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Since last year when Montagnards in the Vietnam Central Highlands stood up to protest the Vietnam Communist regime, Hanoi has directed its efforts to pacify the ethnic tribes but the general situation in the four highlands provinces is still unstable. Travelers are not permitted to visit some areas of Kontum province north of Dakto. And the refugees who fled the Highlands to Cambodia after the 2001 uprising are facing troubles if they are repatriated.
In 2001, more than one thousand Montagnards from Pleiku, Ban Me Thuot and Kontum have crossed the border line with Cambodia to seek asylum and were sent to a refugee camp managed by UN High Commissioner for Refugees. A small group of them had been approved to resettle in the United States. The remaining are detained in the camp and don't know where to go.
For a few months, UNHCR Representative in South East Asia has participated in negotiations with the Vietnam Communist Party's government and the Phom Penh authorities to discuss ways to solve the problem of Montagnard refugees. The three-party agreement would provide for repatriation of the refugees and would ensure their safety and dignity.
On January 21, 2002, the three sides agreed to repatriate the Montagnards as soon as possible. In late February, UNHCR temporarily halted the repatriation, after pressure by the United States. Washington raised its great concerns for the repatriated Montagnards who might be facing persecution even imprisonment by the VCP authorities.
Hanoi officials in their statements, tacitly branded the Americans as instigators who tried to influence the UNHCR by pressure from outside, making obstacles to block the implementation of the tripartite accord.
In statements of the usual rhetoric and pattern, the spokeswoman of Hanoi Foreign Ministry was saying that those Montagnards "are not refugees," and that "they were incited and deceived into making the illegal crossing into Cambodia..."
That is not the first time Hanoi refuses to call a spade a spade. Similarly, Hanoi has never confessed that there are political and religious prisoners in its prison camps. Hanoi always says that those prisoners of conscience are only criminals who violate its Criminal Law. Almost all spokespersons in the world are lying sometimes as directed by their superiors. But most of them tell lies within the limit of decency and dignity of themselves and their governments.
Hanoi says that it has never forced anyone to repatriate. This statement might be true. VCP leaders are very pragmatic. If any country grants immigration to common Vietnamese who are not holding key jobs or those who would be dangerous to the regime if they stay in Vietnam, Hanoi will heartily accept. One more Vietnamese immigrating to any country would send some money back home to their relatives and one more name in Hanoi's list of unemployment is crossed out.
However, the Montagnard refugees might have brought VCP leaders more concerns. The week before last, a delegation of political security officers from Hanoi visited the refugee camp along with their Cambodian counterparts. It's believed that the officers from Hanoi somehow intimidated the refugees. A source alleged that some Montagnards were beaten by the Cambodian officers. The UNHCR has objected to the visit and halted the process after the first group of 15 refugees had been escorted back to their home villages in the Vietnam Central Highlands .
The talks between UNHCR, Hanoi and Phnom Penh on March 12 seemed to have no positive outcome although Hanoi claimed that the discussion was frank and constructive.
Another event that might have led to the UNHCR's decision to stop the repatriation was Hanoi's failure to abide by its promise. In negotiations, Hanoi said that it would allow UNHCR to visit hamlets and homes of those who would return from the Cambodia refugee camp. At last, Hanoi broke its promise without acceptable reasons.
Although Hanoi also promised that the returnees wouldn't be punished, prosecuted or discriminated, and that they would be tolerated, their relatives at home wouldn't believe it. Talking to foreign reporters in an official visit to the refugees' home village when no Communist officers were around, many refugees' wives expressed their worries about their husbands' safety after they will have returned.
The wives' concerns are not unfounded. Since 1954, there have been several protests and rebellions of hundreds to thousands of participants.
In 1956, people of Xa Doai village, district of Quynh Luu, Nghe An province were taking defense position behind bamboo fences and crude fortifications. They were armed with rifles and machine-guns seized from the Communist regular army units. The NVA 324th infantry division surrounded the village and was just waiting. After more than a month, the NVA regulars began their attacks to control the rebellious village. Their clash with the angry villagers that included many young women lasted for days. Both sides suffered heavy loss, several dozen were killed and many others wounded.
Upon occupying the village, army troops and civilian cadres came in to live with every home, helping the families with farm works and recover the normal life. Meanwhile the security agents secretly collected information, evaluated the situation and classified the villagers into categories. Only after a month or more, did the security agencies act according to the plan.
Consequently, many villagers considered as leaders of the rebellion, hard cores and instigators were arrested and detained. Some died in detention, others served many 3-year terms in forced labor camps. When the "anti-revolutionaries" had been neutralized, Hanoi fully backed up its local government in reinstating the party's control over the area of Quynh Luu.
In 1957, students of the high school at the outskirts of Hanoi, exclusive for teenagers coming from the South after the 1954 Peace Agreement, launched an armed protest against the Public Security for days, demanding that their personal security be assured after many acts of discrimination (assaults, slurs).
At first, Hanoi authorities gave in to the students, promising that their requests would be granted. The students ceased protesting. After a few weeks when the heat of the incident had faded out, the security agencies lashed out against the students with drastic measures. Previous promises were disregarded.
So far after 1975, there have been many other protests such as one by the Catholics in Saigon, not long after the VCP took over Saigon, demonstrations of about ten thousand farmers in Thai Binh province in 1997, similar protests by smaller number of farmers coming from villages near Hanoi, in the Saigon area and the Mekong Delta. Recently the 2001 uprising of the Montagnards in the Central Highlands really frightened the Communist leaders. And the most annoying to them were the half dozen groups of farmers from North, Central and South Vietnam joining together in protests against illegal confiscation of private land property.
In most cases, Hanoi conceded to the protesters. After the protesters were back to their villages, each of them was interrogated for days, intimidated, detained or harassed.
The Vietnam Communist regime usually follow precedent solutions to deal with adversary incidents. Probably the montagnards returning from Cambodia would be treated with smooth hands for the first few months or even a year after their return.
When the event will have been almost forgotten by outsiders, they would be treated by severe measures with Hanoi's iron fists.
Last week, suppressive actions against the dissidents in Hanoi and Saigon were reported in the overseas Vietnamese community. Many were put under house arrest, their homes were searched and all kinds of papers, written materials and computers were confiscated, telephone lines were disconnected.
Crackdowns were aimed at dissidents who were on their way to visit the common border with China where people believe that several hundred square miles of territory was illegally conceded to China. Meanwhile, retired Colonel Pham Que Duong (NVA) was harassed because he has applied to be a candidate running for a seat in Hanoi National Assembly. Duong meets all required conditions to be on the ballot in the coming election on May 19.
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