E/CN.4/1503
Annex II Page 34
106. Such, in brief, is the picture up to 1978/79, when the countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and indeed the international community as a whole became alarmed at the magnitude of the exodus and the hardships suffered by those who fled. At an international Meeting on Indo-Chinese Refugees and Displaced Persons held in Geneva on 20/21 July 1979, the Government of Viet Nam, while explaining the difficulties of patrolling several thousand miles of coastline and denying that it was responsible for organizing the exodus, agreed to impose a moratorium on departures. Indeed, numbers fell markedly and there were reports of alleged organizers of boat departures being arrested and sentenced.
107. Substantial numbers have nonetheless continued to arrive. Some of those who leave are youngsters apparently sent out as "anchor cases", that is to say allowed by their parents to go (possibly with friends or neighbours) on the basis that once resettled, they will apply for their families to join them. With Viet Nam's armed forces one million strong, conscription came to be introduced and many young men on their late teens gave fear of having to serve in the army as their motive for leaving. Other boat refugees of the past two to three years have been people reportedly discharged from re-education camps or families of men in re-education camps who have now been there for over six years and show no signs of being released.
108. Amnesty International has pointed out to the Government of Viet Nam that prolonged administrative detention without trial is
incompatible with internationally-recognized standards of human rights and basic principles of justice. Acting President Nguyen Huu Tho is reported as having said in an interview that the main reason for keeping so many in detention was the fear that, once released, these people would turn to anti-government activity. As Viet Nam was being threatened from outside, he explained, it was natural to be vigilent, thus
thus advancing reasons of national security for the prolonged detention of many former officials, soldiers, professional people and intellectuals.
Many fear that such men and women may either remain in detention or, when released, run the risk of being considered second-class citizens. Consequently, they may feel that their only chance of a life of normal human dignity will be outside their country.
109. The authorities have reportedly continued to meet with armed opposition from anti-communist tribal groups in the Central Highlands, from adherents of the Hoa-Hoa religious sect who operate in the Mekong Delta and from members of the Cao-Dai sect, strongest in the border province of Tay-Ninh. With a disparate population which included some 60 different ethnic groups who together make up about 20 per cent of the population,
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