CENTRAL HIGHLANDS DEMONSTRATIONS DWINDLING

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000480 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL PGOV SOCI VM SUBJECT: CENTRAL HIGHLANDS DEMONSTRATIONS DWINDLING REF: REF A) HCMC REF B)HCMC 447 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Reports of civil unrest in the Central Highlands are dwindling, but tensions between ethnic minorities, Kinh majority residents and local authorities remain. One contact estimates 20-30 "instigators" remain in custody in Gia Lai. Post is following up on reports of fatalities in Dak Lak province being circulated by the Montagnard Foundation, Inc. (MFI) and has heard from one official contact that an individual in police custody died on May 1. Local officials are looking further into the incidents at Post's request. End summary. Latest Reports -------------- ¶2. (SBU) While most Central Highlands contacts say the situation has returned to normal, conflicts continue to smolder in several districts on the border of Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces, including Duc Co, Chu Se, A Yun Pa, Krong Pa, Chu Pah and Dak Doa districts. Eyewitnesses say groups of 50-100 demonstrators, mainly women and children, have been involved in clashes with local authorities. According to one reliable Gia Lai contact, a group of ethnic minority women in Chu Pah district attacked local police, "clawing and tearing at their clothes." When the police attempted to restrain the demonstrators, they began to shout and tear off their own garments. There are also reports of ethnic minority demonstrators telling Kinh majority residents to "leave their ancestral land." Between 20 to 30 "instigators" are believed to be in custody of Gia Lai authorities now, but these arrests have not been officially confirmed. Scores of others have been detained, questioned and then released. [Comment: In clashes several weeks ago, Gia Lai officials confirmed similar numbers had been initially detained, but only two or three were actually arrested and the rest eventually released. (Ref A).] Several of post's religious contacts in the region were reluctant to discuss the situation further, due to "political sensitivities." Deaths in Dak Lak -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Post followed up on two accounts of ethnic minority murders in Dak Lak in a May 6 press release from The Montagnard Foundation, Inc. (MFI). Two reliable contacts, including one provincial official, shared the following information: --Two small children from the Ea Kar district of Dak Lak were found dead in the Kdrol River with their limbs tied. Given the remote location of the incident, more details could not be verified. There were no reports of demonstrations in this area, and post has no reason to believe the case was linked to recent unrest. -- On May 1, Mr. Y Ben Hdok was found dead "in a hanging position" in an interrogation room at a police station in Buon Ma Thuot, the provincial capital of Dak Lak. Hdok had been in police custody since April 28 and authorities were questioning him for "communicating with foreign elements." His family reported bruises on his corpse but refused to have an autopsy performed. Contacts say the police told the family Hdok hanged himself while they were on a lunch break. Official contacts in Dak Lak are following up on the incidents at post's request, but did not have further details to share at the time of this report. Comment -------------- ¶4. (SBU) While land disputes appear to be the immediate cause of this most recent round of unrest, the Central Highlands region is characterized by multiple stresses. Ethnic minorities have seen their traditional lifestyle (which was based upon slash-and-burn agriculture with frequent relocations of entire villages) undermined by a combination of rising populations and the move to an economy based upon fixed, long-term land tenure. The cultural clash between many of the ethnic groups and ethnic Vietnamese bears many parallels to the experience of aboriginal groups in North America. The cultural clash is amplified by Vietnam's endemic official corruption and the frequent land grabs by well-connected groups that afflict many regions. These machinations impact ethnic minority groups particularly hard since they do not have a history of maintaining formal title to traditional lands. The final ingredient in the volatile Central Highlands mix is the impact of U.S.-based groups that advocate active resistance to the GVN, reportedly even telling ethnic minorities that taking part in demonstrations can earn them an immigrant visa to the United States. End comment. ¶5. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. FAIRFAX