PRM A/S SAUERBREY MEETS ETHNIC MINORITY PASTOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000175 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR PRM AND EAP/MLS, BANGKOK FOR REFCOORD, GENEVA FOR RMA E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/25/2027 TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL KIRF SOCI VM SUBJECT: PRM A/S SAUERBREY MEETS ETHNIC MINORITY PASTOR HO CHI MIN 00000175 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Kenneth Chern, Deputy Principal Officer, EXEC, ConGen Ho Chi Minh City, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: On February 1, PRM Assistant Secretary Ellen Sauerbrey during a visit to Gia Lai Province called on Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV) Pastor Siu Y Kim at his house church in Pleiku and later had a private conversation with the pastor. The pastor named FULRO as the source of the protests in the Central Highlands in 2001 and 2004 and also the reason behind much, but not all, of the subsequent border crossing into Cambodia. Recent border crossing had more to do with aspirations for a better life or evading criminal problems than fear of political persecution. Pastor Kim stated that returnees were monitored and had less access to government services and assistance than other ethnic minority members, but that they did not face mistreatment or detention. Pastor Kim noted that it is difficult for ethnic minorities to adapt to changing conditions and fit into the modern world. They do not have many successful role models and tend to become frustrated rather than think about how they could improve their lives. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Local officials were willing to allow Pastor Kim to speak in private with the Assistant Secretary, but suggested that it would be better if the conversation happened at the Assistant Secretary's hotel. Otherwise, neighbors might be suspicious of the pastor for meeting in private with foreigners. Consequently, the Assistant Secretary agreed to meet with Pastor Kim at his house church first, with local officials present, and then have a private conversation with him at her hotel. The visit to the pastor's home took place in the presence of a number of local officials who listed to the meeting with varying levels of concentration. The pastor presented the Assistant Secretary with a Jarai-Vietnamese New Testament that had just been officially published. He asked that she take a copy to Ambassador John Hanford. The pastor apologized for the appearance of his yard, crowded with boxes containing wheelchairs to be donated through his church to the needy. The pastor was also drying cinnamon bark in the yard, a 
reminder that much of his livelihood is from agriculture. He showed the Assistant Secretary his church upstairs above his residence. With three or four hundred members in his congregation, services had to be held in four different groups because there was not room for everyone to come at once. He said the church had not changed much since government recognition, except that before they had worshipped quietly behind closed doors and now they had a sound system. ¶3. (C) After meeting up again at the hotel, the Assistant Secretary asked Pastor Kim why Central Highlands ethnic minority SIPDIS members had been going to Cambodia. Pastor Kim said that problems in the Central Highlands began when ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) began moving there. Ethnic minorities soon perceived that the Kinh were cheating them out of their land, treating them unequally, and looking down on them. The ethnic minorities saw that their daily life was becoming more difficult, particularly when they saw that the lives of the Kinh were improving. The Kinh did not resolve this problem after the division of Vietnam in 1954. Later in the 1950's some ethnic minorities established an "independent government" (FULRO). Pastor Kim said that FULRO partnered with "northern troops" until 1975, but that the northerners violated their agreement with FULRO in 1975 so the Central Highlanders went into the jungle and Cambodia to continue their struggle for independence. Eventually they got tired of fighting and went to the United States. The Montagnard Foundation's aim, according to Pastor Kim, is to establish a FULRO government in the Central Highlands. They began activities in 1998 and 1999 and instigated the demonstrations that took place in the Central Highlands in early 2001 and again in 2004. After the demonstrations, some crossed the border to go to the United States. Others were arrested and are still in prison. Those remaining either want to go to the U.S. or to continue their struggle in Vietnam. ¶4. (C) In response to the Assistant Secretary's question about what those going to Cambodia now fear, Pastor Kim replied that the motivation of border crossers has changed. Between 75 and 80 percent of those crossing recently have no fear of persecution; they just want a better life. A smaller number have violated the law or have fathers who committed crimes or are debtors. He stressed that they broke criminal laws, not political laws. As an example, an individual named Lan Lem, who had been a government "security agent," borrowed a lot of money and fled with his family to Cambodia. He subsequently resettled in Finland. Another border crosser was an illegal logger who HO CHI MIN 00000175 002.2 OF 002 did not know how to bribe police like his Kinh partners did. Another illegal logger had been arrested and informed on his Kinh partners who then threatened him. None of these people were involved in the Dega movement or in the protests. Pastor Kim said that as far as he could tell, the ethnic minority returnees were fine although some of them wanted to try crossing the border again and going overseas. Those who cross the border now are often frustrated with the government. However, the GVN is now paying more attention to ethnic minority problems so many people are happier. ¶5. (C) The Assistant Secretary asked for more information on how returnees are treated. Pastor Kim said that treatment varies, but that almost all are "black-listed." The government monitors them more than most people, but they do not fear arrest or detention. They tend to receive less assistance from the government and to face a certain level of discrimination. For instance, they might have a harder time getting papers certified. Pastor Kim compared it to how religious people were treated in the past. He also said that there could be a glass ceiling. One border crosser was a teacher who had resumed teaching after returning; in a school meeting the principal had singled out this person as someone who could not be promoted past a certain level because of non-membership in the Communist Party. (Note: It is not clear whether the glass ceiling Pastor Kim referred to was for border crossers or for non-Party members. The benefits of Party membership to advancement in government positions are well-known. There are probably very few border crossers who would advance far enough in society to encounter a glass ceiling. End note.) ¶6. (C) Fitting into the modern world is often difficult for ethnic minorities, Pastor Kim observed. Few ethnic minority members have land title documents and obtaining them is a very slow process for Kinh and ethnic minorities alike. Many ethnic minority members do not have basic civil documents such as household registrations. Some would like to go back to how things were thirty or forty years ago. They do not know how to farm without using slash-and-burn methods. Most ethnic minorities need models of how to farm. The best model farmers would be other ethnic minorities because they find it difficult to learn from the Kinh. ¶7. (C) Commenting further on the ethnic minority community in response to the Assistant Secretary's questions, Pastor Kim said that while there were ethnic minority government officials, they tended to be passive and were not very successful in comparison to their Kinh counterparts. Within the ethnic minority community, he said that almost all of the border crossers were Jarai, since they are the largest ethnic group. Therefore they tend to lead the other groups and have a stronger identity. ¶8. (C) Finally, the Assistant Secretary asked Pastor Kim about religious freedom issues in the Central Highlands. Pastor Kim noted that the situation had improved considerably aver the past several years. One of the most important issues facing religious groups now was the return of church property and obtaining new property so that they could build or rebuild churches to serve growing congregations. WINNICK