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A MASSACRE FEW AMERICANS HAVE
HEARD ABOUT
http://home.earthlink.net/~ducducvietnamfriends/an_unknown_massacre_in_vietnam/
http://home.earthlink.net/~americans_who_lived_as_peasants/
Please forward a copy of the below letter to everyone you think can help. Please get involved.
The Montagnards were once America's allies. They helped us for years; please help them now.
Jack http://www.CapVeterans.com
refugee council usa
3211 4TH Street, NE Washington, DC 20017-1194
Tel: 202-541-5402/04 Fax:
202-722-8737 www.refugeecouncilusa.org
VIA
FACSIMILE: 202-647-8947
August 3, 2005
Condoleeza Rice, Ph.D
Secretary of State
U.S.
Department of State
Washington,
DC
Dear Madame Secretary:
We are writing to express our extreme
disappointment that approximately 100 Montagnards were forcibly returned from Cambodia
to Vietnam on July
20, 2005, and our grave concern for those Montagnards who remain in Cambodia
and who reside in Vietnam.
This letter also contains specific recommendations for moving forward with Montagnard protection in ways that are appropriate
in light of their urgent and highly credible claims to protection as refugees.
This letter follows a letter of July 18, 2005, in which many of those listed below strongly urged that Montagnards
in Cambodia and Vietnam
receive more appropriate protection from the governments of Cambodia,
Vietnam, and the United States,
as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Our specific recommendations for protecting Montagnards
in Cambodia and Vietnam are that the UNHCR and the governments listed above work
together to achieve the following goals:
1.
Ensure
that the Montagnards who have been forcibly returned to Vietnam have access to appropriate U.S. Government
officials who can interview them for resettlement as refugees to the United States.
In addition, in-country processing for Montagnards should be expanded to include family reunification, especially for
those who would not qualify under I-730 processing. We recommend processing under
Priority 3 (P-3) at minimum; categories of eligibility should also be explored.
2.
Ensure
that Montagnards from Vietnam who remain in Cambodia all have access to interviews for resettlement in the United States,
whether they have been “screened out” by UNHCR or not. U.S. law does not require referral by UNHCR
for resettlement interviews, and there are specific provisions for the adjudication of Montagnard applicants within U.S. law. Those found not eligible for resettlement
and those who do not wish to resettle in a third country should not be forcibly returned to Vietnam.
Repatriation should take place on a strictly voluntary basis and only when trustworthy systems of international monitoring
are in place in the Central Highlands.
3.
Put
in place an effective system of international monitoring to ensure that the religious and other rights of Montagnards are
respected in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. This should be complemented with development assistance
for Montagnards and others in the Central Highlands.
We look forward to hearing from you on this urgent
matter.
Sincerely,
Chair, Refugee Council USA
Executive Director
Migration and Refugee Services/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
On
behalf of the following members:
John Salzberg,
Washington Representative
Center for Victims of Torture
Joseph Roberson, Director
Church World Service/Immigration and Refugee Program
C. Richard Parkins, Director
Episcopal Migration Ministries
Tsehaye Teferra, Ph.D., Executive Director
Ethiopian Community Development Center
Neil Greenbaum, President & CEO
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Cha Lee, Executive Director
Hmong National Development
Arnold
Leibowitz, President
International Refugee Research Institute
Robert Carey, Vice President for Resettlement
International Rescue Committee
Fr. Kenneth Gavin, S.J., Director
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Dr. Pary Karadaghi, Executive Director
Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Inc.
Ralston
H. Deffenbaugh Jr., President
Lutheran
Immigration and Refugee Service
Huy Vu Bui, Executive Director
National Alliance
of Vietnamese American Service Agencies
Doua Thor, Executive Director
Southeast Asia Resource Action Network
Lavinia Limón, Executive Director
U.S. Committee for Refugees & Immigrants
Sammy Mah, Executive Director
World Relief
