VIETNAM / TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY: 400 MONTAGNARDS KILLED. URGENT INTERVENTION BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS NEEDED.

Rome, April 10, 2004

REPORTS COMING DIRECTLY FROM VIETNAM TO THE MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION CONFIRM THAT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY STAGING PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE FOUR PROVINCES OF PLEIKU, KONTUM, GIA LAI E DA LAT IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM.
THE REPRESSION BY THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY LED TO THE DEATH OF AROUND 400 MONTAGNARD IN THE CITY OF BUON MA THOUT AND TO THE DISAPPEREANCES, ARRESTS AND HURTING OF HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN THE OTHER PROVINCES.
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Today in the Central Highlands 150,000 of Degars arrived in the city of Buon Ma Thuot to stage peaceful demonstrations to call on the Vietnamese authorities and the international community for the respect of their fundamental rights. Most of them got out of the city because many were killed or had their legs and hands broken by the betings of the Vietnames soldiers and police.The Vietnamese soldiers, mixed with police and Vietnamese civilians, beat the people with electric baton, throwing rocks, shoot with rifles and cut off people heads with knifes. Around 200 dead bodies still were left in the city and in the coffee plantation.

In the district of Ayunpa the Montagnards came to town from every direction and were around 100,000 to demonstrate in the city. When the first people started the demonstrations some of them got hurt because of beating from the police and soldiers but after a while the police stopped because there were too many people in the town.

In Plei ku city we don’t know how many people came out of their villages to demonstrate because we lost communication but others were still coming out of their villages and we might find out the number later.

In Kontum city also it is not clear how many people participated in the demonstration because the communication was lost.

In Da Lat city many people participated in the demonstrations but it is not clear how many of them.

In the city of Phuoc Long 20,000 Montagnards demonstrated and many of them got hurt but it is not known how many because we lost the communication.

In the district of Cu Jut there were 3,000 people demonstrating and around 60 of them were arrested and taken away dead because of beating from the soldiers and Vietnamese civilians.

In the district of Dak Mil 2,500 people participated the demonstration but we don’t how many get hurt because we lost the communication.

The Transnational Radical Party, after few days from the commemoration of the genocide in Rwanda, is calling on the Italian Government, the European Commission, the European Council, the US Department of State, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and all the UN Agencies for their immediate intervention to stop the brutal repression that the Vietnamese government is perpetrating against the Montagnard people.

. 10:43:38 PM    comments []

VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT ATTACKS CHRISTIAN DEMONSTRATORS THIS EASTER. HUNDREDS REPORTED DEAD, THOUSANDS FLEEING TO CAMBODIA. [Montagnard Foudation]

excerpt:

On Saturday 10 April some 150,000 Degars went to the city of Buonmathuot in Vietnam's Central Highlands for a peaceful demonstration. After only a few hours, Vietnamese soldiers, mixed with the police and Vietnamese civilians attacked the crowd beating demonstrators with electric batons, throwing rocks, and shooting with rifles. Dozens of demonstrators have been reported dead and many have their legs and hands broken. There are reports of people being decapitated. The latest news put at around 200 the number of dead bodies left in the city and in the surrounding coffee plantations. On Pham Chu Trinh street it is reported several hundred dead bodies in the streets.
In the district of Ayunpa, some 100,000 people reached the major city from every direction. When the first demonstration started, some of them were beaten by the police and soldiers, who after a while had to desist as they were outnumbered  [full story]

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Christians Around World Celebrate Easter [VOA]
In a rare occurrence, both major branches of Christianity are celebrating Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar, on the same day today. Eastern Orthodox and western Christians usually observe the holy day on different Sundays, a function of calendar dynamics and different traditions. This year, the Gregorian and Julian calendars have converged, creating a single celebration of the day Christians believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Western Christians, including Catholics and Protestants, celebrate Easter according to the later Gregorian calendar - instituted by Pope Gregory 13 in 1582. Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter according to the old Julian calendar, named after Julius Caesar - who established it in 46 B.C.

From Athens to Singapore and Australia to Siberia, Christians are celebrating the resurrection of the son of God. [more]

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Military ban magazine in northeastern state of Shan [RSF]

Reporters Without Borders called on the Burmese junta to include press freedom in its "roadmap to democracy" today after learning that Hsenpai (Variety), a Burmese-language entertainment magazine in the northeastern state of Shan, was ordered to close down after it began to include political news. [more]

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