Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Refugees set for departure

Refugees set for departure

Montagnards pose with signs calling for help from international groups to stop Cambodia from deporting them to Vietnam.
Montagnards pose with signs calling for help from international groups to stop Cambodia from deporting them to Vietnam. Photo supplied

Refugees set for departure

Seven Montagnards recognised as refugees by Cambodia will be sent to the Philippines on Friday, according to Immigration Department Chief Sok Phal, although the fates of another 29 asylum seekers with well-founded fears of persecution back in Vietnam hang in the balance.

The seven will be joining 13 Montagnard refugees sent in May last year to the Philippines, according to the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), before they will be sent to another unnamed country for resettlement.

UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan said currently “the 13 remain where they are as longer-term solutions are sought”, but declined to comment further as “the concerned countries have requested discretion on the issue”.

Uk Hai Sela, head of immigration investigations at the Ministry of Interior, yesterday said he had not received any update regarding the planned deportation of the 29 Montagnards – many of whom have claimed they were jailed in Vietnam.

“I was asking about the Montagnard situation this morning, not [specifically] about the 29, but I have had no response yet,” he said.

“I asked Refugee [Department] Director General Tan Sovichea. He said it is still complicated, and not approved from the director,” Hai Sela added, referring to Sok Phal.

Phal, reached yesterday, confirmed the seven Montagnards would be sent to the Philippines on Friday, but when asked about the 29 asylum seekers still in limbo, he said “now I am busy” before hanging up.

The UNHCR late last week said it remained “hopeful” the Cambodian authorities would allow them to take the 29 to a safe third country, rather than forcibly deporting them to Vietnam, which could breach Cambodia’s non-refoulement obligations under the Refugee Convention.

Last week several Montagnards spoke candidly to The Post about the mistreatment they endured at the hands of Vietnamese authorities, who they said seized their land, forbade them from worshipping Christianity, and jailed and beat them.

The fears they expressed were in part backed up by the release yesterday of a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which said Vietnam had “made progress to improve religious freedom conditions, but severe violations continue, especially against ethnic minority communities”, including the Montagnards.

The report, A Right for All: Freedom of Religion or Belief in Asean, said some Montagnards “are prevented from holding religious ceremonies, many are summoned to meet with local authorities and pressured to cease practicing their faith, and pastors are harassed or punished”.

“There is a disconnect between the central government’s overtures to improve religious freedom conditions and the ongoing actions taken by local officials, public security, and organized thugs to threaten and physically harm religious followers and their houses of worship or other religious property,” it reads.

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