No refuge for the Montagnards
As a result of increasing bonhomie between
Washington and Hanoi, the United States' Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey told the newsperson in Pnom Penh, Cambodia in February 2007 that the Montagnards no longer suffered significant persecution in Vietnam. There were no complaints
of religious persecution and that the Vietnamese authorities were now taking a
more relaxed approach towards local churches. Therefore, the current motivation
for Montagnards crossing into Cambodia was largely
economic as she had been able to meet freely with the Montagnards in the Central Highlands. Finally, the
communist regime of Vietnam appeared to have been able to convince the United
States that its citizens enjoy the right to freedom of expression in front of
the US officials!
In the light of this changed situation, the fate of
the 23 Montagnard refugees who were transported to
the Phnom Penh in late September 2007 and put under the care of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) hangs in balance. The refugees ostensibly
fled following a series of military operations in the Central Highlands from
late July to September 2007. The
government of Cambodia agreed to allow the UNHCR to assess the claims of the Montagnard asylum seekers.
Are there any taker for these asylum seekers?
I. Political
refugees
With the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the
release of Nelson Mandela, "political prisoners" have virtually
become an "extinct community". There are about 350 Degar-Montagnard prisoners whom Vietnamese authorities
consider as criminals. In effect, they have been arrested because of their
religious belief and ethnicity. Many have been arrested for their attempt to
allegedly overthrow the Vietnamese government. On 30 September 2007, two
Vietnamese police personnel named Trung and Y-Thin
went to Buon Emap village,
commune Ea Poc, district Cu Mgar in Daklak province and arrested a Degar-Montagnard villager named Y-Bien Nie.
The authorities charged him with attempting to overthrow the Vietnamese
government and dividing the Vietnamese people. Police lodged him at the prison
facility in Cu Mgar district where they allegedly
tortured him brutally by beating him with batons, stomping with boots, punching
and applying electric shocks till he fell unconscious. At the end of September
2007, he was continued to be detained at Cu Mgar district prison facility and his condition was reported to be critical.
Even those who returned under the supervision of
UNHCR have not been spared! On 19 July 2007, a 26 year-old Degar Christian man, Siu Nham from Ploi Wel village,
commune Ia Ko, Cu Se
district in Gialai province was arrested, tortured
and imprisoned by Vietnamese security forces. He was sent to the Cu Se district
prison. He had been previously forcibly repatriated to Vietnam by Cambodia on
20 July 2005.
II. Religious
repression
In theory, the Constitution of Vietnam allows the
freedom of worship. In practice, it is severely restricted. In November 2004,
the Ordinance on Religion and Belief came into force and practice of religion
inside the house churches became illegal.
On 1 June 2007, Vietnamese authorities sentenced 8 Degar Montagnards to prison for
being House Church Christians and possessing cell phones at Ploi Kho Krua village, commune Ia Hru, district Cu Se in Gia Lai province. The victims include
32-year-old Montagnard lady Nai H'Ngat from Kli Kia village, commune Nhon Hao, district Cu Se in Gia Lai
province who had been sentenced to six years imprisonment; 31-year-old K'Pa Binh from Ploi Tai Glai village, commune Ia Ko, district Cu Se in Gia Lai province who had been sentenced to 15 years
imprisonment; 42-year-old K'Pa Cin from Ploi Kho Krua village, commune Ia Hru, district Cu Se in Gia Lai
province who had been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment; 35-year-old Rmah Ca from Ploi Tao Ko village, commune Ia Hru, district Cu Se in Gia Lai
province who had been sentenced to nine years imprisonment; and 27-year-old Siu Ho from Ploi Tao Ko village, commune Ia Hru, district Cu Se in Gia Lai
province, who had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
On 3 June 2007, another five Degar Montagnards have been sentenced to prison for being
House Church Christians. The victims include 54-year-old Siu Blok, from Ploi Breng 1 village, commune Ia Der, district Ia Grai in Gia Lai province who was
arrested on 22 June 2006 and sentenced to eight years imprisonment for
preaching and spreading Christianity; 57-year-old Puih Alum Ploi Blang 3 village,
commune Ia Der, district Ia Grai in Gia Lai province who was arrested on 22 June 2006 and was sentenced to seven years
imprisonment for being a House Church Christian; 35-year-old Ksor Phong from Ploi Sung village, commune Ia Kla, district Duc Co in Gia Lai province who has been arrested on 22 June 2006 and
was sentenced to six years imprisonment for being a House Church Christian; Rcom Wit from Ploi Ciom village, commune Ia Grang, district Ia Grai in Gia Lai province who had
been arrested on 7 June 2006 and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for
being a House Church Christian and supporting the Montagnard Foundation; and 32-year-old Puih Hih from Ploi To Mong village,
commune Ia To, district Ia Grai in the province of Gia Lai
who had been arrested on 7 June 2006 and was sentenced to six years
imprisonment for supporting the Montagnard Foundation
and being a House Church Christian. All five are currently imprisoned at T-20
prison in Plei Ku.
Yet, according to the Americans, Vietnamese
government is quite tolerant! With the United States and UNHCR toeing the line
of Vietnam, the Montagnards face further challenges.