Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Government intent on deporting asylum seekers despite warnings

Government intent on deporting asylum seekers despite warnings

A Montagnard refugee whose asylum bid was rejected twice by the Kingdom is photographed last month in Phnom Penh.
A Montagnard refugee whose asylum bid was rejected twice by the Kingdom is photographed last month in Phnom Penh. Sahiba Chawdhary

Government intent on deporting asylum seekers despite warnings

The Cambodian government is resolved to deport 29 Montagnards back to Vietnam, officials said yesterday, claiming the group would not be persecuted on their return – contrary to warnings from refugee advocates.

Last Friday, seven Montagnards – members of Christian ethnic tribes of Vietnam’s Central Highlands – were sent to the Philippines to join 13 others the Cambodian government deemed to be refugees.

But the refugee claims of 29 have been rejected and they face imminent deportation, despite the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) claiming their fears of persecution are well-founded.

One refugee who landed in the Philippines on Friday, Kpa Yum, 40, fled his home country on August 6, 2015, after being punished for his beliefs. “They put me in a re-education camp at Phu Yen province, Dong Xuan district,” he said yesterday. “I stayed in jail for seven years.”

Just last month, he said, Vietnamese authorities visited his wife and forced her to write a letter calling him home. He said leaving Cambodia after two years in limbo was a relief, but bittersweet. “I feel good to be in the Philippines. I feel almost free, and safer,” he said. “But I am still very sad, because my older brother is still in Cambodia.”

“I am afraid that the Cambodian government will not let them go to a third country . . . If they went back they would end up in jail or might have some mental problems because they were tortured before.”

However, Immigration Department Director Sok Phal yesterday denied the refugees would be victimised by the Vietnamese. He claimed of 179 Montagnards interviewed, only seven had legitimate refugee claims, “while the rest, they must go back to their home country”.

“They cannot go to jail because the UNHCR knows itself that they will go back and live with their brothers and sisters and there is no problem that they [would] go to jail,” he said. “Even if they will be jailed in Vietnam, that could not be hidden from the international community.”

Refugee Department Director Tan Sovichea said the Interior Ministry had already informed the UNHCR that it was “following what we had agreed from before … [that] those who cannot be granted refugee [status] must return back”.

“[They are] going back to Vietnam. We are waiting for the time,” he said. The Montagnards were previously told they would have to leave Cambodia before September 22.

Interior Ministry Undersecretary of State Ouk Kim Lek suggested Prime Minister Hun Sen was still deliberating over the UN appeal, although he added that “the Vietnamese claimed that they will treat them well”.

UNHCR’s assistant regional representative, Alistair Boulton, said via email yesterday that the group was writing again to Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng “to ask that UNHCR be allowed to facilitate the departure of the 29 to a country they are willing to go to and which is willing to accept them”. “Our position and hopes remain unchanged,” he said.

Human Rights Watch’s Phil Robertson said returning the refugees to Vietnam would spark “a storm of criticism” and urged Cambodia not to bow to pressure from the neighbouring government.

“Sok Phal should realize that letting these remaining 29 Montagnard refugees go with UNHCR would not only put the Cambodian government in a good light, but it would also remind Vietnam that it cannot take Cambodia’s interests for granted anymore,” he said in an email.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument