VZCZCXRO4898
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0480 1360900
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150900Z MAY 08
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4468
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3054
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 4692

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000480 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL PGOV SOCI VM
SUBJECT: CENTRAL HIGHLANDS DEMONSTRATIONS DWINDLING 
 
REF: REF A) HCMC    REF B)HCMC 447 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Reports of civil unrest in the Central 
Highlands are dwindling, but tensions between ethnic minorities, 
Kinh majority residents and local authorities remain.  One 
contact estimates 20-30 "instigators" remain in custody in Gia 
Lai.  Post is following up on reports of fatalities in Dak Lak 
province being circulated by the Montagnard Foundation, Inc. 
(MFI) and has heard from one official contact that an individual 
in police custody died on May 1.  Local officials are looking 
further into the incidents at Post's request. End summary. 
 
Latest Reports 
-------------- 
¶2. (SBU) While most Central Highlands contacts say the situation 
has returned to normal, conflicts continue to smolder in several 
districts on the border of Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces, 
including Duc Co, Chu Se, A Yun Pa, Krong Pa, Chu Pah and Dak 
Doa districts.  Eyewitnesses say groups of 50-100 demonstrators, 
mainly women and children, have been involved in clashes with 
local authorities.  According to one reliable Gia Lai contact, a 
group of ethnic minority women in Chu Pah district attacked 
local police, "clawing and tearing at their clothes."  When the 
police attempted to restrain the demonstrators, they began to 
shout and tear off their own garments.  There are also reports 
of ethnic minority demonstrators telling Kinh majority residents 
to "leave their ancestral land."  Between 20 to 30 "instigators" 
are believed to be in custody of Gia Lai authorities now, but 
these arrests have not been officially confirmed.  Scores of 
others have been detained, questioned and then released. 
[Comment:  In clashes several weeks ago, Gia Lai officials 
confirmed similar numbers had been initially detained, but only 
two or three were actually arrested and the rest eventually 
released. (Ref A).] Several of post's religious contacts in the 
region were reluctant to discuss the situation further, due to 
"political sensitivities." 
 
Deaths in Dak Lak 
----------------- 
¶3. (SBU) Post followed up on two accounts of ethnic minority 
murders in Dak Lak in a May 6 press release from The Montagnard 
Foundation, Inc. (MFI).  Two reliable contacts, including one 
provincial official,  shared the following information: 
 
--Two small children from the Ea Kar district of Dak Lak were 
found dead in the Kdrol River with their limbs tied.  Given the 
remote location of the incident, more details could not be 
verified.  There were no reports of demonstrations in this area, 
and post has no reason to believe the case was linked to recent 
unrest. 
 
-- On May 1, Mr. Y Ben Hdok was found dead "in a hanging 
position" in an interrogation room at a police station in Buon 
Ma Thuot, the provincial capital of Dak Lak.  Hdok had been in 
police custody since April 28 and authorities were questioning 
him for "communicating with foreign elements." His family 
reported bruises on his corpse but refused to have an autopsy 
performed. Contacts say the police told the family Hdok hanged 
himself while they were on a lunch break. 
 
Official contacts in Dak Lak are following up on the incidents 
at post's request, but did not have further details to share at 
the time of this report. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶4. (SBU) While land disputes appear to be the immediate cause of 
this most recent round of unrest, the Central Highlands region 
is characterized by multiple stresses.  Ethnic minorities have 
seen their traditional lifestyle (which was based upon 
slash-and-burn agriculture with frequent relocations of entire 
villages) undermined by a combination of rising populations and 
the move to an economy based upon fixed, long-term land tenure. 
The cultural clash between many of the ethnic groups and ethnic 
Vietnamese bears many parallels to the experience of aboriginal 
groups in North America. The cultural clash is amplified by 
Vietnam's endemic official corruption and the frequent land 
grabs by well-connected groups that afflict many regions. These 
machinations impact ethnic minority groups particularly hard 
since they do not have a history of maintaining formal title to 
traditional lands. The final ingredient in the volatile Central 
Highlands mix is the impact of U.S.-based groups that advocate 
active resistance to the GVN, reportedly even telling ethnic 
minorities that taking part in demonstrations can earn them an 
immigrant visa to the United States. End comment. 
 
¶5. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
 
FAIRFAX