VZCZCXRO3170
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0590/01 2041150
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221150Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1661

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000590 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, PRM AND DRL 
BANGKOK FOR REFCOORD TIM SCHERER 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM CB
SUBJECT: MONTAGNARD DEMONSTRATION AT UNHCR SITES ENDS 
PEACEFULLY; UNHCR PREDICTS MORE 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Some 250 Montagnard individuals 
demonstrated outside of two UNHCR sites in Phnom Penh on 
Friday, July 18, shouting "Freedom!" and expressing concerns 
over conditions in Vietnam and complaints about the living 
conditions at the UNHCR sites.  The demonstration took place 
minutes after the departure of 26 Montagnard individuals who 
were determined by UNHCR not to be refugees and were being 
deported back to Vietnam.  The demonstration was said to be 
sparked partly by the beating of one Montagnard person who 
was among those repatriated.  People claiming to be witnesses 
said the police beat the escapee after he had escaped the 
UNHCR site the previous night but police reported that a 
group of civilians beat him up because they thought he was a 
thief.  Emboff noted restraint shown by armed, uniformed and 
plainclothes police during the demonstration lasting longer 
than two hours.  The tense standoff ended peacefully with the 
demonstrators agreeing to return inside the sites after UNHCR 
told them they would accept their complaints on an individual 
basis when they had calmed down.  UNHCR Cambodia Country 
Director predicted more demonstrations in the coming months 
assuming the UNHCR continues to recognize fewer Montagnard 
individuals as refugees, and as more persons are returned to 
Vietnam.  End Summary. 
 
Montagnard Demonstration at UNHCR Sites 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On July 18, approximately 250 Montagnard women and 
men, including elderly persons, and some with children and 
babies, demonstrated outside of two adjacent UNHCR sites in 
Phnom Penh shouting "Freedom!"  The demonstration started 
shortly after the departure of 26 Montagnards who were 
deported because they had been determined by UNHCR not to be 
refugees.  (Note: The 26 persons deported arrived after May 
1, 2007, the cut off date for arrivals to UNHCR to be 
reviewed for U.S. resettlement even after they have been 
rejected refugee status by the UNHCR.)  The demonstrators 
complained about conditions at the UNHCR sites, inability to 
move around freely in Cambodia, and conditions in Vietnam. 
The demonstration started at the UNHCR's "Site 1" which 
houses 127 individuals, 103 of whom have been recognized as 
refugees.  During the deportation proceeding, Emboff heard 
individuals shouting and making banging noises from within 
Site 1.  After the bus of 26 deported persons departed, 
demonstrators exited Site 1 into the street and opened the 
entrance gate of Site 2, from which the deported Montagnards 
had departed.  Some Montagnard persons from Site 2 joined the 
demonstration. 
 
HRW, Journalists, SRP Parliamentarian Monitor; Few Others 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Emboff reported that Human Rights Watch Senior 
Researcher Sara Colm (Amcit) and SRP Parliamentarian Son 
Chhay arrived separately about 30 minutes into the 
demonstration -- Colm was taking photos -- and a few 
journalists who arrived were allowed inside the police lines 
later.  At that point, about two to three police officers had 
lined up on either side of the block.  Ministry of Interior 
Internal Security Department Deputy Director Sovann, who 
typically attends Montagnard deportation proceedings, tried 
to talk with the demonstrators after about an hour and a 
half, explaining that they had been allowed to demonstrate 
without interference and that their message had been heard by 
the small audience that was on site.  However, Sovann also 
explained that it was time for the crowd to return inside the 
sites.  Police in riot gear arrived on the scene a few 
minutes later, standing at one end of the street. 
Demonstrators -- now a group of about 100 persons or less, 
but still with women and children among them -- continued 
their chanting on the street despite Sovann's request. 
 
UNHCR: Law and Order is RGC Responsibility 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Ministry of Interior Deputy Director Sovann asked 
UNHCR Protection Officer Toshi Kawauchi, who was on site 
during the demonstration, to try to convince the 
demonstrators to end their protest.  Kawauchi initially 
refused (Note: The UNHCR Cambodia Country Director told 
Emboff that UNHCR does not negotiate with demonstrators.  End 
Note.) but finally agreed after one of the plainclothes 
police officers asked him to sign a document that said the 
UNHCR had refused to talk to the demonstrators.  Emboff noted 
that police representatives had already consulted with UNHCR 
several times as to whether they could use force to end the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000590  002 OF 003 
 
 
demonstration.  Kawauchi told them that UNHCR was against any 
disproportionate use of force but that this was an issue of 
Cambodian law and order, and that enforcement of the law is 
the responsibility of the Cambodian government. 
 
UNHCR Convinces Demonstrators to End Protest 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Kawauchi talked to the demonstrators for about 30 
minutes before the demonstrators agreed to go back inside. 
He told them that UNHCR was willing to hear their concerns 
and demands on a one-on-one basis and that they are protected 
by UNHCR and the RGC while they are inside of the sites.  For 
those who have been rejected refugee status by UNHCR, 
Kawauchi told them that they are subject to Cambodian 
immigration and other laws while outside of the site.  As of 
July 22, Kawauchi has a meeting date set with one of the 
demonstration leaders, but said that there have been no other 
requests for meetings with UNHCR staff since the 
demonstration. 
 
Montagnard Individual Beaten Before Demonstration 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The demonstration may have been precipitated by the 
beating of a Montagnard who had been determined by the UNHCR 
not to be a refugee and who was among those deported on July 
¶18.  The individual ran away from the site the night before 
the deportation and was reportedly seen by police hiring a 
motorcycle taxi and trying to flee.  Police said that they 
yelled to bystanders to catch him and that the bystanders 
thought he was a thief and beat him up; when the police 
arrived they saved him from further beating.  However, 
persons claiming to be witnesses told UNHCR that one of the 
police officers beat him up.  One UNHCR staff who works at 
the sites said the beaten person had visible bruises on his 
face, and said that another person who claimed to witness the 
beating said the police also beat the man's body.  UNHCR 
Cambodia Country Director Thamrongsak Meechubot stated during 
a July 22 meeting that he believed that there were no 
witnesses to the beating and that they do not know which 
version to believe.  He also said that once a Montagnard 
individual who has been rejected refugee status leaves the 
sites, he is subject to Cambodian laws.  UNHCR Phnom Penh has 
decided the situation was one of law and order for which the 
Cambodian government has responsibility and stated that they 
do not plan to take further action regarding the beating. 
(Comment:  Embassy is not satisfied with this approach and 
will discuss further with UNHCR.) 
 
Decreasing Refugee Recognition Rate, Increasing Frustration 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) UNHCR believes the demonstration can be attributed 
to growing frustration among Montagnard individuals at the 
sites because of a decline in the number of persons 
recognized as refugees, and an increase in deportations to 
Vietnam.  Meechubot reported that about 400 Montagnard 
individuals have been returned to Vietnam in 2008 -- 
approximately 200 voluntary departures and 200 deportations. 
After the July 18 deportation, and a concurrent voluntary 
repatriation of five individuals, there are now 447 
Montagnard individuals who are housed at the three UNHCR 
sites in Phnom Penh.  Of those, 114 persons are recognized as 
refugees; 199 are being processed by UNHCR; and 134 have been 
"finally rejected" or determined not to be refugees by UNHCR. 
 According to the Overseas Processing Entity in Bangkok, 70 
persons are currently either a) under review for U.S. 
resettlement, or b) have been rejected by the DHS for U.S. 
resettlement but are still within a 90-day period to file a 
request for review of the negative DHS decision. 
 
UNHCR Phnom Penh Sites Meet Standards 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Regarding demonstrators' complaints about 
conditions at the UNHCR sites, Emboff visited the three sites 
during 2008 and found crowded but relatively clean facilities 
with potable water, sufficient food rations, and access to a 
medical service provider.  Meechubot confirmed that the sites 
meet UNHCR standards. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) During a July 22 meeting, UNHCR Cambodia Country 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000590  003 OF 003 
 
 
Director Meechubot predicted that we will see more 
demonstrations by Montagnards at the UNHCR sites in the 
coming months and we concur with this prediction.  We are 
pleased at the restraint shown by the Cambodian police during 
the demonstration, given the demonstration took place in 
contravention to Cambodia's demonstration law which states 
that demonstrators must inform officials of their protest 
plans in advance.  However, UNHCR Protection Officer Toshi 
Kawauchi confided to Emboff that he worried the police may 
not show such restraint if there is another protest.  While 
the UNHCR mandate is to protect persons seeking refugee 
status, Kawauchi stated that they do not have a 
responsibility to physically protect individuals.  He 
reiterated Meechubot's statement that UNHCR protection does 
not extend to Montagnard individuals who are determined not 
to be refugees if they are outside of the sites, and are 
subject to Cambodia's law enforcement if they break Cambodian 
laws. 
MUSSOMELI