UNPO - Montagnards: Religious Freedom Still Awaited

Montagnards: Religious Freedom Still Awaited

Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Mr Kok Ksor has briefed US officials on religious abuses prior to a Vietnamese delegation visit - Hanoi’s response is not encouraging.

Below is a press release issued by the Montagnard Foundation Inc.:

The US State Department invited ten delegates from the government of Vietnam’s Central Highlands to visit the United States and […] major Degar resettlements in Greensboro, NC and then San Francisco Bay area. The delegation visited the city of Greensboro, NC for two days on March 3 - 4, 2008.

[…]

Before the Vietnamese delegation arrived in Greensboro, NC on March 2, 2008, Mr. Kok Ksor was invited to attend the meeting by the Piedmont Triad Council for International Visitors (PTCIV). He was asked to describe how the Degar Montagnard refugees were treated by the US government and to relay Degar concerns over loved ones remaining in Vietnam. Unfortunately, Mr. Ksor was never allowed to deliver his statement at the meeting and was never even told why. Even though Mr. Ksor was not allowed to speak at the meeting, we are still so very thankful to PTCIV because they included his statement in their packages that were handed out to people who attended the meeting. The statement is as follows:

STATEMENT ON THE OCCASION OF VN DELEGATION VISIT US

Submitted by Kok Ksor to the Piedmont Triad Council for International Visitors in Greensboro, NC March 3, 2008:

First, I would like to thank the Piedmont Triad Council for International Visitors, especially Mr. Ralph Cauthen, for making it possible for me to be here today. I would also like to welcome the Vietnamese delegation from Vietnam.

[…]

the Degar refugees in the United States, have a very good life here, [but] we are still very concerned about our families and friends who we have left behind in the Central Highlands.

They have told us almost daily about their sufferings and the difficulties they have endured since 1975 and they have asked us not to forget them but to do something to help them. We are saddened by their hardship and our happiness here in the US only makes us feel guilty because they are suffering so terribly. Therefore, we are really concerned about their wellbeing.

I also wanted to tell you that the allegations by the Vietnamese government and some of its people – that the Montagnard Foundation and its supporters are terrorists, separatists, rebels, etc, is completely untrue. These are lies and are a pretext to stop the international community from supporting us and to make an agenda of destroying our people.

Most of the Degar people are Christians […] We do not hate the Vietnamese people because they are of a different people from us. We see it like this, if we hate those who God loves, it means we are going against God. If so, we are not the children of our Almighty God.

We want to live in peace and harmony with the Vietnamese. Look at the documents of French officials and the last Vietnamese Emperor, Bao Dai, in 1950. Emperor Bao Dai wrote that “pursuant to the wishes expressed by the representatives of the Montagnard populations on May 26, 1950 in Kontum, on June 5, 1950 in Pleiku, on June 10, 1950 in Darlac, on June 26, 1950 in Haut-Donnai:” the Degar people’s wishes is to live alongside the Vietnamese people.

This is the legal proof that the Degar people has shown to the international community to establish that our people wanted to live with the Vietnamese people as one people and one nation. Unfortunately, the Vietnamese government and its people have not shown the Degar Montagnards that they have the same desire.

[…]

All our people want is for the Vietnamese government and its people not to deprive our brothers and sisters of their basic human rights, indigenous peoples’ rights and especially the rights to free use of our ancestral lands.

Besides, Vietnam has become a member state of the United Nations. It has joined WTO [World Trade Organization] and has gained a seat at the most prestigious agency of the United Nations, the UN Security Council. It has also ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on September 24, 1982, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on December 24, 1982, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on December 24, 1982 and many other United Nations’ documents. In addition, Vietnam has just voted “yes” to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 12, 2007. Do they have any intentions at all of abiding by their agreements?

Also, look at the following:

Vietnam Constitution Chapter Five: Fundamental Rights and Duties of the Citizen

Article 52 states: “All citizens are equal before the law”.

Article 58 paragraph 2 states: “The State protects the citizen's right of lawful ownership and right of inheritance”.

Article 68 states: “The citizen shall enjoy freedom of movement and of residence within the country; he can freely travel abroad and return home from abroad in accordance with the provisions of the law”.

Article 69 states: “The citizen shall enjoy freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the press, the right to be informed, and the right to assemble, form associations and hold demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of the law”.

Article 70 paragraph 1 & 2 states: “The citizen shall enjoy freedom of belief and of religion; he can follow any religion or follow none. All religions are equal before the law. The places of worship of all faiths and religions are protected by the law”.

Article 71 paragraph 1 & 3 states: “The citizen shall enjoy inviolability of the person and the protection of the law with regard to his life, health, honor and dignity. It is strictly forbidden to use all forms of harassment and coercion, torture, violation of his honor and dignity, against a citizen”.

Article 72 paragraph 1 states: “No one shall be regarded as guilty and be subjected to punishment before the sentence of the Court has acquired full legal effect”.

Article 73 paragraph 3 states: “Safety and secrecy are guaranteed to the citizen correspondence, telephone conversations and telegrams”.

Are these laws genuine or are they only intended for mere appearances?

We pray the Degar people will one day live in a truly free Vietnam where fundamental human rights and indigenous rights of all Vietnam’s citizens are equally respected.

Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you, to express our concerns, and to let us see each other in person, so that we might try to understand each other.

I pray that our Almighty God will make this meeting to be a constructive means for our future relationship. Thank you and God bless.

Prepared by,

Kok Ksor, President of the Montagnard Foundation, Inc.

Note:

The US State Department invited ten delegates from the government of Vietnam’s Central Highlands to visit the United States [...] The names of the delegates are as follows:

Mr. Cuong Van BUI

Officer, Central Highland Affairs Committee

Mr. Dien LE

Vice Chairman, Central Party Committee of the Kontum Province

Mr. Cu Ngoc LU

Chairman, Dak Lak Province People's Committee

Mr. Nam Van MAI

Principal Vice Chairman of the Central Highland Affairs Committee

Mr. Nam Hoanh NGUYEN

Deputy Director General, Americas Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Dung The PHAM

Chairman, Gia Lai province People's Committee