tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083592332331184648.post3873615990738074949..comments2024-03-23T02:47:06.479-07:00Comments on Kerry B. Collison Asia News: Vietnam Again Puts Cambodia on the Spot Over MontagnardsKerry B. Collisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02939821793284561307noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083592332331184648.post-82209733108724784972014-12-06T14:54:21.561-08:002014-12-06T14:54:21.561-08:00Cambodia’s treatment of Vietnamese refugees sets a...Cambodia’s treatment of Vietnamese refugees sets a troubling precedent for Australia’s Catholic Vietnamese refugees.<br />As we have recently reported, Cambodia’s treatment of ethnic minority Vietnamese refugees has put the country back in the spotlight and, as Fairfax Bangkok correspondent Lindsay Murdoch has noted, Australia’s deal to send its refugees for resettlement in Cambodia is receiving more scrutiny as a result. One thing not yet reported is what might happen to Vietnamese refugees in custody here.<br />The ethnic minority group are apparently Protestants from the Central Highlands, part of the J’Rai group who are, according to a 2009 World Bank report, among other sources, a group indigenous to Vietnam. Protestants in the Central Highlands can suffer quite high levels of repression from provincial authorities, thanks in part to their piecemeal assistance to Americans during the war and distrust of their “illegal” home churches. Those who escaped to Cambodia allege ongoing abuse by authorities. If Cambodia repatriates them, what might the nation do to the refugees Canberra gives it?<br />Vietnam has the second-largest Catholic population in Southeast Asia, with some six million of its 90 million people following the faith. The Vatican and Hanoi have achieved a cautious rapprochement in recent years and religious freedom is gradually improving, although still very rocky. Nonetheless, many Catholics, thanks to black marks on their families’ histories, may be prevented from accessing education or jobs. <br />It was alleged last year by refugees and advocate groups that the Australian government may have allowed security officials to interview those detained in Western Australia, which terrified the detainees. This could, in fact, have been a breach of international law.<br />The problem now may be that any Vietnamese resettled in Cambodia may be more vulnerable than most, Catholics especially. Anti-Vietnamese sentiment is an easy populist topic and one opposition politicians such as Sam Rainsy are keen to use. Ethnic Vietnamese were killed in riots this year. <br />Kerry B. Collisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02939821793284561307noreply@blogger.com