SURVIVAL

Representatives of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam once made promises of independence to those Degar tribesmen foolish enough to fight for their cause. The failure to implement these promises should be a warning to those nations signing treaties and other agreements with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In view of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s genocidal policy it appears the implementation of the hollowing FULRO goals offers the only chance for the survival of the indigenous people of Vietnam:

The Degar people must be recognized as the legitimate owners of the Central Highlands.
The Vietnamese administration of the Central Highlands of Vietnam must be dismantled, and the occupying military forces must be withdrawn.
The Degar people’s sovereignty over the Central Highlands must be restored, and the independence of the Degar people must be guaranteed by the United Nations.

These goals were established by the free representatives of the Degar people, and cannot be rescinded by any assembly, which is under the control of an occupying power. In the long run, peace and harmony cannot be assured to any nation, which threatens the culture and survival of another. However, it is the sincere desire of the Degar people to live in peace and harmony with their Vietnamese neighbors. The long history of the Degar people attests to the sincerity of that desire.

While our military struggle has ended, we the Degar people who have escaped the battlefield have rededicated ourselves to save, by peaceful means, the families and culture we have left behind. So, we earnestly ask the world community who care about human beings and who have compassion enough to save the Degar race, to please assist us in any way you can, or we will be completely destroyed.

In 1983 the General Assembly called for the recognition of the following basic rights of indigenous populations:

	To call themselves by their proper name and to express freely their own identity;
	To have official status and to form their own representative organizations;
	To maintain within the areas where they live traditional economic structure and way of life; this should in no way affect their right to participate freely on an equal basis in the economic, social and political development of the country;
	To maintain and use their own language, wherever possible, for administration and education;
	To enjoy freedom of religion or belief;
	To have access to land and natural resources, particularly in the light of the fundamental importance of rights to land and natural resources to their traditions and aspirations; and
	To structure, conduct and control their own educational system.

All of these rights have been taken from the Degar people. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam owns all our tribal lands and Degar lives remain in their They can murder us at any time, and no one in this world dares to stop them. We have brought our cause to the United Nations Working Group for the Indigenous Populations since 1993 but no one has dared to mention the wrong doings of the Vietnamese government. As defenseless Degar people, we cannot understand why the world care about people in Africa, South and North America, Kosovo, East Timor, Cambodia, etc…but not the Montagnard of the Central Highlands of Vietnam.

Since 1954, we the Montagnard people have shown the world that we do not want to be under the domination of the Vietnamese since we know what then happens to our people and our lands.

But, we have been forced to live under their control against our will. During the first Indochina war, we the Montagnards could not fight the Vietnamese because of their relationship with France. It was the same during the second Indochina war - we could not fight the Vietnamese who encroached on our lands because of their relationship with the United States. With the departure of the Americans, our plight has become even worse. We no longer have benevolent outsiders in control of our lives and our lands. There has been nothing to prevent the Vietnamese Communists from pursuing a full-fledged campaign of cultural eradication and physical elimination of Montagnard ethnic autonomy and people.

The record shows that the Vietnamese government has forcibly dominated our territories since the French left Indochina in 1954. When the French left, we did not receive the right of self-determination. Moreover, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977.

As a Member of the United Nations, the government of Vietnam must carry out all of the obligations that have been outlined in the Charter of the United Nations and especially the Article 73 of Chapter XI of the Charter that states as follow:

Members of the United Nations which have or assumed responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:

a) To ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses;
b) To develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of these peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement;
c) To further international peace and security;
d) To promote constructive measures of development, to encourage research, and to cooperate with one another and, when and where appropriate, with specialized international bodies with a view to the practical achievement of the social, economic, and scientific purposes set forth in this Article; and
e) To transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which Chapter XII and XIII apply.

Chapter II, Article 6 of the United Nations Charter states that:

A member of the United Nations which has persistently violated the principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has consistently, deliberately, defied the moral and legal authority of the United Nations by violating the articles and covenants of this great assembly of peace-loving nations. It has done so in the cynical expectation, that the covert annihilation of the indigenous people under its control will make its adherence to these articles and covenants unnecessary. According to our history, our territories do not belong to Vietnam. Even Bao Dai the last king of the Vietnamese did not consider our territories his land. He recognized that the Montagnard people are not Vietnamese.

Article 1 of Bao Dai’s ordinance stated “The non-Vietnamese populations living on territories called Montagnard country of the South P.M.S. (Pays Montagnards du Sud) receive, by this ordinance, a special statute to be destined to guarantee at the same time the eminent rights of Vietnam and the free evolution of these populations in the respect of their traditions and of their customs”.

As a Member of the United Nations, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam must respect the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples like the rest of the State Members of the United Nations. The Declaration declares as follow:

The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and co-operation.

All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

Inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence.

All armed action or repressive measures of all kinds directed against dependent peoples shall cease in order to enable them to exercise peacefully and freely their right to complete independence, and the integrity of their national territory shall be respected.

Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or color, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom.

Any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

All States shall observe faithfully and strictly the provisions of the Charter of the Unite Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the present Declaration on the basis of equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of all States, and respect for the sovereign rights of all peoples and their territorial integrity.

We the Degar people of Southeast Asia, plead with the United Nations to monitor and advise the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to follow the principles and rules of this organization, and to end the genocidal violation of the human rights, indigenous rights, and land rights of the Degar people in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has also ratified both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nation on September 24, 1982. Moreover, they ratified the International Covenant on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination on June 9, 1982, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on June 9, 1981. The provisions of the Covenants are binding on the States that ratify them. The rights they recognize are expected to be law in those States. For this reason, the Covenants contain “measures of implementation” – arrangements for international review of the way in which States carry out their obligations under the Covenants. Part 1 Article 1 of both ICESCR and ICCPR state that: 1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. 2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence. 3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those having responsibility for the administration of non-self-governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has violated all of the provisions of these binding covenants. It has tenaciously resisted the granting of access to many humanitarian organizations that have asked to travel to the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has confiscated supplies distributed to the Degar people, as soon as the representatives of these humanitarian organizations had left the area.

In the light of all the facts above, the Degar people are subject to the colonialism of the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese government has assumed responsibilities for the administration of our territories since the French left Indochina in 1954. Our peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government; therefore, we deserve the support and assistance of the United Nations and the peoples of the world to liberate our homeland from this Vietnamese colonization. At the present time, unable to “fight” from within, we must turn to the outside world for help. So please help us before we are completely annihilated by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Montagnard Foundation, based in South Carolina, of the United States of America, was founded to protect those Degar people, who still remain in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, having survived over half a century of warfare and oppression. It is an organization dedicated to the peace, with which our people have always welcomed visitors to our country. It is an organization dedicated to the preservation of the remaining fragment of the Degar culture, in harmony with the objectives of the United Nations.

Mr. Kok Ksor, a member of the FULRO liberation movement since 1964, is currently The President of this foundation. Mr. Ksor was sent to the United States by the founder, and leader of FULRO, General Y-Bham Enuol, with a mission of gaining world assistance for the Degar people. He was directed and empowered by the General to explore every peaceful avenue for the reinstatement of the legitimate rights of the Degar people under international law.

The United Nations declared 1993 “The year of indigenous people”. In accordance with his mandate, Mr. Ksor brought the plight of the Degar people before the 1993 Human Rights Workshop in Geneva, Switzerland. For a brief moment, he asked the nations of the world to look at the Central Highlands of Vietnam. He asked his brothers and sisters on this small planet to look with compassion toward that remote corner of the world, where an ancient people is struggling against extinction under the heavy burden of an illegitimate occupation force. For a brief moment, he asked the delegates of this organization, in whose dedication to justice all of the nations of this earth place their hope, to listen to the words of that renowned anthropologist, Gerald Hickey, when he says: “One hopes against hope, but the inescapable conclusion is that the highland people, their way of life, and their world are passing into the strange twilight between zero and infinity”.

It is time again to look at the tragedy being played out in those ancient homelands of the Degar, the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Since the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has failed to do so, we call upon these United Nations to guarantee the survival, self-determination, and protection of our ancient indigenous and aboriginal people. It is time again to look at the Degar people, who have survived the battles of decades of destructive warfare. It is time to support those of us who have dedicated ourselves to save by peaceful means, the families and cultures that we were forced to leave behind.

In 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Convention, which became effective in 1951, declared genocide to be a crime under international law, whether committed in time of peace or war. All of the evidence from the Central Highlands of Vietnam points to the inescapable conclusion that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has engaged and is continuing to engage in genocide against the indigenous people of that ancient homeland. We therefore ask the General Assembly of the United Nations to consider the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as one of the Country Specific Mandates of the United Nations.

We, the Degar people of Southeast Asia, cannot alone survive under the attempt of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to exterminate us physically and spiritually. We cannot survive the occupation of our farmlands, the destruction of our ecosystem, this slow and painful death sentence.

We say to the entire world, before this great, inspired organization dedicated to peace, to bring that lofty idealism, which remains the driving force behind the United Nations, to reflect on our desperate plight.

We call especially on those, who were indirectly involved in the conflicts raging over our land, to use their influence to help us. We call on the Peoples Republic of China, and the Russian Federation to use their good offices with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to moderate the harsh conditions under which we are forced to struggle for survival. We call upon the former members of the International Control Commission: India, Canada, and Poland, to support us in our humanitarian plea.

Most of all, we look to you, our former comrades in arms, to France and the United States of America. We call upon you to prove to your current allies, and to those nations with whom you might seek alliances in the future, that you will never abandon them to total destruction. We call upon you to show the world, that your allies can safely rely on your promises, and that they will not be doomed to extinction by giving you their trust.

It will soon be too late to help us in our struggle to survive extinction. Already, there are very few left of some of the forty distinct and recognizable aboriginal groups who flourished in Vietnam only a short while ago. Choose now, to help us in this hour of our desperate need. Choose now, to prove to your current allies, that your dedication to high ideals is no empty boast. Choose now, to show your present allies that your alliances are not one-way, deeds and streets.

We are facing extinction. We desperately need human rights, humanitarian aid and the support of those nations that truly believe in the divinely inspired mission of these United Nations. Grant us your help to save our homeland, our culture, and our people. It is not yet too late, but time is running out quickly. Those who do not help us now may one day, many years or centuries from now, face a similar, equally desperate challenge. What will the other nations say to you then, as you appeal to them urgently for help? As you sow in the present, so you shall reap in your hour of need.

The Montagnard people have lived in the Central Highlands for thousands of years. The Vietnamese moved one million persons into our lands from 1956-1975 and more than ten million after 1975. We welcomed them and helped them to survive. Why did they repay our kindness with genocide?

Our people fought and died for French colonialism and we treated them like brothers. Why did they, in turn, give their support to the Vietnamese? Why did the French give our land away and can they now repay us with help in our greatest hour of need?

We fought and died for the Americans as loyal allies and they also promised us our freedom. But they left our country and our people to be killed by both sides of the Vietnamese conflict.

Why do the people of the world choose to protect certain races and not others? Why are the Degar people not worth saving and European people and other countries are? Have we not proved our value? Many people are remorseful of the disappearance of Native American culture and deeply regret the atrocities dealt to them. They say that they wish they could only go back in time and change things. But here we are and this is the present. It is the same situation. Will anyone regret the loss of our culture a hundred years from now? What will they be able to do then? It will be too late. We are forbidden from building our longhouses, electing chiefs, wearing our traditional clothes, speaking our language, and participating in our ceremonies and festivities. We are not allowed to retain anything that is distinctly ours. We are dying at an alarming rate and our culture is disappearing. If the Vietnamese are not stopped, it is certain that this will be the last generation for the Degar culture.

We are the rightful owners of the land that the Vietnamese have taken. They have only lived there a short time. Why should anyone be concerned about the effects of dispossessing the Vietnamese who are foreigners and newcomers to our homeland, when no one cares about the effects of dispossessing our people who have lived there for thousands of years? We are on our hands and knees, begging someone to help us. We are only asking for what is rightfully ours. We just want to be allowed to live freely and peacefully. Is there any one in this world who will help the Degar people?