US embassy cable - 04HANOI3424

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 003424 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PREF, VM, CB, HUMANR, ETMIN 
SUBJECT: MINISTRY OF SECURITY NEWSPAPER ACCUSES UNHCR OF 
WRONGDOING 
 
REF: A) HANOI 2864, B) HANOI 3392, C) HCMC 1590, D) HANOI 
 
3215 
 
1. (SBU) An Ninh The Gioi (World Security), a newspaper 
published by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), printed 
a long article (excerpted below) on December 29 accusing two 
UNHCR employees  - Westerner Katy Grant and ethnic 
Vietnamese Y Xuan - of having links with separatist groups 
and attempting to cause instability in Vietnam's Central 
Highlands by encouraging refugee outflows.  The article 
alleges that UNHCR camps contain terrible conditions, and 
the two camp employees use threats of violence to keep 
residents in line.  It claims that thirteen attempted 
migrants who returned to Vietnam in October (Ref. A) were 
only allowed to leave after they agreed to become "Dega" 
revolutionaries.  Upon arriving in Vietnam, however, they 
revealed the plot to authorities. 
 
2. (SBU) A UNHCR source told poloff that the article was 
"very, very bad," but attributed it to the "view of some 
people" and not the "strategy of the Government of Vietnam 
towards the UNHCR."  He confirmed that Grant and Y Xuan were 
employees of UNHCR, though not staff members.  Speaking to 
the press, Thamrongsak Meechubot, UNHCR Representative in 
Cambodia, rejected the allegations as "clearly baseless." 
Our source posited that the article was triggered by MPS 
fears of attempted protests and a mass border crossing from 
the Central Highlands on Christmas, which did not in the end 
occur (Refs. B and C).  This was an attempt by the MPS to 
pass the blame for a border crossing onto foreign 
instigators, rather than domestic problems, he suggested. 
 
3. (SBU) Comment:  While exaggerated propaganda in 
Vietnamese newspapers is not unusual, such specific charges 
against UNHCR employees are surprising.  The allegations 
appear to be largely the result of interrogations of the 
thirteen Montagnards who returned to Vietnam in October, who 
likely prepared a story to excuse their attempted migration. 
Unfortunately we cannot dismiss the allegations as only the 
views of a conservative faction in the MPS.  The claims were 
echoed by MFA Americas Department Director General Nguyen 
Duc Hung in his December 24 demarche to the Charge (Ref. B), 
and may be taken as true by a number of more liberal GVN 
officials.  If so, we fear that they may derail the budding 
dtente between the GVN and UNHCR. (Ref. D)  End Comment 
 
 
//Begin Unofficial Embassy Partial Translation// 
 
An Ninh The Gioi, December 29, 2004 
 
THE WRONGDOINGS OF SEVERAL UNHCR STAFF? 
 
On October 9, 2004, 13 ethnic minority individuals from the 
Central Highlands returned to Dak Nong Province from the 
"Temporary Residence Camp" set up by the UNHCR in Phnom 
Penh.  However, in truth it was not "voluntary 
repatriation;" they were asked to intrude into Vietnam 
illegally to entice and incite others to go, creating 
security disorders in the Central Highlands.  Surprisingly, 
the ones who ordered, forced and organized this trip are 
UNHCR staff in Cambodia. 
 
A Ring to Bring People Across the Border 
---------------------------------------- 
 
Owing to geographical location and history, the Mo-Nong, Gia 
Rai, Ede... ethnic people have had fraternal relations with 
those of the same ethnicities in Cambodia, especially in 
areas close to the border.  Taking advantage of this factor, 
reactionary forces, which do not want a stable Central 
Highlands, enticed and paid a number of individuals from 
Cambodia to join with their relatives in Dak Nong to form 
rings to illegally bring people across the border.  Dieu 
Klo, aka Ma Duyen, is an important part of this attempt. 
When the FULRO exiles attempted to build the Dega 
Protestantism, and an independent Dega State, Ma Duyen 
secretly met with several individuals... in order to incite 
 
SIPDIS 
them to join him.  Since June 2002, these individuals have 
had many meetings with a leader named Dieu N'Gai to map out 
ways to create disorders in the localities, to collect 
information, fabricate it into reports, then send them to Ma 
Duyen.  Ma Duyen was supposed to send it to the United 
Nations, but in fact he sent it to UNHCR in Cambodia.  In 
March 2004, leader Dieu N'Gai told his men to flee to 
Cambodia, then leave for the U.S. from there.  As soon as Ma 
Duyen arrived in Cambodia, Y Xuan, a UNHCR camp employee, 
along with other FULRO leaders, provided Ma Duyen with 
"lessons" with fabricated contents to learn by heart.... 
 
Temporary Residence Camp No. 1 -- The Hell 
------------------------------------------ 
 
The camp has two sections.  Newcomers stay in one room on 
the second floor of a three-story building.  Each floor has 
three rooms.  Ninety-one people including ten Ede, 26 Mo 
Nong, and the rest Gia Rai crowd in one narrow, stinking 
room.  The camp is surrounded by four-meter high walls, and 
well guarded by four Cambodian police officers taking turns. 
These 91 individuals share one water tank and two WCs, on 
the average each person takes a bath once a week, sometimes 
once every two weeks.  One camp member can have only three 
kilograms of rice, 100 grams of meat, two eggs, some salt 
and vegetables for a week.  Recalling the days in the camp, 
Dieu Maih bitterly said "in the camp, you are considered as 
pigs.  Pigs even have more to eat to grow.  They don't need 
us to grow, so we were hungry all the time...." 
 
Unable to wait to go to a third or fourth country by sitting 
like caged animals, the group of 26 Mo Nong people staged a 
protest.  The UNHCR representatives at the camp has showed 
their "humanitarian mission" and "human rights values" by 
inciting the other 75 individuals to suppress and 
threatening, even beating the 26 Mo Nong.  In this case, the 
Cambodian police had to intervene.  Also by encouraging camp 
members to entice and bring more people there from Vietnam, 
some people representing the UNHCR are apparently turning 
the task for collecting refugees into business 
opportunities. 
 
Temporary Residence Camp or Training School for Violence? 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
Four days after receiving a request to leave the camp by a 
group of 13 people, on May 30, 2004, Y Xuan and Dieu Day 
convened all camp members and declared that the UNHCR would 
not allow anyone to return.  The season Y Xuan stated was 
that the trip back to Vietnam would reveal the ring to 
illegally bring people here from Vietnam, and FULRO 
activities. 
 
Unable to wait any longer, this group of 13 individuals 
began to agitate.  Their moments lifted the disguise of the 
UNHCR.  Katy Grant, camp deputy head, along with Y Xuan had 
private talks with each of the individuals: "Once back in 
Vietnam, you should try to work for Dega.  When the Dega 
revolution succeeds, you'll get big rewards, and hold 
certain positions.  If you don't follow us, you'll be 
punished".  Katy even trained those men how to deal with 
police by making a disguise or cover.  She said "once in 
Vietnam, you need to immediately report to the local 
authorities.  Tell them that it was too difficult in the 
camp, you were left hungry and even beaten so that the 
authorities would not suspect you.  In any case, don't 
mention any contact with UNHCR and your tasks."  Katy showed 
that she is far-sighted by saying that "to avoid attention, 
you should be back to normal when you are in the village. 
Don't work for us until after two months have passed."  "If 
you work effectively, UNHCR will provide you with equipment 
and money." 
 
Accepting to work for Katy Grant and other extremists in the 
camp was the only way to escape from their plight; 
therefore, the 13 individuals agreed.  On October 5 they 
left for Vietnam.  But they were aware that they were doing 
the wrong thing, so they confessed the truth as soon as they 
arrived home.... 
 
It is surprising and shameful that Katy Grant and Y Xuan, as 
representatives of (the UNHCR) are on purpose turning this 
camp into a place for enticing people and training them how 
to create disorders.  Katy Grant and Y Xuan know clearly 
that Vietnam does not have religious or ethnic conflicts; 
the State of Vietnam has always been striving to bring about 
a more stable, developed and richer life for all ethnic 
groups nationwide including those in the Central Highlands. 
Therefore, no one in the temporary residence camp is 
eligible to be considered refugees.  By accepting and 
supporting it, they contribute to greatly interfering in 
Vietnam's internal affairs, independence and sovereignty.... 
 
The final point is that we don't understand if UNHCR knows 
or does not know about these illegal and ill-intentioned 
activities by its staff such as Katy Grant and Y Xuan.  If 
it does, we can never understand why this organization has 
not taken any measures to prevent or correct its staff.  In 
the meantime, it always says that its mission is 
"humanitarian." 
By Nguyen Hong Lam 
 
//End Unofficial Embassy Partial Translation// 
 
BOARDMAN