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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 592 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 592

Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople 
 of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces 
 during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human 
     rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 1, 2014

Mr. Burr submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople 
 of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces 
 during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human 
     rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Whereas the Montagnards, sometimes referred to as ``Dega'', are the indigenous 
        tribespeople living in Vietnam's Central Highlands region;
Whereas the Montagnards were driven into the mountains by invading Vietnamese 
        and Cambodians in the 9th century;
Whereas French Roman Catholic missionaries converted many of the Montagnards in 
        the 19th century and American Protestant missionaries subsequently 
        converted many to various Protestant sects;
Whereas, during the 1960s, the United States Mission in Saigon, the Central 
        Intelligence Agency (CIA), and United States Army Special Forces, also 
        known as the Green Berets, trained the Montagnards in unconventional 
        warfare;
Whereas an estimated 61,000 Montagnards, out of an estimated population of 
        1,000,000, fought alongside the United States and the Army of the 
        Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces against the North Vietnamese Army and 
        the Viet Cong;
Whereas the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Special Forces, and the 
        Montagnards cooperated on the Village Defense Program, a forerunner to 
        the War's Strategic Hamlet Program and estimated 43,000 Montagnards were 
        organized into ``Civilian Irregular Defense Groups'' (CIDGs) to provide 
        protection for the areas around the CIDGs' operational bases;
Whereas, at its peak, the CIDGs had approximately 50 operational bases, with 
        each base containing a contingent of two United States Army officers and 
        ten enlisted men, and an ARVN unit of the same size, and each base 
        trained 200 to 700 Montagnards, or ``strikers'';
Whereas another 18,000 Montagnards were reportedly enlisted into mobile strike 
        forces, and various historical accounts describe a strong bond between 
        the United States Special Forces and the Montagnards, in contrast to 
        Vietnamese Special Forces and ARVN troops;
Whereas the lives of thousands of members of the United States Armed Forces were 
        saved as a result of the heroic actions of the Montagnards, who fought 
        loyally and bravely alongside United States Special Forces in the 
        Vietnam War;
Whereas, after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, thousands of 
        Montagnards fled across the border into Cambodia to escape persecution;
Whereas the Government of the reunified Vietnamese nation, renamed the Socialist 
        Republic of Vietnam, deeply distrusted the Montagnards who had sided 
        with the United States and ARVN forces, and subjected them to 
        imprisonment and various forms of discrimination and oppression after 
        the Vietnam War ended;
Whereas, after the Vietnam War, the United States Government resettled large 
        numbers of Montagnards, mostly in North Carolina, and an estimated 
        several thousand Montagnards currently reside in North Carolina, which 
        is the largest population of Montagnards residing outside of Vietnam;
Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam currently remains a one-party state, 
        ruled and controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which 
        continues to restrict freedom of religion, movement, land and property 
        rights, and political expression;
Whereas officials of the Government of Vietnam have forced Montagnards to 
        publicly denounce their religion, arrested and imprisoned Montagnards 
        who organized public demonstrations, and mistreated Montagnards in 
        detention;
Whereas the Government of Vietnam's restrictions on foreigners' access to the 
        Central Highlands region complicate accurate reporting of human rights 
        violations against the Montagnards, including the hundreds of 
        Montagnards who have reportedly been imprisoned since 2001 and 
        Montagnards who have fled to Thailand seeking asylum in a third country;
Whereas some Montagnard Americans have complained that Vietnamese authorities 
        either have prevented them from visiting Vietnam or have subjected them 
        to interrogation upon re-entering the country on visits;
Whereas the Department of State's 2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
        and 2013 International Religious Freedom Report reference the 
        mistreatment of Montagnards as an example of the detention of ethnic 
        minorities in Vietnam and references reports from followers of the 
        unsanctioned Church of Christ that local authorities in the Central 
        Highlands provinces had harassed and persecuted them;
Whereas, in March 2014, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization 
        (UNPO) submitted an alternative report to the United Nations Committee 
        on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights summarizing the alleged 
        violations of the economic, social, and cultural rights of Vietnam's 
        Montagnard, Hmong, and Khmer Krom;
Whereas the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization report states that 
        the Government of Vietnam has denied Montagnards of their right of self-
        determination; imposed discriminatory policies; curtailed religious 
        freedom; impeded access to an adequate standard of living; limited 
        access to health care and education; infringed on the Montagnards' 
        cultural rights; and, in two recent cases, arrested and imprisoned 
        Montagnards purportedly for their religious beliefs;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's 2014 
        Annual Report states that the Government of Vietnam controls all 
        religious activities through law and administrative oversight, severely 
        restricts independent religious practice, and represses individuals and 
        religious groups it views as challenging its authority, including 
        independent Protestant house churches in the Central and Northwest 
        Highlands; and
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 
        recommends that Vietnam be designated as a Country of Particular Concern 
        (CPC) and that access to Priority 1 refugee resettlement authority 
        should be increased for individuals from Vietnam facing a well-founded 
        fear of persecution: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the contributions of the Montagnards who 
        fought loyally and bravely with United States Armed Forces 
        during the Vietnam War and who continue to suffer persecution 
        in Vietnam as a result of this relationship;
            (2) condemns actions taken by the Government of Vietnam to 
        suppress basic human rights and civil liberties for all its 
        citizens;
            (3) urges the Government of Vietnam to allow human rights 
        groups access to all regions of the country and to end 
        restrictions of basic human rights, including the freedom of 
        religion, land and property rights, freedom of movement, and 
        access to an adequate standard of living; and
            (4) urges the President and Congress to develop policies 
        that support Montagnards and other marginalized ethnic minority 
        and indigenous populations such as the Khmer Krom and the Hmong 
        in Vietnam and reflect United States interests and commitment 
        to upholding human rights and democracy abroad.
                                 <all>
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