[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 124 (Monday, July 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4138-S4139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 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

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

                              S. Res. 229

       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 ``only13 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

[[Page S4139]]

     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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