Vietnam and UN row over refugees

Tribespeople staged a series of protests in Vietnam last year

By the BBC's Clare Arthurs In Hanoi

The Vietnamese Government is locked in a war of words with the United Nations Refugee Agency following the UNHCR's decision to stop repatriating people from neighbouring Cambodia.

On Sunday, a government spokesman in Hanoi accused the UNHCR of failing to do its part to return more than 1,000 ethnic minority people to their highland homes.

They had fled Vietnam last year after a military crackdown in the central highlands.

The UN said on Friday it was withdrawing from the voluntary repatriation agreement following the intimidation of people living in camps in Cambodia, and threats to the lives of UN staff.

The situation has now returned to the stalemate which existed before the repatriation agreement was signed in January between the UN, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Increasing tensions

The war of words has been escalating for several days following the UNHCR's decision to abandon the tripartite agreement, which provides for the voluntary return of the tribes people.

They fled Communist Vietnam a year ago following ethnic unrest over land use and religious freedoms.

The UN has supervised the return of just 15 people since the return agreement was signed, suspending further repatriations after Hanoi refused to allow ongoing monitoring of the situation in the highlands.

Concern about the fate of the Montagnards escalated after Cambodia twice deported a total of about 90 people in breech of the January agreement.

The UN has been insisting Cambodia abide by its obligations under the international convention on refugees, which allows the Vietnamese to seek shelter in Cambodia.

'Final straw'

According to the UNHCR chief in Cambodia, Nicola Mehelevic, an incident late last week was the final straw.

Tribespeople have been angered by the decimation of ancestral forests

More than 400 Vietnamese crossed into Cambodia, and according to the UN, threatened and manhandled inmates and staff at the Mondulkiri camp.

In claims denied by the UNHCR, Vietnam says the highlanders are sick and dying because of poor conditions in the UN camps.

It blames the violence on what it calls bad elements protected by the UN.

US blamed

The government in Hanoi insists the refugees, whom it calls "illegal migrants", have been tricked into leaving Vietnam by its opponents living in the United States.

The US has taken a high profile on the issue, angering Hanoi with an initial expression of interest in offering asylum to the Montagnards.

With the collapse of the repatriation agreement, it is now more likely that the UN will pursue the option of resettling the 900 people still in the camps into third countries.

Diplomats in Cambodia and Vietnam are watching the issue closely, and some ambassadors have been urging the Communist authorities to allow them to visit the highland region.

It is not clear whether increasing international pressure will help resolve the issue.

Vietnam has kept the central highlands largely closed to independent observers for a year, and remains determined to bring the highlanders home.