Vietnam demands US stop interfering with hill tribe group

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

Vietnam demands US stop interfering with hill tribe group

HANOI - Vietnam Tuesday accused the U.S. of interfering in its domestic affairs by offering the possiblity of asylum to 24 Vietnamese hill tribespeople who fled into neighboring Cambodia. "We demand the U.S. side immediately stop this interfering action," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said.

Thanh insisted that the 24 people were "completely not political refugees" and said Vietnam's communist government had asked Cambodia to return them immediately to avoid setting a precedent that would encourage other Vietnamese to flee in hopes of being resettled in third countries. On Saturday, Cambodian authorities allowed U.N. officials to meet with the 24 Vietnamese for the first time since they were arrested in Cambodia after crossing the border two weeks ago. Representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees hope to determine if they were fleeing persecution in Vietnam. The group was arrested in the remote Cambodian province of Mondulkiri, where they traveled after Vietnamese security forces crushed protests by thousands of hill tribespeople last month in Vietnam's Central Highlands.

The protests, in the capitals of Daklak and Gia Lai provinces, were reportedly triggered by land grievances, poverty, and restrictions on the practice of the Protestant religion, which is followed by many of the minority groups. Such anti-government protests are extremely rare, and have shaken Vietnamese authorities. The Communist government harbors a deep distrust of the hill tribe minorities, some of whom fought alongside U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. Cambodian officials have said they haven't decided whether to send the 24 people back to Vietnam.

The U.S. said it may offer the group asylum if they are likely to be persecuted for political reasons if returned to Vietnam. Thanh pledged that Vietnam wouldn't charge the 24 people and would "create conditions for them to integrate into the community." "The U.S. statement that it may allow these people to seek asylum clearly shows the U.S. intention of abusing these people to interfere in the internal affairs of Vietnam," she said. "The action by the U.S. side is creating difficulties for the settlement of this issue." About 200 Vietnamese provincial government officials have been sent to strengthen village authorities in the Central Highlands after the recent protests, an official said Tuesday.

The Associated Press - April 4, 2001.

US welcomes Cambodia PM's position on stranded vietnamese

PHNOM PENH - The U.S. Wednesday welcomed remarks by Prime Minister Hun Sen that sending the 24 Vietnamese tribespeople in Cambodian custody to a third country was the best way to resolve their fate. In a statement, the U.S. Embassy said its government is "ready to consider for resettlement any person found to be entitled to refugee status" and referred by the United Nations.

The Vietnamese were arrested last month in the remote Cambodian province of Mondulkiri, where they sneaked in after Vietnamese security forces crushed ethnic minority unrest last month in the Central Highlands provinces. The minority Christian hill tribe members were protesting government restrictions on the practice of their Protestant religion and were airing long-standing land grievances. Hun Sen told reporters Tuesday that he had originally wanted to send the Vietnamese back. But he said he reconsidered after learning they were not an illegal militant organization and that they are such marginal members of Vietnamese society that only two of the group speak Vietnamese.

He said it would be a "good compromise" if the United States or any other country took them in. The Cambodian government has also allowed representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to interview the Vietnamese. The embassy statement said the U.S. government "welcomes the remarks (of Hun Sen) affirming the Royal Government's support for UNHCR access to determine if members of the group are entitled to refugee status." If the UNHCR decides the Vietnamese were fleeing political persecution, it can grant them refugee status and assist them in obtaining asylum. The Vietnamese government wants them sent back.

Communist Vietnam harbors a deep distrust of the hill tribe minorities, who fought alongside American forces during the Vietnam War. Tuesday, Vietnam accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs by offering possible asylum.

The Associated Press - April 4, 2001.