[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 229 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 229

Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople 
 of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces 
 during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human 
     rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 24, 2017

     Mr. Burr (for himself and Mr. Tillis) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople 
 of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces 
 during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human 
     rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Whereas the Montagnards are an indigenous tribespeople living in Vietnam's 
        Central Highlands region;
Whereas the Montagnards were driven into the mountains by invading Vietnamese 
        and Cambodians in the 9th century;
Whereas French Roman Catholic missionaries converted many of the Montagnards in 
        the 19th century and American Protestant missionaries subsequently 
        converted many to various Protestant sects;
Whereas, during the 1960s, the United States Mission in Saigon, the Central 
        Intelligence Agency (CIA), and United States Army Special Forces, also 
        known as the Green Berets, trained the Montagnards in unconventional 
        warfare;
Whereas an estimated 61,000 Montagnards, out of an estimated population of 
        1,000,000, fought alongside the United States and the Army of the 
        Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces against the North Vietnamese Army and 
        the Viet Cong;
Whereas the CIA, United States Special Forces, and the Montagnards cooperated on 
        the Village Defense Program, a forerunner to the War's Strategic Hamlet 
        Program, and an estimated 43,000 Montagnards were organized into 
        Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDGs) to provide protection for the 
        areas around the CIDGs' operational bases;
Whereas, at its peak, the CIDGs had approximately 50 operational bases, with 
        each base containing a contingent of two United States Army officers and 
        ten enlisted men, and an ARVN unit of the same size, and each base 
        trained 200 to 700 Montagnards or ``strikers'';
Whereas another 18,000 Montagnards were reportedly enlisted into mobile strike 
        forces and various historical accounts describe a strong bond between 
        the United States Special Forces and the Montagnards, in contrast to 
        Vietnamese Special Forces and ARVN troops;
Whereas the lives of thousands of members of the United States Armed Forces were 
        saved as a result of the heroic actions of the Montagnards, who fought 
        loyally and bravely alongside United States Special Forces in the 
        Vietnam War;
Whereas, after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, thousands of 
        Montagnards fled across the border into Cambodia to escape persecution;
Whereas the Government of the reunified Vietnamese nation, renamed the Socialist 
        Republic of Vietnam, deeply distrusted the Montagnards who had sided 
        with the United States and ARVN forces, and subjected them to 
        imprisonment and various forms of discrimination and oppression after 
        the Vietnam War ended;
Whereas, after the Vietnam War, the United States Government resettled large 
        numbers of Montagnards in several States and an estimated several 
        thousand Montagnards currently reside in North Carolina, which is the 
        largest population of Montagnards residing outside of Vietnam;
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam currently remains a one-party state, 
        ruled and controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which 
        continues to restrict freedom of religion, movement, land and property 
        rights, and political expression;
Whereas some Montagnard-Americans have shared their personal stories about 
        Vietnamese authorities either preventing them from visiting Vietnam or 
        subjecting them to interrogation upon re-entering the country on visits;
Whereas the Department of State's 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
        documents the Government of Vietnam's claim that Montagnards fleeing to 
        Cambodia and Thailand are illegal migrants in pursuit of economic 
        opportunities, and human rights groups assess that the Government has 
        pressured Cambodian and Thai authorities to refuse Montagnards refugee 
        or temporary asylum-seeker status and repatriate them to Vietnam;
Whereas the Department of State's 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
        states that, although Vietnamese law prohibits discrimination against 
        ethnic minorities and despite Vietnam's significant economic growth, the 
        economic gap between many ethnic minority communities and ethnic 
        Vietnamese (Kinh) communities persisted as a result of longstanding and 
        persistent discrimination;
Whereas the Department of State's 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
        further states that ethnic minority populations in Vietnam also 
        experienced significant health challenges as maternal and child 
        mortality rates were significantly higher in ethnic minority areas, in 
        comparison with urban and coastal areas;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 
        in its 2016 Annual Report states that ``Montagnards, many of whom are 
        Protestant, face numerous restrictions'' such as being prevented from 
        holding religious ceremonies, harassed or punished, and ``many are 
        summoned to meet with local authorities and pressured to cease 
        practicing their `poisonous' faith'';
Whereas Montagnards have stated that this kind of ongoing social and religious 
        persecution drove them to flee to Cambodia;
Whereas USCIRF reports that, since October 2014, ``up to 300 Montagnards have 
        fled Vietnam to Cambodia, many because of religious persecution'' but 
        ``only 13 have been granted refugee status with the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as countless others are waiting for 
        Cambodia to process their asylum claims, and dozens have been returned 
        to Vietnam, often at great risk of reprisals''; and
Whereas USCIRF recommends that Vietnam be designated a Country of Particular 
        Concern (CPC) as a means to facilitating reforms: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the contributions of the Montagnards who 
        fought loyally and bravely with United States Armed Forces 
        during the Vietnam War and who continue to suffer persecution 
        in Vietnam as a result of this relationship;
            (2) condemns ongoing actions by the Government of Vietnam 
        to suppress basic human rights and civil liberties of its 
        citizens;
            (3) calls on the Government of Vietnam to allow human 
        rights groups access to all regions of the country and to end 
        restrictions of basic human rights, including the right for 
        Montagnards to practice their Christian faith freely, the right 
        to land and property, freedom of movement, the right to retain 
        ethnic identity and culture, and access to an adequate standard 
        of living;
            (4) recognizes the importance of the U.S. Refugee 
        Admissions Program (USRAP) and that, where determined to be 
        eligible, Montagnards should be provided access to USRAP for 
        resettlement in the United States and in other countries; and
            (5) urges the President and Congress to develop policies at 
        every level, including trade, military, and economic policy, 
        that support Montagnards and other marginalized ethnic minority 
        and indigenous populations in Vietnam that reflect United 
        States interests and commitment to upholding human rights and 
        democracy abroad.
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