torture of Montagnards.

DEGAR STUDENT ARRESTED FOR DEFENDING A DEGAR FROM MACHETE ATTACK: On May 30, 2006, Vietnamese authorities arrested a Montagnard Degar student named Ksor Phit, age 20, from bon Pung village, Ia Hlom Commune, Song Hinh District, Phu Yen Province. He was accused of injuring the Vietnamese man who attacked a Degar man with a machete and is now imprisoned Song Hinh District prison. The police however, twisted the story around and arrested Ksor Phit falsely accusing him of the crime in fact committed by the Vietnamese man named Muoi. At the present time, the Vietnamese soldiers and police are hunting down dozens of other Degar students, (from 14 years of age upward) in the villages of Bon Bai and Bon Pung. Many of these Degar students have fled to the jungles as they fear they will be captured, tortured or killed.

Background of the whole story : 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: Instead of teaching Muoi about justice, t he 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:

• Urgently raise this issue with authorities in Vietnam in order to get Ksor Phit released from prison and that Vietnamese authorities act without discrimination in this case towards Degar Montagnards.
  


• Urgently raise this issue with authorities in Vietnam to prevent further refugees from fleeing the region.
  


• Get urgent medical attention to the Degar victims of the machete attacks.
  
• Ensure a permanent presence to monitor the human rights situation in the Central Highlands by UN and international agencies and international NGOs.