US embassy cable - 05HANOI157

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000157 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV and PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PREF, VM, CB, ETMIN, HUMANR 
SUBJECT: UNHCR Regional Representative's January 11 Briefing 
of Diplomatic Corps 
 
Ref: A) Hanoi 3341; B) Bangkok 477; C) Hanoi 3424 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  On January 11, UNHCR Regional 
Representative for Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam 
Hasim Utkan briefed representatives from concerned 
diplomatic missions in Hanoi on Montagnard issues and UNHCR 
relations with the Vietnamese Government.  Utkan described 
the UNHCR's difficulties in dealing with the GVN and noted 
the UNHCR's dismay with recent accusations in the Vietnamese 
press about UNHCR complicity in encouraging Montagnards to 
cross the border.  Utkan also outlined the UNHCR's efforts 
to help mitigate the situation in Cambodia.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) UNHCR Regional Representative for Thailand, 
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Hasim Utkan opened his January 11 
briefing for the Hanoi Diplomatic Corps (which DCM attended) 
by recalling his December 16 meeting with the Vietnamese 
MFA's Director General for Consular Affairs (Ref A).  At 
this meeting, Utkan had put three items on the table:  a 
permanent expatriate UNHCR presence in Vietnam; keeping the 
Montagnard issue from impacting on other UNHCR activities in 
Vietnam; and, a possible visit by the High Commissioner in 
2005.  Utkan had remained in Hanoi until December 22 but 
received no reaction to these points from the GVN.  (Note: 
The UNHCR has since learned that the GVN agreed to allow an 
international staff position at the UNHCR mission in Hanoi 
(Ref B).  End note.) 
 
3. (SBU) On December 24, Utkan continued, the MFA called in 
the local (Vietnamese) UNHCR representative and asked that 
the UNHCR remove all Montagnards from Ratanakiri Province 
before January 1.  After consulting with Geneva, the UNHCR 
complied with this request and rapidly moved 173 individuals 
to Phnom Penh.  On December 29, the UNHCR was surprised to 
learn of the article in the Ministry of Public Security's 
newspaper "An Ninh The Gioi" ("World Security") accusing the 
UNHCR of encouraging Montagnard flight (Ref C).  On January 
4, the article was picked up by the English-language 
"Vietnam News."  At the same time, the UNHCR was engaged in 
processing, with Cambodian Government assistance, the 770 
Montagnards in Phnom Penh.  The Cambodian police denied 
press reports that they had increased controls on their side 
of the border, but did acknowledge that they had brought 
existing border units up to authorized strength, Utkan said. 
 
4. (SBU) Utkan remarked that he had just met with the 
Vietnamese Deputy DG of the MFA's Consular Department to 
express his and the UNHCR's concern about the Vietnamese 
charges and to remind the GVN that the three points he 
raised in December are still on the table.  At that time, 
the DDG had nothing new to offer on the three points, but 
did express appreciation for the UNHCR's prompt action in 
removing the Montagnards to Phnom Penh.  Regarding press 
stories of improper UNHCR behavior, the DDG only offered 
that the GVN could not "control a free press."  On 
instructions from Geneva, Utkan made clear that the 
accusations in the article are not acceptable and that there 
is no evidence to back them up.  The UNHCR does not mistreat 
its charges, and the expatriate named in the article had 
left Cambodia in 2002 (and is reportedly now in 
Afghanistan).  (Note:  According to Ref B, the GVN has now 
given a "modest apology" to the UNHCR for these articles. 
End note.) 
 
5. (SBU) A major concern of the UNHCR is that these 
accusations, absurd as they are, make it very difficult for 
the UNHCR to have any constructive role in the Central 
Highlands, Utkan said.  It would be next to impossible to 
operate in the environment of distrust created by these 
charges.  Utkan recited a list of actions that the UNHCR had 
taken in 2004 in Cambodia to accommodate GVN concerns, 
including closing offices near the border and even 
broadcasting to Montagnards to tell them not to come to 
Cambodia in the hope of resolving problems such as land 
disputes.  This was almost unprecedented, since the UNHCR 
normally does not negotiate with the country of origin in a 
refugee situation. 
 
6. (SBU) As things now stand, the UNHCR is faced with a 
number of critical problems.  For example, the issue of what 
to do with the 132 Montagnards who have been rejected as 
refugees by the UNHCR is pressing.  Normally, it would be up 
to the Cambodian Government to decide.  Moreover, there are 
a number of individuals eligible for resettlement who want 
neither to be resettled nor repatriated to Vietnam.  For its 
part, the Cambodian authorities have stated that Montagnards 
do not have the option of remaining in Cambodia.  The UNHCR 
understands that some non-government organizations have even 
asked the Montagnard Foundation to refrain from encouraging 
people to cross the border.  On top of everything, it is 
very difficult to know the real situation in the Central 
Highlands.  Without a presence of its own or other local 
sources it can rely on, the UNHCR is forced to use Human 
Rights Watch reports, Utkan explained. 
 
7. (SBU) In spite of its problems with the GVN, the UNHCR 
believes it must maintain its dialogue to at least keep some 
"asylum space" in Cambodia.  However, the GVN wants to 
handle this as a one-time operation:  all who want 
resettlement should be resettled abroad and those who remain 
should in turn be sent back to Vietnam.  The UNHCR is still 
seeking a solution beyond resettlement.  However, the 
organization must face the fact that, in the short run at 
least, no solution may be possible, Utkan noted. 
 
8. (SBU) The best that can be done may be to contain, rather 
than resolve, the problem.  With this in mind, the High 
Commissioner still wants to visit.  The purpose would be to 
intervene at a higher level in the GVN in the hope of 
getting help from someone who could "manage" the "faction" 
opposed to the UNHCR.  The UNHCR would appreciate support 
from concerned countries to encourage the GVN to accept the 
visit, as opportunities present themselves. 
 
MARINE