UNHCR Regional Representative's January 11 Briefing

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000157

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF VM CB ETMIN HUMANR
SUBJECT: UNHCR Regional Representative's January 11 Briefing
of Diplomatic Corps

Ref: A) Hanoi 3341; B) Bangkok 477; C) Hanoi 3424


1. (SBU) Summary: On January 11, UNHCR Regional
Representative for Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
Hasim Utkan briefed representatives from concerned
diplomatic missions in Hanoi on Montagnard issues and UNHCR
relations with the Vietnamese Government. Utkan described
the UNHCR's difficulties in dealing with the GVN and noted
the UNHCR's dismay with recent accusations in the Vietnamese
press about UNHCR complicity in encouraging Montagnards to
cross the border. Utkan also outlined the UNHCR's efforts
to help mitigate the situation in Cambodia. End Summary.


2. (SBU) UNHCR Regional Representative for Thailand,
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Hasim Utkan opened his January 11
briefing for the Hanoi Diplomatic Corps (which DCM attended)
by recalling his December 16 meeting with the Vietnamese
MFA's Director General for Consular Affairs (Ref A). At
this meeting, Utkan had put three items on the table: a
permanent expatriate UNHCR presence in Vietnam; keeping the
Montagnard issue from impacting on other UNHCR activities in
Vietnam; and, a possible visit by the High Commissioner in

2005. Utkan had remained in Hanoi until December 22 but
received no reaction to these points from the GVN. (Note:
The UNHCR has since learned that the GVN agreed to allow an
international staff position at the UNHCR mission in Hanoi
(Ref B). End note.)


3. (SBU) On December 24, Utkan continued, the MFA called in
the local (Vietnamese) UNHCR representative and asked that
the UNHCR remove all Montagnards from Ratanakiri Province
before January 1. After consulting with Geneva, the UNHCR
complied with this request and rapidly moved 173 individuals
to Phnom Penh. On December 29, the UNHCR was surprised to
learn of the article in the Ministry of Public Security's
newspaper "An Ninh The Gioi" ("World Security") accusing the
UNHCR of encouraging Montagnard flight (Ref C). On January
4, the article was picked up by the English-language
"Vietnam News." At the same time, the UNHCR was engaged in
processing, with Cambodian Government assistance, the 770
Montagnards in Phnom Penh. The Cambodian police denied
press reports that they had increased controls on their side
of the border, but did acknowledge that they had brought
existing border units up to authorized strength, Utkan said.


4. (SBU) Utkan remarked that he had just met with the
Vietnamese Deputy DG of the MFA's Consular Department to
express his and the UNHCR's concern about the Vietnamese
charges and to remind the GVN that the three points he
raised in December are still on the table. At that time,
the DDG had nothing new to offer on the three points, but
did express appreciation for the UNHCR's prompt action in
removing the Montagnards to Phnom Penh. Regarding press
stories of improper UNHCR behavior, the DDG only offered
that the GVN could not "control a free press." On
instructions from Geneva, Utkan made clear that the
accusations in the article are not acceptable and that there
is no evidence to back them up. The UNHCR does not mistreat
its charges, and the expatriate named in the article had
left Cambodia in 2002 (and is reportedly now in
Afghanistan). (Note: According to Ref B, the GVN has now
given a "modest apology" to the UNHCR for these articles.
End note.)


5. (SBU) A major concern of the UNHCR is that these
accusations, absurd as they are, make it very difficult for
the UNHCR to have any constructive role in the Central
Highlands, Utkan said. It would be next to impossible to
operate in the environment of distrust created by these
charges. Utkan recited a list of actions that the UNHCR had
taken in 2004 in Cambodia to accommodate GVN concerns,
including closing offices near the border and even
broadcasting to Montagnards to tell them not to come to
Cambodia in the hope of resolving problems such as land
disputes. This was almost unprecedented, since the UNHCR
normally does not negotiate with the country of origin in a
refugee situation.


6. (SBU) As things now stand, the UNHCR is faced with a
number of critical problems. For example, the issue of what
to do with the 132 Montagnards who have been rejected as
refugees by the UNHCR is pressing. Normally, it would be up
to the Cambodian Government to decide. Moreover, there are
a number of individuals eligible for resettlement who want
neither to be resettled nor repatriated to Vietnam. For its
part, the Cambodian authorities have stated that Montagnards
do not have the option of remaining in Cambodia. The UNHCR
understands that some non-government organizations have even
asked the Montagnard Foundation to refrain from encouraging
people to cross the border. On top of everything, it is
very difficult to know the real situation in the Central
Highlands. Without a presence of its own or other local
sources it can rely on, the UNHCR is forced to use Human
Rights Watch reports, Utkan explained.


7. (SBU) In spite of its problems with the GVN, the UNHCR
believes it must maintain its dialogue to at least keep some
"asylum space" in Cambodia. However, the GVN wants to
handle this as a one-time operation: all who want
resettlement should be resettled abroad and those who remain
should in turn be sent back to Vietnam. The UNHCR is still
seeking a solution beyond resettlement. However, the
organization must face the fact that, in the short run at
least, no solution may be possible, Utkan noted.


8. (SBU) The best that can be done may be to contain, rather
than resolve, the problem. With this in mind, the High
Commissioner still wants to visit. The purpose would be to
intervene at a higher level in the GVN in the hope of
getting help from someone who could "manage" the "faction"
opposed to the UNHCR. The UNHCR would appreciate support
from concerned countries to encourage the GVN to accept the
visit, as opportunities present themselves.

MARINE