Cambodia/Vietnam: Montagnard refugees between a rock and a hard place

On 26 June 2015, Human Rights Watch published a report called "Persecuting "˜Evil Way" religion - Abuses against Montagnards in Vietnam", highlighting the dire situation facing Christian refugees both in the highlands of Vietnam and when seeking asylum in Cambodia. Daniel, persecution analyst for World Watch Research (WWR), comments: "For at least one year now there have been several reports of Montagnard Christians from the Vietnamese provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum trying to escape persecution by fleeing to Cambodia. Cambodia has granted some Montagnards asylum but many others have been turned away. Despite diplomatic pressure and ‚ international efforts by the UNHCR these difficulties still remain unresolved. This not only shows how desperate and underreported reality for ethnic minority Christians in Vietnam is, but also how powerfully Vietnam can influence its much smaller communist brother. That Cambodia is trying to increase its control on civil society is also shown by a new restrictive draft law on NGOs, as reported by Radio Free Asia on 23 June 2015."