Vietnam troops 'use force' at rare protest

6 May, 2011
AFP

Vietnamese soldiers have clashed with ethnic Hmong after thousands staged a rare protest in a remote mountain area calling for greater autonomy and religious freedom, a military source said on Thursday.

The Vietnamese army sent troop reinforcements after the demonstrations broke out several days ago in Dien Bien Province in the far northwest of the nation.

Soldiers "had to disperse the crowd by force," according to the military source, who did not provide details of any casualties or the number of troops involved.

It is Vietnam's worst-known case of ethnic unrest since protests in 2001 and 2004 in the Central Highlands by the Montagnards. About 1,700 of them fled to Cambodia after troops crushed protests against land confiscation and religious persecution.

In a statement citing Le Thanh Do, a senior provincial official, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Hmong had gathered since early May and camped in unsanitary conditions believing that a "supernatural force" would arrive to lead them to "a promised land."

"Abusing the information, some people instigated and campaigned for the establishment of a separate kingdom of Hmong people, causing disorder, insecurity and an unsafe situation," the statement said.

A foreign diplomat said he heard "that all of a sudden some guy sort of declared himself king and gathered people together."

Some Hmong have previously called for a separate Hmong Christian state, he said.

A local official in Muong Nhe district, about 200 kilometers northwest of Dien Bien town, told AFP that more than 3,000 Hmong were still gathered on Thursday.

The US-based Center for Public Policy Analysis, an outspoken supporter of the Hmong cause, said 28 protesters had been killed and hundreds were missing. The claims cannot be independently verified.

Local authorities had detained several people and opened an investigation, the military source said, adding that the Hmong were "incited" by local people wishing to exploit the May 7 anniversary of Vietnam's victory over French colonial forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

"We are very concerned," the military source said. "The Hmong called for freedom of belief and the setting up of a locally autonomous region."