~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Increasing persecution alleged in Vietnam

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has obtained several written documents and pictures proving that Vietnam's campaign of persecution against ethnic minorities in the central highlands has significantly increased.

"Despite Hanoi's statements of concern for its ethnic minorities, Vietnam is clearly escalating its repression of the Montagnards," executive director of the Asia Division of HRW, Brad Adams said. The Vietnamese authorities were not immediately available for comment. Nine letters written by Montagnard church leaders in Dak Lak province "describe beatings of church leaders by police and other officials, destruction of churches, official prohibitions on night-time gatherings... and widespread confiscation of villagers' farm land", HRW added.

The New-York based organisation claims to have obtained original official documents describing ceremonies in which "Montagnard villagers are forced to 'swear brotherhood' with local party cadres in front of pictures of Ho Chi Minh". More than 1,000 Montagnards fled the impoverished, mountainous region to neighbouring Cambodia after Vietnamese security forces forcibly put down demonstrations by thousands of hill tribe villagers in February 2001. Land grievances and a government crackdown on their faith sparked the protests.

HRW and other rights groups have consistently accused Hanoi of persecuting ethnic and religious minorities in the area. The organisation says it received in March, a handwritten list of "names and thumbprints of 439 ethnic Montagnard Christian families (1,206 people)" from Dak Lak, seeking international protection in Cambodia. It also states that hand-drawn sketch maps and photographs could show how last February "Vietnamese officials bulldozed three kilometres of land in the village of Puk Saw, Dak Lak" where coffee, cashews, fruit trees and rice were cultivated.

The organisation also condemned Cambodia for announcing this month, it planned to close the refugee transit centre operated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in Phnom Penh. "Since the beginning of 2003, more than 100 Montagnards who have tried to flee to Cambodia have been forcibly returned to Vietnam, where some have been arrested and beaten", HRW said, adding more than 70 people were currently serving jail sentences in the wake of 2001 unrests.

Hanoi has always denied persecuting minorities. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was quoted on newspaper front pages as saying he wanted a "better life for minorities". Reports say Mr Khai made a tour in the highland region last week, asking the three provinces to "consolidate the political system at grassroots level, help improve the intellectual standards and develop skills and knowledge among minority communities".

ABC News Radio Australia - April 21, 2003.