Vietnam denies repression of 2 Montagnards

The Vietnamese government has denied allegations of repression against two Montagnards who wrote to the United Nations about the lack of religious freedom in their home province of Dak Lak.

“Extremist organizations abroad frequently post distorted and false information accusing Viet Nam of repressing ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands,” Vietnam wrote in a reply letter to the U.N. in Geneva, dated July 9. 

The denial follows a letter by four U.N. special rapporteurs in April 2023 to the Vietnamese government, denouncing authorities for “arbitrarily detaining, intimidating, monitoring, restricting the movement, and harassing” Y Khiu Nie and Y Si Eban, two Montagnard Protestants, while they were on their way to attend the Southeast Asia Conference on Freedom of Religion and Belief in Indonesia on Nov. 6, 2022.

The four rapporteurs said in their letter that one of the two Montagnards, Y Khiu Nie, completed exit procedures at Tan Son Nhat airport to go to Bali in Indonesia, but was stopped on the grounds that he did not meet the requirements for COVID-19 testing and vaccination, even though he had a vaccination certificate and requested a rapid test, which was refused.

“The requirement for a COVID-19 vaccination certificate for exit stemmed from entry regulations of the destination country (in this case, Indonesia) and the airlines, not from Viet Nam's exit restrictions,” Vietnam said in its letter. 

Vietnam said the other Montagnard, Y Si Eban, was banned from leaving the country for security and defense reasons according to Article 36 of the Law on Entry and Exit of Vietnamese Citizens. 

Montagnards is a term coined by French colonialists to describe around 30 indigenous tribes living in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. They have a long history of conflict with the Vietnamese majority and claim they have been discriminated against over issues including religion and land rights. 

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Police detained the two and brought them to the police headquarters of Buon Ma Thuot city in the Central Highlands for questioning for two days but said in the letter to the U.N. that they were “invited” to discuss activities that may cause social disorder and affect national security.

“This is a normal activity of the Vietnamese police to invite citizens to cooperate and provide information to clarify certain events, not a detention or criminal investigation procedure. Therefore, it does not require the presence of a lawyer,” it wrote.

It also said that during the meeting, both men admitted to acting under the direction of extremist anti-Vietnam organizations abroad, expressed remorse for their illegal acts, and pledged not to reoffend.

Vietnam said allegations “the authorities handcuffed, assaulted, threatened to imprison, and demanded that Y Khiu Nie and Y Si Eban cease their religious activities,” were baseless.

‘Story was fabricated’

Y Khiu Nie is a member of the Evangelical Church while Y Si Eban is a preacher of the Tay Nguyen Evangelical Church of Christ, a religious group founded by Pastor Aga, who is a refugee in the United States.

On Wednesday, Pastor Aga told Radio Free Asia that Dak Lak provincial police tortured and beat Eban, confiscating his identity card, passport, phone and money during his two-day detention.

“What the government said was not true. They said the two knew their mistakes, regretted this and that. That story was fabricated,” he said. “The truth is that he was arrested because of his religious beliefs, not about national security issues.

“Y Si Eban did nothing that could affect national security. He only practices worshiping God at the church in his village."

Pastor Aga said police had been keeping a close watch on Y Si Eban before his attempt to fly to Bali, harassing him at home and when he went out.

“They still regularly guard his house, and have not returned his passport,” the pastor said. “Because he was closely followed by the police, Y Si Eban could not work far from home and no one dared to hire him.

“The police also threatened to imprison him if he gave an interview to foreign news.”

A person close to Y Khiu Nie confirmed that he was detained for two days after being barred from leaving the country and that police confiscated his passport.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights mentioned the cases of two Montagnards in the Vietnam section of a report to the 54th session of the U.N. General Assembly that took place in September and October last year.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.