Cambodia orders closure of refugee centre for Vietnamese

Dec 16, 2010
Source: Monsters and Critics

Phnom Penh - The Cambodian government has ordered the closure of a UN centre for asylum seekers from the Vietnamese highlands, prompting fears that some could face persecution when repatriated.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the German Press Agency dpa that the centre had been ordered to close by January 1 because the government '[does] not want it anymore.'

'We want to finish it. If we keep it longer, the problem will exist on and on,' Koy Kuong said.

Of the 76 Montagnards - members of ethnic minority groups in the Vietnamese highlands - currently housed at the site, only 62 have had their refugee claims successfully processed, allowing them to be resettled in a third country. Koy Kuong said the other 14, as well as any new arrivals, would be sent back to Vietnam.

'We see there's no problem at all in Vietnam because Vietnam is a peaceful country,' Koy Kuong said. 'No rebellion, no turmoil, no civil war.'

Thousands of Montagnards fled to Cambodia earlier this decade after clashing with security forces during protests over land rights and religious freedom. Human Rights Watch estimates that approximately 300 Montagnard Christians are currently imprisoned for political or religious reasons.

'Montagnards continue to face arrest and imprisonment in Vietnam, primarily for belonging to independent Christian house churches that the government alleges are using religion to forward a political agenda,' Human Rights Watch said in a statement Wednesday.

Kitty McKinsey, the Asia spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the UN had requested that the Cambodian government 'kindly give us more time to find long-term solutions for the 62 refugees who are on the site.' She did not comment on the 14 who have yet to be granted refugee status.

In December 2009, the Cambodian government repatriated 20 Uighur Chinese asylum seekers over the objections of the United States and international rights groups. The deportation came ahead of a visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to sign agreements offering Cambodia 1.2 billion dollars worth of economic assistance.