U.S. complains of pressure on Vietnamese refugees

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The United States complained that the
Vietnamese government sent more than 400 agents to a U.N. refugee camp in
neighboring Cambodia on Thursday to persuade the hilltribe refugees to come
home.

The Cambodian authorities allowed them into the camp on 12 tour buses over
the objections of representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), who run the camp in Mondulkiri province, it said in a statement.

"The reported aggressive and unruly behavior of these Vietnamese visitors is
cause for grave concern," it said.

"The two governments, by acting outside the framework of usual UNHCR
procedures, have demonstrated a disregard for the UNHCR's role to ensure
repatriations are not subject to undue influence, coercion, or intimidation,"
it added.

The statement said that despite intimidating behavior by the visiting
Vietnamese, only five of the refugees signed up for voluntary repatriation to
Vietnam.

The State Department described the visitors as "individuals" and U.S.
officials could not be more precise about their relationship with the
Vietnamese authorities.

U.N. camps in Mondulkiri and neighboring Ratanakkiri province house about
1,000 hilltribe people, also known as Montagnards, who fled Vietnam last year
after a crackdown on unprecedented unrest over land and religion.

Vietnam's official media said on Wednesday that a total of 131 refugees have
left the camps voluntarily and come home.

The United States said it does not oppose repatriating the Montagnards as
long as they are not acting under coercion.

"We are raising this matter with the governments of Vietnam and Cambodia. We
expect the governments of Vietnam and Cambodia to adhere to international
obligations regarding the treatment of Montagnard refugees in Cambodia," the
U.S. statement said.

16:49 03-21-02