In a 21 January 2003 report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) discusses the situation of the Montagnards, a Christian minority group living in the central highlands of Vietnam, who, according to the Washington Director of the Asia Division of HRW, "are being interrogated, arrested, beaten and jailed -- simply because they are Christians or are suspected of supporting the popular movement for land rights and religious freedom." Furthermore,

since the beginning of 2003, more than 100 Montagnards who have tried to flee to Cambodia have been forcibly returned to Vietnam, where some have been arrested and beaten. More than seventy Montagnards are currently serving lengthy prison sentences in Vietnam for participating in protests or trying to flee to Cambodia since February 2001 (HRW 21 Apr. 2003).

These asylum seekers may face up to twelve years in prison for attempting to leave Vietnam illegally (ibid. 21 Jan. 2003).

In a 2002 statement, Phan Thuy Thanh, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, dismissed the rights group's claims that ethnic minorities were being deported from Cambodia back to Vietnam stating that "'forces hostile to Vietnam wish to create a flow of people illegally crossing the border in order to destabilize the area between Vietnam and Cambodia, particularly in the Central Highlands'" (AFP 3 Oct. 2002).

In addition to the reports of arrests and deportations of Christian Montagnards (see also International Religious Freedom Report 18 Dec. 2003), several articles cover the story of Thich Tri Luc, a Buddhist monk and member of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, who was arrested and forcibly deported to Vietnam despite having received refugee status in Cambodia (HRW 17 Sept. 2003; HRWF 6 Oct. 2003; AFP 13 Aug. 2003). According to Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF), the government of Vietnam is attempting to silence Thich Tri Luc, who has been speaking out against human rights abuses in Vietnam for over a decade (6 Oct. 2003). HRWF stated that the trial, which was to be held in October 2003, is likely to be "conducted under internal-security laws in a closed court" and that the monk faces three years to life imprisonment if convicted (HRWF 6 Oct. 2003). No further information on Thich Tri Luc's trial could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

A 27 February 2003 Agence France Presse (AFP) article also reported arrests of "boat people" fleeing Vietnam for Hong Kong. According to a representative of the police department from the city of Haiphong, 35 people from the boats were arrested along with the organizers of the smuggling ring (AFP 27 Feb. 2003).

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office, in Ottawa, was unable to provide any information in the time allotted for this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France Presse (AFP). 3 October 2003. "Vietnam Slams Rights Report Over Forced Refugee Return from Cambodia." http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/+mwwBmeiLiN8wwwwDwwwwwwwmFqnN0bIhFqnN0bItFqnDni5AFqnN0bIcFqrUonBDwMDzmxwwwwwww/opendoc.htm [Accessed 27 Jan. 2004]

_____. 13 August 2003. Ben Rowse. "Vietnamese Buddhist Dissident Calls for Release of Kidnapped Monk." (NEXIS)

_____. 27 Febraury 2003. "Vietnam Arrests 15 People-Smugglers Over Hong Kong-Bound Boat People." http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/+_wwBmegxjLKwwww6wwwwwwwmFqnN0bIhFqnN0bItFqnDni5AFqnN0bIcFqMUonBDwMa+XXvDzmxwwwwwww1FqmRbZ/opendoc.htm [Accessed 27 Jan. 2004]

Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2003. 18 December 2003. "Vietnam." United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24327.htm [Accessed 27 Jan. 2004]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 17 September 2003. "Vietnam: Refugee Monk's Arrest a Mockery of Justice." http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/09/vietnam091703.htm [Accessed 27 Jan. 2004]

_____. 21 April 2003. "Vietnam: New Documents Reveal Escalating Repression." http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/04/vietnam042103.htm [Accessed 27 Jan. 2004]

_____. 21 January 2003. "Vietnam: New Assault on Rioghts in Central Highlands, Crackdown on Indigenous Montagnards Intensifies." http://hrw.org/press/2003/01/vietnam012103.htm [Accessed 27 Jan. 2004]

Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF). 6 October 2003. Alan Boyd. "Vietnam: Vietnam Tightens Control on Religion." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

Unsuccessful attempts to obtain information from the UNHCR in Ottawa.

Internet sites, including:

Amnesty International

Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2003

Human Rights Watch

Novex.cn.com

UNHCR

United States Committee for Refugees (USCR)