Police Investigating Refugee =91Trafficking=92
By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
09 May 2008
Police have begun an investigation into whether Montagnards from
Vietnam are being trafficked to the UN refugee agency in Phnom Penh,
authorities said Friday.
=93There is no reason that Montagnards coming from the central plateau
of Vietnam arrive at the camp of [the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees] in the center of Phnom Penh with no indication of support,=94
Ministry of Interior Khieu Sopheak said Friday. =93The ministry is
investigating, and if we find evidence like this, it is a human
trafficking case, not a question for UNHCR.=94
Cambodian law carries a 10 year prison sentence for human trafficking.
The local daily newspaper Rasmey Kampuchea carried a story Thursday in
which an alleged Montagnard claimed to have been brought to Cambodia
with promises of resettlement in a third country and, cheated instead,
brought to UNHCR.
Toshi Kawauchi, protection officer at UNHCR told VOA Khmer he was
unaware of the story, but he declined to comment on whether it
constituted a threat to the organization.
=93The investigation is up to the [Ministry of Information]. The police
are responsible for any possible crime,=94 he said. =93Our duty is to
provide assistance to those refugees who are in need of international
protection.=94
Refugees from the mountains of Vietnam have been flowing into Cambodia
since 2001, claiming they were escaping oppression by Vietnamese
authorities. Nearly 2,000 have been admitted as refugees and settled
in third countries, many to the US, angering Hanoi.
At least 600 others are under the protection of UNHCR in Phnom Penh.
|
