Text: Montagnard Refugees in Cambodia Offered U.S. Resettlement
(State Department March 26 statement)

The United States has formally offered to take in all qualifying Montagnard refugees in Cambodia who wish to be resettled, and requests that the Cambodian government facilitate the move.

According to a March 26 State Department press release, the U.S. offer follows the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' conclusion that conditions that would allow for a satisfactory voluntary repatriation of the Montagnard population do not exist at this time.

The Montagnards are aboriginal tribes that live in Vietnam's central highlands. Many Montagnards fought alongside Americans there during the Vietnam War.

Following is the text of the statement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
March 26, 2002

STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

Montagnards in Cambodia

Events of March 21 at the United Nations refugee site in Mondolkiri have caused the United States and other countries to reassess the near term prospects for a population whose future has been unresolved for far too long.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has concluded on the basis of March 21 and other incidents that, unfortunately, conditions that would allow for a satisfactory voluntary repatriation of the Montagnard population do not exist at this time.

In light of the urgent humanitarian needs of these asylum-seekers, the United States has formally offered resettlement in the United States to all among this group who qualify and wish to be resettled. We request that the Royal Government of Cambodia respond to this offer as quickly as possible. We continue to support voluntary repatriation to Vietnam as one of several durable solutions for this population. In this case the solution should adhere to the core principle that all repatriations must be voluntary, based on credible, meaningful, pre- and post-repatriation inspections and counseling by the UN refugee agency. We urge Cambodian and Vietnamese authorities to work with the UN to establish a framework which would permit voluntary repatriation under these conditions. However, voluntary repatriation on these terms is not now available and we urge the Cambodian government to facilitate resettlement for those who seek it.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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