|
REPORT ON THE VICTIMS OF THE
2004 EASTER MASSACRE OF CHRISTIAN MONTAGNARD DEGAR PEOPLE IN
VIETNAM:CURRENT UPDATE: 276
KILLED, 3 RAPED, HUNDREDS OF WOUNDED AND TORTURE VICTIMS
MFI | 17 May 2004
|
IMPORTANT
NOTICE:
ALL THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS GATHERED UNDER
EXTREME DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES DIRECTLY FROM VIETNAM.
MONTAGNARDS ARE THREATENED BY THE VIETNAMESE AUTHORITIES
THAT WHOEVER PROVIDES INFORMATION ON CASUALTIES TO
JOURNALISTS, NGOS AND DIPLOMATS THAT THEY WILL BE KILLED
WHEN THEY LEAVE THEIR VILLAGE.
THE
MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION CALLS ON COMPETENT AND INDEPENDENT
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO URGENTLY VERIFY THIS
INFORMATION IN CENTRAL HIGHLANDS |
|
|
|
Reasons for the Demonstrations – religious
persecution and torture:
Montagnard Christians arrested (and later beaten) by
Vietnamese authorities for opposing the burning of a
church. The BBC ran a story “Fury at Church
Destruction” on 28 March 2001. The US State Department
reported 1- 5 Montagnard Christians killed.
|
THE
2004 EASTER DEMONSTRATION IN VIETNAM’S CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
On April
10, 2004 thousands of our people - Christian Degar (Montagnards) conducted
peaceful demonstrations inside Vietnam’s Central Highlands calling for
an end to years of persecution, namely religious persecution and confiscation
of our ancestral lands and the negation of political autonomy. The demonstrators
were also calling for urgent international intervention to stop the constant
arrests, electric shock torture, beatings, imprisonment and killings of our
people and that international monitors must be granted access to the region
as recommended by the UN Human Rights Committee in July 2002, and once again
requested by NGOs and the European Union after this year’s demonstrations.
We, the Montagnard Foundation (MFI) had received confirmation that over 100,000
Montagnards from the Central Highlands pledged their support for the prayer
demonstration and the international media reported that up to 30,000 Montagnards
had participated in the event.
As the
prayer demonstration commenced however, Vietnamese paramilitary forces brutally
attacked our people. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on 22 April 2004 that:
“Vietnamese
security forces appear to have coordinated with armed men in civilian clothing
to savagely attack Montagnard protesters at more than a dozen mass demonstrations
during Easter weekend”. HRW further stated, “We’ve received
alarming reports that scores of protesters were wounded during the demonstrations,
and that some protesters were beaten to death.” Human Rights Watch states
it had, “received firsthand reports that security forces and men in
civilian clothing, armed with metal bars, shovels, clubs with nails attached
to them, machetes, and chains, confronted Montagnard protesters at more than
a dozen locations leading into Buon Ma Thuot, the capital of Dak Lak province,
on the morning of April 10. According to witnesses, the demonstrators were
not armed, although some defended themselves when attacked by throwing stones
at the police.”
Numerous
NGOs, Governments and diplomats publicly spoke out against the persecution
including the US State Department, US Congressman Hon. Chris Smith, President
of the European Commission Hon. Romano Prodi, Italian Foreign Minster Hon.
Franco Frattini, Italian Deputy Foreign Hon. Minister Margherita Boniver,
Hon. Marco Pannella MP (European Parliament) and the Transnational Radical
Party, the King of Cambodia Hon. Norodom Sihanouk, Hon. Son Chhay MP of Cambodia,
UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization), Jubilee Campaign (UK),
Freedom House and the Society for Threatened Peoples.
On April
28, 2004 Amnesty International reported the following on the repression:
“Amnesty
International is deeply concerned by accounts emerging from the Central Highlands
of disproportionate use of force by the authorities, or people acting on their
behalf, resulting in unknown numbers of dead and injured, arrests and reports
of people missing.”
Ongoing
Repression and Background to the Demonstrations
The Montagnard
Foundation stipulates that the Montagnard people conducted the Easter demonstrations
solely because they are suffering terrible human rights abuses, confiscation
of land and repression of religious freedom that have escalated in frequency
over the last several years. On April 28, 2004 Amnesty International also
confirmed this stating:
“From
February 2001 until the present day there have been hundreds of arrests and
reports of torture and ill treatment of Montagnards in the Central Highlands
in a harsh crackdown against those involved, or suspected to be involved,
in the protests. Since 2001, at least 76 Montagnards have been tried and sentenced
to prison terms after trials which did not meet international standards of
fairness. In 2003 alone, 33 men were sentenced to between 18 months and 13
years' imprisonment for their involvement in the 2001 unrest or for helping
those trying to flee the country. Not all cases were made public and the number
of those arrested and tried is believed to be much higher.” (see: AI
INDEX: ASA 41/005/2004 28 April 2004 Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Renewed
concern for the Montagnard minority).
The US State
Department Country report for Vietnam (Human Rights) also reported in 2004 that,
““Ethnic minority, unregistered Protestant congregations in the
Central Highlands and in the northwest provinces continued to suffer severe
abuses”. The US State Department’s International Religious Freedom
Report released 18 Dec 2003 stated “the situation remained poor or worsened
for many ethnic minority Protestants in the Central Highlands and Northwest
Highlands” while Human Rights Watch reported on 22 April 2004 an escalation
of military operations facing the Montagnards inside Vietnam.
“In
the months leading up to last weekend's demonstrations, hundreds of paramilitary
police from unit 113 of Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security had been conducting
widespread "sweeping" operations throughout the Central Highlands
to carry out arrests of Dega church. Armed with assault rifles and electric
shock batons, paramilitary police squads (canh sat co dong 113, or cong an
noi bo) have been systematically tracking down dozens of Montagnards in hiding,
focusing in particular on activists who use cell phones to make international
calls to report on abuses”.
Unable to
take any more abuse the Montagnard people inside Vietnam decided to conduct
the demonstrations this Easter of 2004. The Easter demonstrations were in fact
based on Christianity and Gandhi’s principles of nonviolence. The demonstrations
were organized by the people inside Vietnam and, after having failed to dissuade
them to go ahead at this point in time, the Montagnard Foundation offered its
support to alert the international community and diplomatic missions in Vietnam
with a public announcement on April 9, 2004.
MONTAGNARD
FOUNDATION REFUTES THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT‘S CLAIMS OF INDEPENDENCE,
TERRORISM AND BRIBERY
The President
of the Montagnard Foundation Mr. Kok Ksor refutes the Vietnamese government’s
claims that the Degar Montagnards are or were seeking independence. “We
only want our human rights and indigenous rights respected according to international
law. We also have no word for “independence” in our language but
we do have a word for “freedom”. It is this word “freedom”
which the government of Vietnam falsely claims that we are seeking independence.”
The proposition
also made by Vietnamese authorities that money was promised to people to attend
the demonstrations is completely false, and MFI has never promised the people
in the Central Highlands that the UN would resettle them in the United States.
Montagnard Degar people inside Vietnam want to live in freedom in the Central
Highlands of Vietnam and do not want to expatriate, even though we appreciate
the hospitality provided by the US people and Government to several thousand
Degar Montagnard refugees. Those Montagnards who are fleeing to Cambodia are
doing so to avoid being killed or tortured by the Vietnamese security forces.
The Cambodian Government also is and has been violating the 1953 Refugee Convention
by arresting and forcibly repatriating hundreds our people since February 2001.
In response
to Vietnam’s allegations that the Montagnard Foundation is a terrorist
organization, MFI wish to state clearly that this is false propaganda used by
the Vietnamese government as a ploy to prevent its President from speaking at
the UN. The only violent actions currently taking place in the Central Highlands
are those by the Vietnamese military and police forces, and sometimes by civilians,
against the unarmed Montagnard civilians. Hanoi is also trying to sanction an
NGO of which Mr. Kok Ksor is a member (The Transnational Radical Party which
has consultative status with the United Nations) for allowing him to speak at
the UN Commission on Human Rights where, also this year, he spoke out to denounce
the repression suffered by the Montagnard people in Vietnam. These intimidations
tactics however violate the principles of freedom of speech at the UN.
The Montagnard
Foundation’s most immediate concern for our people is that international
and independent agencies must be allowed into the Central highlands to monitor
the ongoing human rights abuses as recommended by the 2002 Human Rights Committee,
(UN doc: CCPR/C/SR.2031), and as it has been repeatedly requested by various
Governments.
It should
be noted that in July 2002, the UN Human Rights Committee, in its 75th session,
stigmatized the repressive policy of the Vietnamese Government towards the Montagnard
people, stating that it was:
”concerned
at the lack of specific information concerning indigenous peoples, especially
the Degar (Montagnard), and about measures taken to ensure that their rights
under article 27 to enjoy their cultural traditions, including their religion
and language, as well as their agricultural activities, are respected. The
State party should take immediate measures to ensure that the rights of members
of indigenous communities are respected. Non-governmental organizations and
other human rights monitors should be granted access to the central highlands”.On
April 20, 2004 The European Union stated:
“Today the EU carried out a demarche with the Vietnamese authorities
expressing concern about the demonstrations that took place in the Central
Highlands during the Easter weekend and requesting detailed information on
the events that took place. The EU called on the authorities to fully respect
international human right standards in their longer-term response to the protests
of Easter weekend and to allow peaceful demonstrations to take place. The
EU also called on the authorities to re-establish a tripartite agreement with
UNHCR and Cambodia and allow UNHCR access to the Central Highlands to monitor
the situation. The EU requested access to the area for diplomats, international
press, other UN agencies and international NGOs. Furthermore, the EU requested
the authorities to investigate the grievances of the ethnic minority people
in the Central Highlands, to address them and to respect their freedom of
religion”
All of the
information and number of victims listed in this report was received directly
from Vietnam by talking with our contacts inside the Central Highlands. Some
of these contacts have relatives of our people who reside in the United States
and others are activists who cry for help for their people. Unless urgent action
is taken we fear there will be more bloodshed against our people as well as
a looming humanitarian crisis occurring in the border of Cambodia as it is now
reported that hundreds - if not thousands - of our people are being hunted down
on the Cambodian border by Vietnamese police who are trying to prevent them
from escaping as refugees.
The depth
of repression against Christians and Montagnard activists in Vietnam can be
seen in the eyes of a 5-year old boy who escaped Vietnam two years ago. He was
forced to watch his father being tortured by Vietnamese authorities because
his father was a Christian who tried fleeing Vietnam. This 5-year old boy was
then dumped in the jungles to die by Vietnamese authorities. That he survived
by a miracle. His name is Huu and while he is safe now in the United States
with us, his father is still in Nam Ha Prison in Vietnam. The sad story of his
family and picture can be read at www.montagnard-foundation.org and concerned
organizations can contact us to interview his family if desired.
THE
MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION RESPECTFULLY APPEALS FOR INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE AND
THAT ACTION BE UNDERTAKEN TO AVOID A DEEPENING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN
THE REGION, NAMELY THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY:
- Take immediate action
in ensuring human rights monitors are granted access to the central highlands
as recommended by the UN Human Rights Committee (July 2002 75th session
Human Rights Committee Concluding Observations on Vietnam. UN doc: CCPR/C/SR.2031).
- Take immediate action
to ensure the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN
Special Rapporteurs and the UNHCR are permitted to operate freely in Cambodia
and Vietnam, and that both Cambodia and Vietnam abide by the Refugee Convention
(as recently identified by UN Special Envoy Hon. Peter Leupretch). It is
essential for an international presence in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
be made to address the causes of the discrimination and violation of fundamental
rights suffered by the Montagnard people over the last 30 years.
DEGAR
MONTAGNARD PEOPLE KILLED ON 10-11 APRIL 2004
DEGAR
MONTAGNARDS WHO WERE MURDERED IN GIALAI PROVINCE
- Y-Tol, age unknown
(M), from the village of Plei Kluh, commune of Ia Tiem, district of Cu Se,
province Gialai. MFI eyewitnesses stated Vietnamese civilians held him,
poked his eyes with implements and beat him until dead. He died on April
11, 2004.
- Hnun, age unknown
(M), the police executed him by shooting him in the head. He was from the
village of Plei Ring, commune of Ha Bau, district of Dak Doa, province of
Gialai and was killed on April 11, 2004.
- Siu Plen, age 33
(M), because of his participation in the peaceful demonstration, the police
arrested, handcuffed him and then gave him to Vietnamese civilians and students
who beat him until his skull was split open and he died. Siu Plen is from
the village of Bon Ama Djong, commune of Phu Hoa, district of Ayunpa, province
of Gialai.
- Ksor Jo, age 33 (M),
because of his participation in the peaceful demonstration, the police arrested
and handcuffed him before handing him to Vietnamese civilians and students
who tortured him by beatings. Finally they took his own shirt and strangled
him until dead outside of the police office at the commune of Ia Sao. Ksor
Jo is from the village of Bon Hoang, commune of Ia Sao, district of Ayunpa,
Province of Gialai.
MONTAGNARD
DEGAR MAN DIES IN HOSPITAL AFTER BEING SEVERELY WOUNDED.
- Djum, age unknown
(M), from the village of Plei Bong Lar, commune of Ia Bang, district of
Dakdoa, province of Gialai. On 11 April 2004, he was beaten by Vietnamese
police and civilians until his skull was split open. He was taken to the
hospital but doctors refused to treat him and he died on 29 April 2004.
His family took his body home for burial.
DEGAR
MONTAGNARDS WHO WERE MURDERED IN DAKLAK PROVINCE
- Y-Nguoi Adrong, age
22 (M), from the village of Buon Poc, district of Cu Mgar, Province of Daklak.
He was murdered on the first day of the peaceful demonstration in Buonmathuot
city.
- Y-Hrah Kbuor, age
20 (M), from the village of Buon Poc, district of Cu Mgar, province of Daklak.
He was murdered on the first day of the peaceful demonstration in Buonmathuot
city.
- Y-Rung Kbuor, age
25 (M), from the village of Buon Poc, distrtict Cu Mgar, province of Dak
lak. He was murdered on the first day of the peaceful demonstration in Buonmathuot
city.
- Y-Phuom Eban, age
16 (M), from the village of Buon poc, district of Cu Mgar, province of Dak
lak. He was murdered on the first day of the peaceful demonstration in Buonmathuot
city.
- Y-To Ayun, age unknown
(M), from the village of Buon Poc, district of Cu Mgar, province of Dak
lak. He was murdered on the first day of the peaceful demonstration in Buonmathuot
city.
- Y-Tri Mlo, age 39
(M), from the village of Buon Ko Dung, commune of Ea Enuol, district of
Buon Don, province of Daklak, was murdered on April 16, 2004. On this day,
he went to Buon Drec with his family but when he returned to his village
of Buon Ko Dung alone he was attacked and killed by Cong An (police) and
Vietnamese civilians on the street in front of the police station.
- Y-Pap Enuol, (M),
from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of Daklak.
He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- Y-Suen Enuol, (M),
from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of Daklak.
He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- H’Mling Eban,
(F), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- H’Uen Eban,
(F), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- H’Ngan Eban,
(F), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- H’Luin Enuol,
(F), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- Ami H’Win Buonya,
(F), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- Ama H’Win Eban,
(M), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- Ama H’Bon Enuol,
(M), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- Ami H’Bon Eban,
(F), from the village of Buon Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of
Daklak. He was murdered on April 10, 2004.
- H’Lo Kbuor (f),
blind, from Cu Mgar district, Dak Lak province. Reportedly killed on 10
April 2004 on the outskirts of Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province.
- Y-Bhit Enuol (m),
Buon Dha Prong village, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak province. Reportedly killed
on 10 April 2004.
- Y-Dlah Eban (m), Buon
Dha Prong village, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak province. Reportedly killed on
10 April 2004.
- Y-Wien (m), Buon Dha
Prong village, Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak province. Reportedly killed on 10
April 2004.
- Y-Luyen Eban (m),
Buon Cuor Knia, Buon Don district, Dak Lak province. Reportedly killed on
10 April 2004.
- Y-Djong Hmok, age
19 (m), from the village of Buon Hwue, commune of Hoa Thang, district city
of Buonmathuot, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks
conducted by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Ama Y-Meka, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Jung, commune of Ea Ktur, district of Krong
Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks conducted
by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Ama Y-Niem, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Jung, commune of Ea Ktur, district of Krong
Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks conducted
by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Y- Wo Nie, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Puk Prong, commune of Ea Ktur, district of
Krong Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks
conducted by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Y-Thon, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Puk Prong, commune of Ea Ktur, district of
Krong Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks
conducted by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Niet Eban, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Puk Prong, commune of Ea Ktur, district of
Krong Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks
conducted by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Ama Ju, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Puk Prong, commune of Ea Ktur, district of
Krong Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks
conducted by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Y-Kun Nie, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Puk Prong, commune of Ea Ktur, district of
Krong Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks
conducted by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Y-Nuel Eban, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Niet, commune of Ea Ktur, district of Krong
Ana, province of Daklaky . He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks conducted
by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Ama Jek, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Niet, commune of Ea Ktur, district of Krong
Ana, province of Daklak. He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks conducted
by Vietnamese soldiers, police and civilians.
- Y-Yah Eban, age unknown
(m), from the village of Buon Emap, district of Cu Mgar, province of Daklak.
He was killed on April 10, 2004 by attacks conducted by Vietnamese soldiers,
police and civilians.
TOTAL
OF DEAD PEOPLE WITH NAME: 37
BELOW IS THE LIST OF SOME VILLAGES IN DAKLAK PROVINCE WHERE MONTAGNARD
DEGAR PEOPLE LIVED BEFORE THEY WERE KILLED BY VIETNAMESE SOLDIERS, POLICE, AND
CIVILIANS ARMED BY THE AUTHORITIES DURING THE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS OF APRIL
10 – 11, 2004. IT IS URGENT THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAS IMMEDIATE
ACCESS TO THESE VILLAGES TO SPEAK WITH THE FAMILIES OF THE MURDERED TO VERIFY
THIS INFORMATION. NOTE: THE NAMES OF THESE VICTIMS WILL BE PUBLISHED SOON UPON
BEING RECEIVED FROM OUR SOURCES.
- 54 dead from Buon
Dha Prong, city of Buonmathuot, province of Daklak. 41 of them are without
name at the moment.
- 50 dead from Buon
Emap, district of Cu Mgar, province of Daklak. 49 of them are without name
at the moment.
- 7 dead from Buon Krang,
district of Krong Ana, province of Daklak.
- 3 dead from Buon Niet,
district of Krong Ana, province of Daklak. 1 of them is without name at
the moment.
- 6 dead from Buon Pu
Hue, district of Krong Ana, province of Daklak.
- 22 dead from Buon
Ega, district of Krong Ana, province of Daklak.
- 12 dead from Buon
Ebung, district of Krong Ana, province of Daklak.
- 28 dead from Buon
Ea Tieu, district of Krong Ana, province of Daklak.
- 57 dead from Buon
Sut Mdrang, district of Cu Mgar, province of Daklak.
SUBTOTAL: 223 Montagnard
Degar people without name
- According to an MFI
eyewitness from the Central Highlands 12 Montagnard Degar people died from
being severely tortured by police at Dai Phat Thanh prison in Buonmathuot.
- On April 14, 2004,
a MFI eyewitness reported seeing 4 dead Montagnard bodies were floating
on Ea Knir stream but the police did not allow the villagers to collect
the dead bodies. Among the dead bodies, there was one of (approximate) 7-8
year old child and the other 3 bodies were men.
SUBTOTAL: 16 Montagnard
Degar people without name
TOTAL
OF DEAD PEOPLE WITHOUT NAME: 223 + 16 = 239
GRAND
TOTAL NUMBER OF DEAD TO DATE: 37 + 239 = 276
DEGAR MONTAGNARD ON DEATH ROW
- Y-Rit Nie, age 31,
from the village of Buon Poc, district of Cu Mgar, province of Daklak. He
is now in prison and Vietnamese authorities have promised to execute him
because he had been a participant of the first peaceful demonstrations of
February 2001.
MONTAGNARD
DEGARS HOSPITALIZED EXPECTED TO DIE
- Co, born in 1980 from
Do village, commune of Cu-A, Plei Ku City, Gia Lai province. The paramilitaries
also beat and fractured his head. He was taken to the hospital on the 11th
April 2004 and remains there without any medical attention but an oxygen
mask.
- Hen, born in 1975
from Do village, commune of Cu-A, Plei Ku city, Gia Lai province. The paramilitaries
also beat him and fractured his head. He was taken to the hospital on the
11th April 2004 and there he remains without any medical attention but an
oxygen mask.
- Tiu, from Bong Lar
village, commune of Ia Bang, district of Dak Doa, Gia Lai province. The
paramilitaries beat him all over his body on the 11th of April 2004. He
now remains in the Hospital of Plei Ku without any medical attention except
for an oxygen mask.
DEGAR
MONTAGNARD WOMEN WHO HAD BEEN RAPED
- H’Hlon, (age20,
Degar student) from the village of Plei Djrong, commune of A-Dok, district
of Dakdoa, province of Gialai. During the peaceful demonstration on 10-11
April 2004, 20 Vietnamese soldiers raped her at gun-point and took her away.
She has still not returned to her village and is feared dead.
- R’com H’Ngin,
(age unknown) from the village of Plei Kac, commune of Cu Pah, district
of Dakdoa, province of Gialai. On April 9, 2004 twelve Vietnamese police
went to R’com H’Ngin’s home around 12:00 o’clock
midnight, abducted her and raped her until unconscious. They brought her
back home on April 12, 2004 and she suffers severe physical and mental trauma.
- H’Pem, age 29, from
the village of Plei Khoi Yu, commune of Ia Tiem, district of Dakdoa, province
of Gialai. At around 6 p.m. on the 27th of April of 2004, she was going to collect
water from the river known as Ia Neh. As she was walking two Vietnamese men
who were planting coffee trees near Ia Neh surrounded her. They threatened to
stab her with the knife in their hands. They grabbed her and dragged her into
the thicker woods and cut her twice on the neck. They then raped her. Then another
woman, named Rahlan H’Yih from the same village, who was walking a short
distance away from H’Pem heard dogs barking in the thickets. There she
saw two Vietnamese men raping the unconscious Montagnard Degar woman. The names
of the two rapists are Tuan and Khoi, both civilians and coffee tree planters
near Ia Neh. H’Pem is wounded and suffering pain as she is bed ridden
at her home.
DEGAR MONTAGNARD MEN DETAINED AND SEVERLY TORTURED IN PRISON
- Klem,
is from Jong village, commune of A’Dok, district of Dak Doa, Gia Lai
province. Paramilitaries shot him in the head on 10 April of 2004. They arrested
him and proceeded to the prison located at commune of Dak Doa. At the prison,
the paramilitaries beat him more and stabbed him with a knife in both of his
thighs. His friends, wife and children came to visit him. As his wife and
children stood there waiting for him. He crawled towards them like a snake
for he could no longer walk. His friends, wife and children didn’t know
what to do but cry.
- Niem,
born in 1983 from Mnu village, commune of Cu-A, Plei Ku city, Gia Lai province.
The mobile unit paramilitaries beat him and cracked his skull with wooded
sticks. They took him away. It is unknown whether he is dead or alive.
- Wum, is
from Dor 1 village, commune of GoLar, district of Dak Doa, Gia Lai Province.
The mobile unit paramilitaries with Vietnamese civilians of Le-Can beat him
with logs all over his body. He was severely wounded in both of his legs.
He was then arrested and taken to the district of Dak Doa. He was finally
released on the 27th of April. He however, can no longer walk and remains
at home suffering with paralysis.
THIS
REPORT WILL BE UPDATED REGULARY WITH THE LATEST CASUALTY FIGURES
PLEASE SEE OUR WEBSITE OFTEN |
