MONTAGNARD DEGAR CHRISTIANS TORTURED IN VIETNAM DURING CHRISTMAS SEASON
By Jeremy Reynalds (12/25/05)
The Vietnamese communist government has reportedly continued torturing Degar Montagnard Christians during the Christmas season.
BEATEN, HANDCUFFED AND IMPRISONED
According to a news release from the Montagnard Foundation (www.montagnard-foundation.org), in the early morning hours of Dec. 8, Vietnamese security forces entered the villages of Plei Kho Krua, Plei Ken San, Plei Lop, Plei Ia Sam and Plei Tung Mo and arrested a number of Degar Montagnard Christians.
"They were handcuffed then brutally boxed, kicked and beaten with batons until they passed out unconscious," the news release stated. "The police then threw them on a truck. One Honda motorcycle belonging to Rmah Klum worth of 5,000,000 VND was confiscated by the police. All of them remain imprisoned at the prison facility in the district of Cu Se."
BEATEN, TORTURED FOR FOLLOWING THE AMERICAN RELIGION
Prior to that, the news release stated, on Nov. 3, 2005 the security forces from the district of Sa Thai went to the village of Plei Grak and arrested six Degar Montagnards, and accused them of being pro-American because they follow the religion of America. They were later released from custody after being tortured.
While they were all reportedly tortured, one individual's punishment appears to have been particularly horrendous.
According to the news release, this person "was arrested and taken to the district office and tortured by boxing, kicking, beaten with batons, so severely until unconscious and his body covered with bruises and blood. (He) become crazy and walked around after being released without knowing where he was going, and could not recognize his parents or his brothers and sisters. He appears to have suffered permanent brain damage, and anyone who came close to him he would lash out trying to bite or fight them."
BLOOD CAME FROM HIS EARS: BEATEN CLOSE TO DEATH
A few days after that incident, the news release stated, a teenager was so savagely beaten that blood came out of his ears.
According to the news release, "the security forces arrested him at his village of Plei Grak, and took him to the police station in the district for interrogation about a conversation he had with his father who lives in the United States. His father stated they only spoke about their family, but police took (the teenager) to the police station for torture because of telephoning his father in the United States. The police used both hands to slap his ears until blood came out from his ears.
"They stomped on his chest with military boots, and kicked and beat him with their batons until he passed out unconscious. He was thrown in a prison cell, but after a few days the police saw he could not get up to eat or drink, and became afraid he might die in prison so they took him back to his village (some few days later). Now, Huien is at his home suffering medical problems from the brutality of the beating, and dares not go to the hospital for fear of being injected with some lethal drug."
BEATEN CLOSE TO DEATH
Another individual, the news release, was arrested and taken to the police station where he was tortured.
"The reason was that he did not renounce Christ and stop supporting the Montagnard Foundation," the news release stated, "to struggle for our people's right to co-exist with the Vietnamese people equally. The police tortured him by boxing, kicking, beating with batons until he passed out unconscious, then they dragged him out of their office and left him there half dead. In a few hours (he) woke up and crawled away, and was later carried home by another Degar who took him back to his village. He is now suffering medical injuries from the inhuman torture by the Vietnamese police, and does not dare to go to the hospital for fear of being injected by lethal drug."
METHODS OF TORTURE
When the Vietnamese communist authorities torture Degar Montagnard prisoners, the news release stated, victims sometimes end up dying or becoming permanently crippled after their release.
"The police deliberately look for some way to damage the organs inside the body by boxing them on their body, stomach and chest so hard that they will die later from internal injuries," the news release from the Montagnard Foundation stated. "The police can later say they know nothing about how the Montagnard died. It is reported that police often inject the prisoners with some kind of lethal drug which will kill them later after they are released. It is common practice to slap the prisoners' ears so hard and repeatedly until blood comes out from their ears ... Many Montagnards report to us that they have had their toe nails and finger nails pulled out, been burned with cigarette lighters, electric shocked and so on."
WHY ARE MONTAGNARD DEGAR CHRISTIANS PERSECUTED?
According to the news release , the Vietnamese Communists authorities continue to persecute Montagnard Degar Christians because they follow American religion.
"It is obvious that many hard core elements of the Vietnamese Communist regime have a hatred of American values and despise religious freedom as granted under other democratic governments," the news release stated. "The Hanoi government does not dare to punish the Americans, so they punish Degar people instead. This was similar to how the Vietnamese Communists treated Degar people during the Vietnam War. They killed thousands of unarmed Degar villagers because they could not get to the American soldiers. The Vietnamese communists demonstrate racist policies that who desire to exploit the Central Highlands, and our people are only destined to be annihilated if the communist regime continues in this manner."
The news release stated that during the French colonialism of the Central Highlands, the Degar population was estimated to be several millions, but now it is much less.
However, the news release pointed out, "The Degar Montagnards however, only want to co-exist with Vietnamese people and live in peace on their ancestral lands. Before the French left Indochina in 1954, they asked our leaders if we would like to stay alone or stay with Vietnamese and our leaders chose to stay with the Vietnamese. We always show that we want to live with them peacefully but on the contrary they show their hatred toward our people and want to destroy our race completely. Hanoi government does not recognize our people as its citizen and not even recognize us as its indigenous people. Thus, we ask is there anyone in this world who would want to live with someone who is chasing to kill him?"
HISTORY OF THE COMMUNIST VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT AND THE MONTAGNARDS
The news release from the Montagnard Foundation stated that the indigenous Montagnard Degar Peoples have suffered decades of persecution by the communist government of Vietnam. That has included confiscation of their ancestral lands, torture, killings, imprisonment and religious repression.
This month, the U.S. State Department kept Vietnam on the "Countries of Particular Concern Watch List" of nations that are the worst violators of religious freedom. "The Vietnamese government security forces have terrorized Degar Christians with arrest, torture and imprisonment for their refusal to renounce Christianity, or join the government recognized church," the release stated.
For more information about the Montagnard Foundation go to www.montagnard-foundation.org
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