Human Rights Watch urged international donors to pressure Vietnam to end its persecution of Montagnards, and accused Cambodia of denying asylum to fleeing Montagnards in a statement Tuesday.
Donors should pressure Vietnam to stop “the unlawful arrest, [and] torture” of Montagnards who have returned to Vietnam from Cambodia, voluntarily or forcibly, the statement said.
Most Montagnards hoping to flee the Vietnamese authorities are unable to seek asylum in Cambodia, “which has sealed its border and enforces a policy of forced repatriation of Montagnard asylum seekers,” Human Rights Watch said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak declined to answer questions on the report Tuesday. CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith said he was not in a position to comment on whether the government has forced Montagnards to return to Vietnam.
There are currently 124 Montagnards serving prison sentences in Vietnam of up to 13 years for attempting to seek asylum in Cambodia, taking part in nonviolent political activism, or organizing Christian gatherings, Human Rights Watch said.
Asylum seekers who have been forcibly repatriated from Cambodia “are placed under strict surveillance and sometimes house arrest,” Human Rights Watch said. “Vietnam’s already dismal human rights has sunk to new depths this year,” Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch Asia Division director, said in the statement.
Nguyen Thanh Duc, press attache at the Vietnamese Embassy, said Tuesday that he had not received the report and was not in a position to comment on it. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will respond [today],” he said.
Repression of Montagnards in Vietnam’s Central Highlands is likely to escalate over the Christmas holiday this month, Human Rights Watch added.
In December, Vietnamese officials “invariably detain evangelical Christian leaders and shut down Christmas worship services, which are perceived as linked to the Montagnards’ political organizing,” the statement said.
