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VIETNAMESE SECURITY FORCES ARREST MONTAGNARD DEGAR MAN FOR POSSESSING MOBILE CELL PHONE ON 6 JUNE 2006
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BACKGROUND: The indigenous Montagnard Degar Peoples have suffered
decades of persecution by the Vietnamese communist government,
namely; confiscation of their ancestral lands, Christian
religious repression, torture, killings and imprisonment.
In May 2006 the US State Department has
continued to maintain Vietnam on the “watch
list” of countries that are the worst violators of religious
freedom. To date over 350 Degar prisoners remain
in Vietnamese prisons for charges involving standing up for
their human rights, for spreading Christianity or for fleeing
to Cambodia . Vietnamese soldiers continue
with a campaign of repression and specifically hunt down
and arrest any Montagnard Degar who simply owns a cell phone.
The information below was received direct from the Central
Highlands .
MONTAGNARD
DEGAR SPECIFICALLY TARGETED FOR ARREST
At approximately 7:30 am June 6, 2006 Vietnamese police
arrested and imprisoned a Montagnard Degar man named Y-
Ker Buonkrong simply because he had a hand cell phone. Y-Ker
Buonkrong, age 56, is from the village of Buon Mblot ,
Krong Ana district, Daklak Province and he is now at the
prison facility in the district of Krong Ana. His family
is extremely distressed as virtually every Degar imprisoned
today in Vietnam reports being mistreated, severely beaten
or subjected to prolonged bouts of torture.
This type of repression indicates any Montagnard
Degar who simply owns a mobile cell phone will be subjected
to arrest based solely on race and ethnicity. It is feared
this discrimination by Vietnamese authorities will add
to the tensions building in the region.
THE MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION CALLS ON CONCERNED EMBASSIES IN VIETNAM AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO:
- Urgently raise this issue with authorities in Vietnam to get Y- Ker Buonkrong released from prison.
- Urgently pressure Vietnam to release all of the estimated 350 Degar Prisoners from Vietnamese prisons.
- Urgently pursue a permanent humanitarian presence in the Central Highlands monitor the human rights situation by UN and international agencies and international NGOs.
