• by Irwin Loy (phnom penh)
• Wednesday, February 16, 2011
• Inter Press Service

Human rights groups are asking the Cambodian government to ensure the safety of asylum seekers, amid reports it is planning to send back a group of Montagnards to Vietnam, where they face harassment and persecution.

Concern over the status of refugees came after Cambodia closed down late last year a United Nations-run refugee centre that housed dozens of Montagnards.

Montagnards are Christianized tribes living in the Vietnam highland. They have been targeted for their beliefs, says the group Human Rights Watch (HRW). They have incurred government’s ire also because some of its members sided with the United States during the Vietnam War.

HRW estimates there are currently 300 Christian Montagnards imprisoned in Vietnam because of religious or political beliefs.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Cambodia is sending back 10 of the 75 refugees who used to be housed in the centre after they failed to meet the criteria for refugee status.

Fifty-five others, however, would be resettled in Canada or the United States by this week’s deadline, while another ten are awaiting emigration.

'It’s very possible that in the future we may see more Montagnard asylum seekers coming in to Cambodia,' said Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW’s Asia division. 'And the question is, what sort of reception are they going to receive?'

Cambodia is unique among its neighbours in that it is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which sets a definition for who can qualify as refugees, and obliges State Parties to protect them. However, critics said refugees in Cambodia have not always been treated fairly.

In late 2009, Cambodia issued a sub-decree that effectively gave it the final say in determining refugee status. But HRW believes the new regulations are wide open to interpretation.

'We’re concerned that (future asylum-seekers) might not receive a fair hearing,' Robertson said. 'If there’s a political impetus to try to keep refugees out, to try to toe the government line from Vietnam that these people aren’t refugees, we’re worried Phnom Penh will just go along.'

Critics say there is a precedent for such concern. Days after the government passed the sub-decree, it forcibly returned 20 ethnic Uighur asylum seekers to China in a move human rights groups condemned. At the time, the group’s refugee claims were still being assessed.

Their fates remain unclear today, but China has issued lengthy prison terms or even death sentences to other Uighurs accused of participating in ethnic riots in 2009. China and Cambodia later announced trade deals worth roughly 1.2 billion dollars.

The government, however, said the Montagnard refugee centre has served its purpose. Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UN-administered facility has processed the claims of almost 1,000 asylum seekers since it was formed as part of an agreement with the UNHCR in 2005.

'Now we need to close it down,' he said. 'We do not want it to stay open any longer. The longer it stays open, the more problems we will face.'

Koy Kuong rejected claims Montagnard asylum seekers would be persecuted in Vietnam. 'Vietnam is a lawful country, not a country of barbarians,' he said. 'Millions of people live there and their economy is growing very fast. Vietnam has no civil war right now.'

The group Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), which has worked extensively with Montagnards and other people seeking asylum in Cambodia, said the move to close the Montagnard refugee centre was a positive step.

Denise Coghlan, JRS’s Cambodia director, said the refugee centre an imperfect set-up that essentially saw refugees confined to their quarters, living in limbo as their status remained up in the air.

'Some people were in a closed site for six years, so I think it’s very good that it’s now finished,' she said.

Coghlan was among the most vocal critics when Cambodia chose to deport the Uighurs in late 2009. Now, she said, she’s hopeful the government will give due process to future asylum seekers.

'Like most laws, something’s written down and we have to see how it’s implemented,' she said. 'I hope it will be implemented in a humane way and according to the principle and spirit of the UN conventions.'

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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