US embassy cable - 05HANOI921

UNCLAS HANOI 000921 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND PRM, BANGKOK FOR REFUGEE 
COORDINATOR, GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, PREF, VM, CB, Human Rights 
SUBJECT:  NO UNHCR VISIT TO CENTRAL HIGHLANDS; GVN CONFIRMS 
MID-TERM REVIEW POSTPONEMENT 
 
Reftel: A) Phnom Penh 632 
 
This is a joint Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City Cable 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The UNHCR's representative in Hanoi told 
us that he had not received permission to travel to the 
Central Highlands.  A GVN official confirmed that the late 
April dates for the mid-review conference will not work for 
Vietnam.  In the meantime, we continue to seek confirmation 
of allegations of mistreatment of returnees.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) UNHCR Hanoi Office-in-Charge Vu Anh Son told us 
April 20 that, contrary to what UNHCR Phnom Penh reported 
(Ref A), he had not been approved by the MFA to take a trip 
to the Central Highlands.  He expressed hope that a trip 
"will be permitted soon."  Son further noted that the GVN 
will "likely postpone" the April 28-29 meeting in Geneva. 
Although Son's GVN interlocutors have not said anything 
officially yet, they have told Son that the late April dates 
are "not convenient."  Regarding a recent Vietnam News 
Agency article that reported that Vietnam, Cambodia and the 
UNCHR had agreed that the 75 screened-out Vietnamese ethnic 
minorities must return to Vietnam, Son was nonplussed.  "I'm 
not sure why that article came out," he said.  Son added he 
believes that there is no specific plan or deadline to 
return the 75. 
 
2. (SBU) We also spoke on April 20 with Thai Xuan Dung, 
Director of the MFA Consular Department's Overseas Consular 
Affairs Section.  He confirmed that Vietnam needs to 
postpone the late April mid-term review and added that the 
GVN has not yet decided who will lead Vietnam's delegation. 
 
3. (SBU) A ConGen HCMC contact in the Central Highlands 
province of Gia Lai told us April 14 that he had not heard 
of any mistreatment of the ethnic minorities returnees, 
although he had not visited them himself.  His experience 
with voluntary returnees in 2003 was that local police 
interviewed these individuals immediately upon return and 
then would periodically hold follow up discussions with 
them.  The frequency of these follow-up interviews decreased 
over time as local authorities grew confident that the 
returnees were not involved in a "Dega" autonomy movement. 
In mid-March, Gia Lai and HCMC officials told ConGenOffs 
that the first group of returnees had returned safely to the 
province and gave assurances that they would not be 
mistreated. 
 
MARINE 
 
 
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