From: tnguyen@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Thang Nguyen)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese
Subject: [Refugee] Suicide/Petition with correction
Date: 9 Sep 92 13:10:03 GMT
Reply-To: tnguyen@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Thang Nguyen)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

Note: Yesterday's posting has a mistake in the petition. The date of
the letter has been changed from August 28 to September 8 but reference
to the incident has not been changed. The date of the incident was still
referred to as "yesterday". I have fixed that. Sorry, folks.

Dear netters:

Please sign and send the following letter to Madame Ogata and Mr. van
Rooyen. If you have done so, please let me know so that I can estimate
the response from the community.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that Mr. Trinh Anh Diep, the father of
Trinh Anh Huy, is a former ARVN lieutenant. Both father and son have
been denied refugee status. The father considered suicide as a way to
catch the world attention and save his son from being repatriated. The
son acted first and took his own life in an attempt to save his father.

I will keep you updated on the development. Food rations have been cut
in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. This is clearly
a policy to starve people into going back to VN. We need to stop it.

Cordially,
Thang.
-----------------------------------------------

Thuye`^n Nha^n Tu+. Thie^u -De^? Pha?n -Do^'i
Thanh Lo.c Ba^'t Co^ng

    Galang, Nam Du+o+ng (Tin cu?a Uy? Ban Cu+'u Ngu+o+`i Vu+o+.t
Bie^?n)  -- Nga`y thu+' na<m 27 tha'ng 8 vu+`a qua, mo^.t thanh
nie^n 20 tuo^?i -da~ ta^?m xa<ng tu+. thie^u tru+o+'c va<n
pho`ng Cao Uy? Ti. Na.n, tru+o+'c su+. hie^.n die^.n cu?a
mo^.t so^' lua^.t su+ Cao Uy?, -de^? pha?n -do^'i chi'nh sa'ch
thanh lo.c ba^'t co^ng do co+ quan na`y thu+.c hie^.n ta.i
Galang.
     Anh Tri.nh Anh Huy, 20 tuo^?i, -da~ quye^'t -di.nh quye^n
sinh ngay sau khi nha^.n -du+o+.c ke^'t qua? ro+'t thanh lo.c
tu+` va<n pho`ng Cao Uy? Ti. Na.n.
     Theo tin tu+` trong tra.i, anh Huy la` mo^.t thanh nie^n
na<ng -do^.ng, ye^u -do+`i va` co' nhie`^u -do'ng go'p cho
co^.ng -do`^ng thuye`^n nha^n o+? trong tra.i Galang. Anh Huy
-da~ ti`nh nguye^.n da^.y Anh Va<n va` giu'p su+?a ma'y -da'nh
chu+~ cho mo^.t tru+o+`ng hua^'n nghe^. o+? trong tra.i.
     Vie^.c anh Huy tu+. thie^u -da~ ga^y cha^'n -do^.ng cho
toa`n the^? 18,000 thuye`^n nha^n o+? Galang. -Do`^ng ba`o
trong tra.i -da~ la^.p tu+'c chua^?n bi. to^? chu+'c mo^.t
cuo^.c bie^?u ti`nh nha^n -da'm tang cu?a anh Huy -de^? ba`y
to? no^~i pha^~n ua^'t -do^'i vo+'i chi'nh sa'ch cu?a Cao Uy?
Ti. Na.n. Tuy nhie^n ca?nh sa't Nam Du+o+ng -da~ -du+o+.c
huy -do^.ng -de^? nga<n cha<.n cuo^.c bie^?u ti`nh. Ti`nh tra.ng
trong tra.i Galang hie^.n ra^'t nho^'n nha'o va` ba^'t o^?n,
chu+a bie^'t chuye^.n gi` se~ xa?y ra.
     Chi? hai nga`y tru+o+'c vu. tu+. thie^u, nguo`^n tin
tru+.c tie^'p tu+` trong tra.i cho bie^'t -do`^ng ba`o o+?
Galang -dang he^'t su+'c ho^'t hoa?ng tru+o+'c vie^.c Cao Uy?
Ti. Na.n ca<'t thu+.c pha^?m la`m nhie`^u gia -di`nh bi. -do'i
va` pha?i a<n cha'o. Theo so^' lie^.u cu?a Uy? Ban Cu+'u
Ngu+o+`i Vu+o+.t Bie^?n, so^' lu+o+.ng thu+.c pha^?m, tuy`
tha'ng, chi? -da.t tu+` 65 -de^'n 85% con so^' to^'i thie^?u
a^'n -di.nh bo+?i To^? Chu+'c Y Te^' The^' Gio+'i (World Health
Organization), va` Chu+o+ng Tri`nh Thu+.c Pha^?m The^' Gio+'i
(World Food Program). Mo^.t cu+.u si~ quan -da~ tu+`ng o+?
tra.i ca?i ta.o 8 na<m mo+'i -de^'n Hoa Ky` -di.nh cu+ tu+`
Galang die^~n ta? ti`nh tra.ng thu+.c pha^?m o+? -da^'y nhu+
sau: kha^?u pha`^n na`y tha^'p ho+n nhie`^u so vo+'i ca^'p
khoa?n o+? tra.i ca?i ta.o cu?a co^.ng sa?n. Mo^.t so^'
thuye`^n nha^n mo+'i -de^'n Hoa Ky` khi -di kha'm su+'c khoe?
-da~ -du+o+.c cha^?n -di.nh la` bi. suy dinh du+o+~ng tra`^m
tro.ng.
     Uy? Ban Cu+'u Ngu+o+`i Vu+o+.t Bie^?n -da~ -du+o+.c
mo^.t cu+.u nha^n vie^n Cao Uy? ba'o -do^.ng ve`^ chi'nh sa'ch
tha<'t bao tu+? cu?a Cao Uy? Ti. Na.n tu+` -da`^u na<m
nay. Vi. nha^n vie^n na`y -da~ tu+` chu+'c -de^? pha?n
-do^'i. Chi'nh sa'ch na`y sau -do' -da~ -du+o+.c thu+.c hie^.n
ba<`ng nhie`^u, -do+.t ba<'t -da`^u tu+` tha'ng hai na<m nay.
-Do+.t cuo^'i cu`ng la` tha'ng sa'u vu+`a qua.
     Tru+o+'c chi'nh sa'ch thanh lo.c cu?a Cao Uy? Ti. Na.n
va` chi'nh sa'ch tha<'t bao tu+? cu~ng cu?a co+ quan na`y,
-do`^ng ba`o o+? Galang -dang o+? trong ti`nh tra.ng tu+'c
nu+o+'c vo+~ bo+`. Nhie`^u nha^n vie^n la`m vie^.c thie^.n
nguye^.n trong tra.i -da~ to? y' lo nga.i ra<`ng trong nhu+~ng
nga`y to+'i co' the^? se~ co' nhie`^u cuo^.c tu+. sa't tu+o+ng
tu+. va` nhu+~ng ba.o -do^.ng kho^ng lu+o+`ng tru+o+'c -du+o+.c.
     Ne^'u chu'ng ta co`n nho+', va`o tha'ng 8 na<m ngoa'i
ta.i Galang, co^ Tri.nh Kim Hu+o+ng, 28 tuo^?i cu~ng -da~
tu+. thie^u ngay sau khi nha^.n ke^'t qua? ro+'t thanh lo.c.
     Anh Huy ra -di, -de^? la.i mo^.t ngu+o+`i cha, o^ng Tri.nh
Anh Die^.p, hie^.n va^~n co`n o+? Galang.

     Ghi chu':-De^? tie^'p tu.c tranh -da^'u cho^'ng la.i
chi'nh sa'ch tha<'t bao tu+? cu?a Cao Uy? Ti. Na.n o+? kha<'p
ca'c tra.i, xin quy' vi. na`o vu+`a mo+'i qua -di.nh cu+
tu+` ca'c tra.i hay co' nha^.n -du+o+.c tin tu+'c mo+'i
nha^'t tu+` ca'c tra.i lie^n quan -de^'n va^'n -de`^ thu+.c
pha^?m, xin lie^n la.c vo+'i va<n pho`ng Uy? Ban Cu+'u Ngu+o+`i
Vu+o+.t Bie^?n, P.O. Box 2652, Merrifield, VA 22116, USA, -dt:
(703) 204-2662; hay Ta.p Chi' Non So^ng, The Union of VSAs, 15111
Moran St., Westminster, CA 92683, -dt: (714) 893-3139.
-Di'nh ke`m la` mo^.t thu+ pha?n kha'ng go+?i cho Cao Uy? Ti. Na.n,
xin quy' vi. -do`^ng hu+o+ng ky' va` go+?i -di ga^'p.

----------------------------------------------------------------
September 8, 1992

Madame Sadako Ogata
United Nations 
 High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211, Geneva 2 Depot
Switzerland
Fax: 41-22-731-9546

Dear Madame Ogata:

I would like to express my very grave concern about UNHCR's policy
towards Vietnamese boat people in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.
This policy has caused much suffering and even death to many of the
asylum seekers whose desire is only a decent life free from
persecution.

Two weeks ago, a boat person in Galang, Indonesia, immolated himself in
front of the UNHCR's office after being denied refugee status. This
is not the first suicide and, I am afraid, not the last. In August
of last year, another boat person in Galang also burned herself to
death after receiving a negative decision from the UNHCR. Similar
suicides have been reported in Malaysia and Hong Kong in the past
year. The screening conducted by UNHCR (as in Indonesia) or
monitored by UNHCR (as in Hong Kong) has been consistently
denounced as flawed by human rights organizations like Amnesty
International, Asia Watch, and Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

In Galang, the distress of facing unfair screening is aggravated by
UNHCR's starvation policy which denies boat people of the minimum
food ration to survive in an attempt to coerce them to go back to
Vietnam. The food rations given to boat people in Galang are well
below the minimum recommended by UNHCR/WFP and WHO. The food
rations in Thailand are even lower. Cuts have been reported in
Sungei Besi Camp, Malaysia, as well.

I call upon your good office to stop immediately the policy of
UNHCR's branch offices to use food as weapons against boat people.
I also urge you to investigate the screening procedure being
conducted or monitored by the UNHCR. 

Your prompt action on these two issues will show that the UNHCR is
living up to her name as the protector of asylum seekers.

Respectfully,

signed,
address: