VZCZCXRO3854
OO RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0363/01 1100855
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200855Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9526
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH PRIORITY 5790
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 3760

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000363 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR PRM/MCE, PRM/A, PRM/ANE, DRL/MLGA, EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV VM
 
SUBJECT: UNHCR on Montagnards, Naturalization of Khmer Rouge Era 
 
Refugees and Stateless Women 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: UNHCR continues to have an extremely active 
presence in the Central Highlands, conducting regular trips to the 
region to meet with Montagnard returnees from Cambodia.  In the past 
month, UNHCR traveled to Gia Lai province and met with 78 returnees 
one-on-one and without accompaniment from the MFA - both significant 
developments which indicate a lessening of GVN concern regarding 
security in the area.  UNHCR also continues to stand ready to assist 
in the naturalization process of Cambodian Khmer Rouge-era refugees 
in Vietnam.  The first tranche (2,357 individuals) is set to be 
naturalized in September.  The larger group of approximately 6,500 
people, who have assimilated into society and no longer live near 
the old refugee camps, will take significantly longer.  UNHCR 
continues to work with stateless Vietnamese women returning from 
overseas after their marriages to foreigners have ended in divorce; 
however, this is not likely to remain a pressing issue as Vietnam no 
longer prohibits dual citizenship.  END SUMMARY. 
 
UNHCR Monitoring of the Central Highlands 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Poloff met with UNHCR Country Director Vu Anh Son on April 
15 to obtain more information regarding his recent March 30 - April 
2 visit to Gia Lai with UNHCR's Bangkok-based Deputy Regional 
Representative, Mr. Giuseppe de Vincentis.  Son highlighted the fact 
that this trip was the first time that he was not accompanied by 
someone from the MFA when traveling to the region.  He also noted 
that their meetings with returnees, 78 in all, were one-on-one.  (He 
said that usually in the past a village elder wanted to sit in on 
their meetings, but that the elders did not make this request this 
time.)  Both of these Son took as indications that the GVN had 
become more at ease with the situation.  In general, monitoring in 
the Central Highlands has gotten noticeably easier, he said. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Son stressed that none of the returnees claimed harassment 
after returning to Vietnam and that all admitted to being economic 
migrants.  According to Son, 70 percent of the returnees UNHCR deals 
with are from Gai Lai Province and of those, 90 percent are of the 
Jarai ethnic minority group (even though 34 different minority 
groups are represented in Gia Lai province).  Son attributed this to 
the active encouragement of the U.S.-based former head of FULRO, who 
remains engaged in Montagnard issues and is Jarai. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) While in Gia Lai province, Son and de Vincentis met with 
the Chairman of the People's Committee of Gia Lai who 
uncharacteristically urged UNHCR to grow its micro credit program in 
the province and encourage other "NGOs" to come and assist in the 
province.  Son said that the region's economic difficulties were 
especially acute among minority groups, given the steep drop in 
rubber prices and unprecedented drop off in cassava prices (from 
1,200 VND/kilo to around 200 VND/kilo). 
 
Naturalization Process of Former Khmer Rouge Refugees 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Son said that the naturalization process for Khmer 
Rouge-era Cambodian refugees who fled to Vietnam had been delayed 
somewhat.  Earlier, a large push from the government had been 
underway to naturalize the first group of 2,357 individuals before 
the June 1 implementation of the new law on citizenship passed by 
the National Assembly last fall.  Son said that the timeframe had 
slipped till September, but that there should be no problems. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) A larger group of around 6,500 individuals who no longer 
live in and around the old refugee camps and have integrated into 
society would take longer, Son asserted.  The Prime Minister created 
an interagency team to deal with the issue, headed by the Ministry 
of Justice and including the Ministries of Planning and Investment, 
Public Security and Foreign Affairs.  He said that the GVN had 
underestimated both the time and cost of conducting a census to find 
the individuals, assist them in providing the necessary paperwork 
and move them through the process.  The three provinces involved are 
also poor and don't have the money to finance the effort, Son said. 
The UNHCR would likely assist in the project and  provide the three 
provinces in question with $10,000 to allow the work to go forward. 
Son noted that the central government, sensitive to the fact that 
the individuals technically aren't refugees any longer, would turn a 
"blind eye" to the project. 
 
Stateless Vietnamese Women Who Divorce Foreigners 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Last week Son participated in a CEDAW/Women's Union event 
in Can Tho that dealt with marrying overseas men.  Apparently, a 
large number of these women are from An Giang and the trend of 
marriages to Taiwanese men continue to be strong.  Currently over 20 
percent of these marriages fail, Son said.  Previously, due to a 
flaw in Vietnam's law on citizenship these women found themselves as 
 
HANOI 00000363  002 OF 002 
 
 
stateless since they had to give up their Vietnamese citizenship in 
order to gain the citizenship of their destination country.  Son 
said that the legislative fix by the National Assembly last fall, 
which now permits dual citizenship, seems to have rectified the 
problem.  Son also commented that the Women's Union in An Giang has 
begun to change the way it addresses women marrying foreigners. 
Previously, the union merely discouraged such marriages and ignored 
the fact that families of such women traditionally receive 
significant financial benefits.  The union is now focused more on 
assisting these women in reintegrating into Vietnamese society upon 
their return. 
 
¶8.  (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Ho Chi Minh City. 
 
MICHALAK