UNHCR on Montagnards, Naturalization of Khmer Rouge Era

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000363 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR PRM/MCE, PRM/A, PRM/ANE, DRL/MLGA, EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV VM SUBJECT: UNHCR on Montagnards, Naturalization of Khmer Rouge Era Refugees and Stateless Women ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UNHCR continues to have an extremely active presence in the Central Highlands, conducting regular trips to the region to meet with Montagnard returnees from Cambodia. In the past month, UNHCR traveled to Gia Lai province and met with 78 returnees one-on-one and without accompaniment from the MFA - both significant developments which indicate a lessening of GVN concern regarding security in the area. UNHCR also continues to stand ready to assist in the naturalization process of Cambodian Khmer Rouge-era refugees in Vietnam. The first tranche (2,357 individuals) is set to be naturalized in September. The larger group of approximately 6,500 people, who have assimilated into society and no longer live near the old refugee camps, will take significantly longer. UNHCR continues to work with stateless Vietnamese women returning from overseas after their marriages to foreigners have ended in divorce; however, this is not likely to remain a pressing issue as Vietnam no longer prohibits dual citizenship. END SUMMARY. UNHCR Monitoring of the Central Highlands -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Poloff met with UNHCR Country Director Vu Anh Son on April 15 to obtain more information regarding his recent March 30 - April 2 visit to Gia Lai with UNHCR's Bangkok-based Deputy Regional Representative, Mr. Giuseppe de Vincentis. Son highlighted the fact that this trip was the first time that he was not accompanied by someone from the MFA when traveling to the region. He also noted that their meetings with returnees, 78 in all, were one-on-one. (He said that usually in the past a village elder wanted to sit in on their meetings, but that the elders did not make this request this time.) Both of these Son took as indications that the GVN had become more at ease with the situation. In general, monitoring in the Central Highlands has gotten noticeably easier, he said. ¶3. (SBU) Son stressed that none of the returnees claimed harassment after returning to Vietnam and that all admitted to being economic migrants. According to Son, 70 percent of the returnees UNHCR deals with are from Gai Lai Province and of those, 90 percent are of the Jarai ethnic minority group (even though 34 different minority groups are represented in Gia Lai province). Son attributed this to the active encouragement of the U.S.-based former head of FULRO, who remains engaged in Montagnard issues and is Jarai. ¶4. (SBU) While in Gia Lai province, Son and de Vincentis met with the Chairman of the People's Committee of Gia Lai who uncharacteristically urged UNHCR to grow its micro credit program in the province and encourage other "NGOs" to come and assist in the province. Son said that the region's economic difficulties were especially acute among minority groups, given the steep drop in rubber prices and unprecedented drop off in cassava prices (from 1,200 VND/kilo to around 200 VND/kilo). Naturalization Process of Former Khmer Rouge Refugees -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Son said that the naturalization process for Khmer Rouge-era Cambodian refugees who fled to Vietnam had been delayed somewhat. Earlier, a large push from the government had been underway to naturalize the first group of 2,357 individuals before the June 1 implementation of the new law on citizenship passed by the National Assembly last fall. Son said that the timeframe had slipped till September, but that there should be no problems. ¶6. (SBU) A larger group of around 6,500 individuals who no longer live in and around the old refugee camps and have integrated into society would take longer, Son asserted. The Prime Minister created an interagency team to deal with the issue, headed by the Ministry of Justice and including the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Public Security and Foreign Affairs. He said that the GVN had underestimated both the time and cost of conducting a census to find the individuals, assist them in providing the necessary paperwork and move them through the process. The three provinces involved are also poor and don't have the money to finance the effort, Son said. The UNHCR would likely assist in the project and provide the three provinces in question with $10,000 to allow the work to go forward. Son noted that the central government, sensitive to the fact that the individuals technically aren't refugees any longer, would turn a "blind eye" to the project. Stateless Vietnamese Women Who Divorce Foreigners -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Last week Son participated in a CEDAW/Women's Union event in Can Tho that dealt with marrying overseas men. Apparently, a large number of these women are from An Giang and the trend of marriages to Taiwanese men continue to be strong. Currently over 20 percent of these marriages fail, Son said. Previously, due to a flaw in Vietnam's law on citizenship these women found themselves as HANOI 00000363 002 OF 002 stateless since they had to give up their Vietnamese citizenship in order to gain the citizenship of their destination country. Son said that the legislative fix by the National Assembly last fall, which now permits dual citizenship, seems to have rectified the problem. Son also commented that the Women's Union in An Giang has begun to change the way it addresses women marrying foreigners. Previously, the union merely discouraged such marriages and ignored the fact that families of such women traditionally receive significant financial benefits. The union is now focused more on assisting these women in reintegrating into Vietnamese society upon their return. ¶8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Ho Chi Minh City. MICHALAK