US embassy cable - 05HANOI2055

UNCLAS HANOI 002055 
 
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, HUMANR, ETMIN 
SUBJECT:  UNHCR TO VISIT GIA LAI AGAIN, INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE 
MICRO-PROJECTS 
 
Reftel: State 148146 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  UNHCR will send a team of three 
representatives to Gia Lai Province August 22-26 to look 
into the status of ethnic minority returnees.  The UNHCR 
team will also investigate possible Tripartite MOU-mandated 
micro-projects, for which UNHCR recently received USD 
130,000 from the USG.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) UNHCR Chief of Mission Vu Anh Son told Pol/C August 
11 that he, UNHCR Regional Representative Hasim Utkan and 
Assistant Regional Representative for Operations Bernard 
Quah will pay a monitoring visit to Gia Lai Province August 
22-26.  The UNHCR team hopes to visit Duc Co District, in 
which 56 of the 94 recent returnees reside.  Krong Pa 
District, the birthplace of Montagnard Foundation head Kok 
Ksor, is another possible destination.  The team will also 
investigate possible micro-projects, which UNHCR committed 
itself to seek funding for under the Vietnam-Cambodia-UNHCR 
Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding.  Son related that he 
had just learned from Geneva that the USG had approved USD 
130,000 for UNHCR projects in the Central Highlands; using 
the funds to build a school (or a number of schools) is one 
possible option, he said. 
 
3. (SBU) Son said that the attitude of his MFA and Ministry 
of Public Security counterparts has so far been positive, 
and that he merely needs to "inform" rather than "seek 
permission" to travel to the Central Highlands.  Concerned 
that UNHCR's frequent visits may be a burden to local 
authorities, Son said that UNHCR is prepared to provide 
"around" USD 10,000 to help pay for transportation and other 
costs.  Son also indicated that UNHCR's next trip may be in 
October. 
 
4. (SBU) Son reported that the number of "refuseniks" in 
Phnom Penh (those ethnic minority Vietnamese who are 
eligible for but do not accept resettlement) has dropped to 
19 persons, from a high of close to 350 persons.  However, 
the GVN still complains that the speed of moving out those 
who have accepted resettlement is "too slow," Son said. 
 
5. (SBU) Comment: Per reftel, we will meet in coming days 
with our colleagues from like-minded embassies to inform 
them of our plans to visit the Central Highlands in early 
September and encourage them to do the same.  COM Son was 
pleased when informed that the Embassy and ConGen HCMC 
planned to send a team to Gia Lai September 6-9 and 
indicated he would do his best to encourage other donor 
nation representatives to follow suit.  End Comment. 
 
MARINE