CONDITIONS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS: DEBRIEFING NEW VISAS-93

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000155 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL CVIS KWMN TIP ELAB SMIG SOCI TW VM SUBJECT: CONDITIONS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS: DEBRIEFING NEW VISAS-93 APPLICANTS REF: A. 06 HCMC 395; B) 06 HCMC 29; C) 05 HCMC 1217 AND ¶B. PREVIOUS HO CHI MIN 00000155 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In early February, ConGen conducted private interviews in HCMC with six VISAS-93 (family reunification) ethnic minority applicant families from the Central Highlands. The results are consistent with previous rounds of interviews and show improvement in overall conditions for ethnic minorities, including religious freedom. None of the families reported any harassment, abuse or threats from officials. We continue to note contradictions between claims the anchors made during their asylum-seeking process and the statements their families made in HCMC. Over eighty percent of eligible Visas-93 cases to date have received passports. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) On February 5 and 8, we met in private with six Visas-93 applicants and their families in HCMC. The petitioning husbands fled to Cambodia because of religious persecution or for fear of arrest following their participation in protests in the Central Highlands in 2001 and 2004. All six families -- five ethnic Jarai and one ethnic Bahnar -- are from Gia Lai province. All are Protestant. Demographics and Living Standards -------------- ¶3. (SBU) All six families said their villages and homes had electricity. None of the families had indoor plumbing and all obtained water from a village well. In contrast to the mothers, who had limited or no schooling and were illiterate, all children of eligible age attended school. A few of the adult siblings reported dropping out of school by the sixth grade. ¶4. (SBU) All of the applicants are farmers. None of the families are aware of their anchor's job in the United States. Four of the families said they receive supplemental income from their anchors in the United States on a regular basis. Two other families said they received only one or two remittance payments from their anchors. Three families said money was sent via an ethnic Vietnamese middleman; two families received funds through bank wire transfer. One applicant was unable to explain how she received money from the anchor. For those that received regular assistance, remittances ranged from USD 250 to 300 every two or three �0A;months. The other two families were sent approximately USD 250 total. None of the families reported interference from GVN authorities in receiving their money. ¶5. (SBU) All the applicants reported that the majority of residents in their villages are of the same ethnicity, including local police and government officials. Five of the six families said there was no overt police presence in their villages. One applicant noted that the police deployed six or seven officers in her village. However, none of the families complained of police interference, harassment or heavy-handed control tactics. No Apparent Discrimination in Government Assistance -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) None of the Visas-93 applicants said they received government assistance, but noted that Government aid was distributed only to those in need. For example, one applicant said that only the poorest families in her village received government support. She considers her family as having an "average" income by village standards and does not expect support. No Reported Police Harassment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The applicants reported no arrests, physical abuse, or threats of either from local authorities after their anchors left Vietnam. The families were visited by local police two to three times in the weeks following their anchor's departure. In these interviews, police asked where the anchors were, why they had left Vietnam, and if the families had received funds from the United States. ¶8. (SBU) Only one of the six wives interviewed -- an ethnic Jarai -- alleged police abuse prior to her husband's flight. However, her story is contradictory. During the adjudication interview with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer, the woman claimed that her husband was "beaten in the woods" following a demonstration. He reportedly fled because of fear of HO CHI MIN 00000155 002.2 OF 002 arrest. During the USCIS interview she denied any connection to the ethnic separatist "Dega" movement. However, during the informational interview with HRS staff and PolOff the previous day, the applicant said that her husband had never been beaten, but that he feared arrest. She said that the family was affiliated with the "Dega Protestant Church" and that her husband fled because he feared "being called" to participate in a demonstration. (According to the husband's asylum interview notes, the husband claimed to be the village Dega movement organizer. The husband claimed that he was summoned to police for interrogation one several occasions and beaten at least once.) The wife told us that she spoke with her husband by phone prior to each interview us with. ¶9. (SBU) Four other families stated that their anchors had participated in anti-GVN demonstrations, but were not affiliated with any separatist movement and had never been arrested. One applicant did not know why her husband left Vietnam, but said he was never beaten or arrested. HRS adjudication records indicate that one anchor from this cohort claimed to have been a member of the ethnic minority guerilla group "FULRO", from 1980-1994, as well as a current member of the Dega movement. His wife reported that she had never heard of the terms FULRO or Dega and did not think her husband was a member. (FULRO was disbanded in 1992.) The HRS adjudication notes show that another anchor from this group claimed to be a member of the Dega movement and a supporter of Kok Ksor, President of the South Carolina-based Montagnard Foundation. His wife also reported that she had never heard of the Dega movement or knew of his support for Kok Ksor. Religious Freedom -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Five of the six families said that conditions for religious freedom had improved markedly in their respective villages in since 2003. Villagers now are able to gather and worship without incident. Two of the families said that their Protestant house churches are registered with the GVN. They did not know the name of the particular Protestant organization to which their house churches were affiliated. The one applicant who claimed a heavy police presence in her village said that religious gatherings were still banned and that she must worship at home. Asked about other Protestants in the village, she said that she "did not know" if they were able to gather or not. Passports and Documentation -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Five of the families either had received passports or had recently applied for passports. There were no reported problems with local and provincial officials in obtaining passports or other civil documentation. None were asked to pay bribes. One of the six families told us that they sought explicit police permission to travel to HCMC. All families paid normal application fees of approximately USD 2 to 3 USD per document. Comment -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The results of these six interviews reinforce earlier reftel observations that the vast majority of VISAS-93 applicants are not facing harassment by the GVN. This information indicates that conditions for ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands, particularly for religious freedom, continue to improve gradually. It also supports other reporting that the GVN security efforts are driven primarily by a fear of ethnic minority separatism. As in previous rounds of interviewing, there were inconsistencies between the statements given by the petitioner during the asylum-seeking process and family interviews in HCMC. We cannot completely rule out the possibility that the HCMC interviewees are withholding information out of fear of local government retaliation in the Central Highlands. However, the anomalies also raise the possibility that some applicants may have exaggerated their role in the unrest or the level of oppression they faced for the purpose of immigrating to the United States. Overall progress in resolving VISAS-93 cases is steady. To date, 191 families, over 80 percent of eligible cases, have received passports. End Comment. WINNICK