A remnant band of allegedly U.S.-trained ethnic minority rebels known by the French acronym fulro staged raids from across the Cambodian border until the early '90s when they migrated to the United States. Vietnamese authorities are accusing one of the former guerrillas of engineering last month's unrest. Signed by Ksor Kok, founder of the Montagnard Foundation in South Carolina, the papers call for a general uprising and an autonomous highlands state, to be named Degar. Ksor Kok has said in interviews that he does not advocate violence, though his website has outlined plans for independence. He accuses Vietnamese officials of forcibly sterilizing minorities and of religious persecution.
Officials reject the accusations.
Most deny there are any problems in the provinces at all. They say demonstrators were promised money to come to the protests and left peacefully when they received none. Gia Lai's Governor Ha, one of the few who acknowledges that transmigration has caused tensions, says the government has compensated the minorities by giving them free education and health care. It's our job as 'parents' to make peace between them. For now, official control in the highlands remains tight, while most people, like Nguyen Van Quyen, merely want to get on with their lives.