Owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. Article 1 of the UN Convention relating to the status of refugees

The Persecution Continues: Sinister Alliance Formed

In September of 2004 I was ready to write a note of thanks to Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia. During that month many Montagnard refugees were transported from the jungles of Cambodia to Phnom Penh under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I reasoned in light of my criticism of Cambodia’s handling of the Montagnards, it would only be fair to thank them for cooperating and showing mercy. This note of merit will not leave my desk today. What seemed like a cooperative transition without interference by the Cambodian government has turned disgraceful as Vietnam and Cambodia enter into a sinister alliance. I cannot be silent while the Montagnard people are pawns in the political games of the Cambodian administration and I will warn Cambodia once again it is unjust to persecute the children of God.

Vietnam is currently pressuring Cambodia behind the scene, as Vietnam desires to recapture the Montagnard refugees and prevent them from relating the truth about the Central Highland crackdowns to the world. Silencing their voices would prevent exposure of the bloodstained hands that have caused undue harm to a people of peace. Cambodia acquiesces to the pressure denying any moral responsibility to value human life and trades the responsibility of keeping the promises made to the international community for promises of security and finance with Vietnam. There is no doubt the Montagnards fleeing to Cambodia are refugees and not economic migrants. Cambodia acceded to the Convention on the Status of Refugees on October 15, 1992 and knows the definition of a refugee. There exists documented evidence of a “well founded fear of persecution” when the Montagnards are denied sanctuary in Cambodia and are returned to Vietnam.

Hun Sen is playing a child’s game of “hot potato” with the lives of the Montagnards seeking to repay a debt owed from the 1970s. At that time the former Khmer Rouge soldier and Eastern Zone leader faced a purging within the hierarchy of the Khmer Rouge and chose to escape to Vietnam. It was during this time that Hun Sen formed alliances with Vietnam resulting in the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December of 1978 and the installation of Hun Sen and Heng Samrin into the political landscape of Cambodia. This action indebted Hun Sen to the Vietnamese and he is now pressured to repay His obligation by cooperating with the Vietnamese Communists desire to have the Montagnards under control.

Perhaps Hun Sen would have preferred repatriation by Vietnam back into the hands of Angkor and the Khmer Rouge killing machine. I wonder if a label of “economic migrant” would have made him feel helpless at the time. His situation was very much like the Montagnards face today. Perhaps he forgets many of the Cambodian citizens found refuge in Thailand while the massacre of innocents in the “Killing Fields” continued inside of Cambodia. Maybe a continued place of refuge in Cambodia until the UN can resolve the refugee questions would show more courageous leadership. What makes the situation of the Montagnards in search of refuge in Cambodia any different than Hun Sen’s own experience and history?

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung quoted Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen as saying Montagnards have fled to Cambodia as a "pretext to cover activities that aim to jeopardize security" in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia on August 5, 2004. The admission that Montagnards were in fact in Cambodia contradicts a statement made by Hun Sen on July 7, 2004 when he stated to reporters that reports of Montagnards in Cambodia seeking asylum “can be regarded as a lie and an insulting offense against the King.” So we know that Montagnard refugees are in the jungle of Cambodia. There are numerous photographs on the Radio Free Asia website that will allow anyone to judge for themselves whether the Montagnards are terrorist threats.

As reported in the online Voice of Vietnam news on September 15, 2004 Hun Sen pledged to continue to cement the relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam and then promised to work with Vietnam to solve any issues that arise including illegal border crossings. He also stated that accelerated economic cooperation would be used as a foundation to boost political relations and relations in other sectors.

These comments followed a report in the Malaysia Star on September 14, 2004 that highlighted agreement between Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Cambodian counterpart Sar Kheng who agree to coordinate closely in preventing and handling the issue of people crossing the border “illegally” and in fighting crimes and groups considered to be involved in terrorist activities along the borders. The terrorist label is used as a propaganda tool by Cambodia and Vietnam to legitimize the persecution, capture and repatriation of the Montagnards who fled to Cambodia.

So my question to Prime Minister Hun Sen is this: are you willing and courageous enough to atone for the past atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and repay a legitimate debt to the international community for assisting Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge brutality, or will you play a political game with Vietnam repaying them for launching you into the political world and neglecting your leadership responsibilities by showing mercy and compassion to the Montagnard people?

Jim Dykstra