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

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[Year 2002]

Vietnam to allow hilltribe refugees to resettle abroad

Vietnam's government has agreed that 900 refugees stuck in camps in Cambodia can resettle in a third country following an offer from the US, press reports said. "Any migrants who wished to resettle in a third country would be assisted with the necessary formalities, following previous patterns of co-operation between the UNHCR, Vietnam and other related countries," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh in remarks published Monday.

"Resettlement or repatriation should be done on a humanitarian basis, and should not be politicised or used as a tool to undermine the interests and security of Vietnam and Cambodia," she added. The United States offered a new home to the hilltribes people after the United Nations pulled out of a repatriation scheme with Vietnam and Cambodia, accusing both sides of violating the terms of the accord. About 1,000 people fled into Cambodia from Vietnam's central highlands a year ago after the authorities cracked down on unrest by ethnic minorities against the confiscation of their ancestral lands.

On Sunday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen approved Washington's offer to grant them asylum. "Today, the royal government of Cambodia will offer an opportunity for the Vietnamese hill tribe refugees to go and resettle in the United States," Hun Sen said in a speech. He said the resettlements would be voluntary, and that those refugees who did not wish to resettle in the US could return home. But the Vietnamese foreign ministry hit out at the breakdown in the repatriation process which she said "had been obstructed by ill-intentioned people".

According to Phnom Penh, there are 901 refugees in two camps in Mondolkiri and Rathanakiri provinces, after some 170 returned home -- although only 15 were repatriated under UN auspices.

Agence France Presse - April 1st, 2002.