[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 178 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 178

        Concerning persecution of Montagnard peoples in Vietnam.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2001

 Mr. Ballenger (for himself and Mr. Burr of North Carolina) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
        Concerning persecution of Montagnard peoples in Vietnam.

Whereas the Montagnards are indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of 
        Vietnam who have long suffered discrimination and mistreatment at the 
        hands of successive Vietnamese governments;
Whereas during the 1960's and 1970's Montagnard freedom fighters were the first 
        line in the defense of South Vietnam against invasion from the North, 
        fighting courageously beside members of the Special Forces of the United 
        States Army, suffering disproportionately heavy casualties, and saving 
        the lives of many of their American and Vietnamese comrades in arms;
Whereas since 1975 the Montagnard peoples have been singled out for particularly 
        harsh treatment by the communist government of the Socialist Republic of 
        Vietnam, in part because of their past association with the United 
        States and in part because their strong commitment to their traditional 
        way of life and to their Christian religion is regarded as inconsistent 
        with the absolute loyalty and control demanded by the communist system;
Whereas many Montagnards belong to independent evangelical Protestant churches 
        which the Vietnamese Government regards as illegal and which the 
        Government has persecuted by measures including closing and destruction 
        of church buildings, harassment and discrimination against believers, 
        and in some cases imprisonment and physical abuse;
Whereas the Vietnamese Government has long pursued a systematic policy of 
        encouraging migration by ethnic Vietnamese to the Central Highlands, 
        resulting in encroachments on and confiscation of Montagnard communal 
        lands;
Whereas in recent years more and more Montagnard lands have been confiscated as 
        a result of Government programs aimed at the cultivation of coffee and 
        other products for export;
Whereas the Montagnards have far higher rates of poverty and disease than other 
        residents of Vietnam, including one of the highest rates of Hansen's 
        disease (leprosy) in the world, in part due to Government policies and 
        practices that prevent nongovernmental organizations from working 
        directly with Montagnards and divert in-kind humanitarian assistance 
        provided by international and nongovernmental organizations;
Whereas many thousands of Montagnards were eligible for the Orderly Departure 
        Program and other United States in-country refugee programs on account 
        of their wartime associations with the United States, postwar 
        persecution on account of these associations, and other persecution on 
        account of race, religion, and political opinion;
Whereas only a handful of eligible Montagnards have ever been able to gain 
        access to these United States refugee programs, in part because few 
        Montagnards could afford to pay bribes demanded by communist officials 
        in exchange for permitting such access, and in part because of 
        unreasonably restrictive policies imposed at times by United States 
        officials charged with administering these refugee programs;
Whereas in February 2001 several thousand Montagnards participated in a series 
        of peaceful demonstrations throughout the Central Highlands, demanding 
        religious freedom and restoration of their confiscated lands;
Whereas the Government responded to these peaceful demonstrations by closing off 
        the Central Highlands and sending in military forces, tanks, and 
        helicopter gunships;
Whereas for the last 4 months the Government has refused to allow any meaningful 
        access to the Central Highlands by diplomats, journalists, or other 
        observers, so that it is impossible to be certain of the extent of the 
        current repression;
Whereas credible reports by refugees who have escaped from the Central Highlands 
        indicate that the Government has executed some participants in the 
        demonstrations and has subjected others to imprisonment, torture, and 
        other forms of physical abuse;
Whereas since February several hundred Montagnard refugees, and perhaps more, 
        have succeeded in escaping from Vietnam into Cambodia;
Whereas approximately 250 of these refugees are under the care and protection of 
        the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at sites in 
        the northeastern Cambodian provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri, and 
        another 38 have been resettled in the United States;
Whereas the Royal Government of Cambodia has announced that Montagnards found in 
        Cambodia who express a fear of return to Vietnam will be placed under 
        the protection of UNHCR rather than forcibly repatriated to Vietnam;
Whereas despite this announcement by the central government, local and 
        provincial police and military officials in Mondulkiri province, and 
        perhaps some officials of the central government, appear to be pursuing 
        a policy of systematic forcible repatriation of Montagnard asylum 
        seekers to Vietnam;
Whereas, according to international observers Cambodian military and police 
        officials have yet to deliver a single Montagnard into the care of UNHCR 
        and have forcibly repatriated at least 100 to 200 Montagnards to 
        Vietnam;
Whereas there are credible reports that Vietnamese security forces are operating 
        openly in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces, harassing and 
        intimidating local residents who have been helpful to Montagnard asylum 
        seekers and offering bounties for the surrender of asylum seekers, 
        including one instance in which Vietnamese security forces paid $3,200 
        in gold to local Cambodian officials in exchange for 33 asylum seekers 
        who were then repatriated to Vietnam;
Whereas there are credible reports that the Governments of Cambodia and Vietnam 
        have taken extraordinary measures to secure the border against further 
        escapes into Cambodia by Montagnard asylum seekers; and
Whereas although the information blackout imposed by the Vietnamese Government 
        makes it impossible to predict with certainty the fate of Montagnards 
        who are refused entry into Cambodia or forcibly repatriated to Vietnam, 
        there is reason to believe that those who participated in the February 
        demonstrations or who actively profess Christianity may be subjected to 
        severe persecution: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) urges the Government of Vietnam to allow freedom of 
        religious belief and practice to all Montagnards including 
        those who are evangelical Christians belonging to denominations 
        not recognized by the Government; to return all traditional 
        Montagnard lands that have been confiscated or encroached upon; 
        to allow nongovernmental and international humanitarian 
        organizations to deliver humanitarian assistance directly to 
        Montagnards in their villages, without interference or 
        involvement by Government officials; to open up all parts of 
        the Central Highlands to foreign and domestic journalists, 
        human rights organizations, diplomats, and other observers; and 
        to withdraw its security forces from Cambodia and stop hunting 
        down refugees;
            (2) commends the Royal Cambodian Government for its 
        official policy of guaranteeing temporary asylum for 
        Montagnards fleeing Vietnam;
            (3) urges the Royal Cambodian Government to take all 
        necessary measures to ensure that all officials and employees 
        of the local, provincial, and central governments fully obey 
        the policy of providing temporary asylum; to make clear that 
        such protection will be extended not only to Montagnards found 
        within Cambodia but also to those apprehended at the border; to 
        insist that the Government of Vietnam withdraw its officials 
        and employees from Cambodian territory and discontinue its 
        efforts to secure forcible repatriation of Montagnards; and to 
        provide security at sites where refugees are sheltered;
            (4) commends the officials and employees in Cambodia of the 
        United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the 
        United Nations Human Rights Center for their assistance to and 
        advocacy on behalf of Montagnard asylum seekers and refugees, 
        and urges them to continue and intensify these efforts;
            (5) commends the Department of State for the assistance to 
        and advocacy of Montagnard asylum seekers that have been 
        provided by officials and employees of the United States 
        Embassy in Phnom Penh and urges that such efforts be continued 
        and intensified; and
            (6) urges the Department of State to make clear to the 
        Government of Vietnam that continued mistreatment of 
        Montagnards and efforts to seek forcible repatriation of 
        refugees and asylum seekers from Cambodia represent a grave 
        threat to the process of normalization of relations between the 
        Governments of the United States and Vietnam and, in 
        particular, a serious obstacle to any prospects for the future 
        provision of United States assistance to the Government of 
        Vietnam and to United States support of such assistance by 
        international financial institutions.
                                 <all>