Cambodia/Vietnam: More Montagnards sent back to Vietnam

As Radio Free Asia reported on 21 December 2016, Cambodia sent back thirteen Montagnard Christians to Vietnam, as they did not qualify for refugee status. According to a UNHCR spokesperson quoted in the report, the Christians returned "voluntarily". Vietnam"s Central Highlands region is home to some 30 tribes of indigenous peoples, known collectively as Montagnards. According to the Cambodian authorities, there are still another 156 Montagnards in Phnom Penh seeking refugee status on grounds of oppression by the Vietnamese government. For Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, this report is typical of the never-ending vulnerability of this (mainly) Christian minority: "These 13 Montagnards were part of over 200 who have fled Vietnam and crossed into Cambodia over the last months. Knowing that all guarantees of fair treatment by the Vietnamese authorities on their return are questionable and that access to their home provinces in the Central Highlands is very restricted, it is likely that the Montagnards will find themselves in very difficult circumstances. The authorities will not only monitor them closely, but are likely to harass them and impose further restrictions."