A resolution recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 369 Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 22, 2019 Mr. BURR (for himself and Mr. TILLIS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Recognizing the contributions of the Montagnard indigenous tribespeople of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and condemning the ongoing violation of human rights by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Whereas the Montagnards are an indigenous tribespeople liv- ing in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region; Whereas the Montagnards were driven into the mountains by invading Vietnamese and Cambodians in the 9th century; Whereas French Roman Catholic missionaries converted many of the Montagnards in the 19th century and Amer- ican Protestant missionaries subsequently converted many to various Protestant sects; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR369.IS SR369 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 369 IS Whereas, during the 1960s, the United States Mission in Sai- gon, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, trained the Montagnards in unconventional war- fare; Whereas an estimated 61,000 Montagnards, out of an esti- mated population of 1,000,000, fought alongside the United States and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces against the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong; Whereas the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Spe- cial Forces, and the Montagnards cooperated on the Vil- lage Defense Program, a forerunner to the War’s Stra- tegic Hamlet Program, and an estimated 43,000 Montagnards were organized into ‘‘Civilian Irregular De- fense Groups’’ (CIDGs) to provide protection for the areas around the CIDGs’ operational bases; Whereas, at its peak, the CIDGs had approximately 50 oper- ational bases, with each base containing a contingent of two United States Army officers and ten enlisted men, and an ARVN unit of the same size, and each base trained 200 to 700 Montagnards, or ‘‘strikers’’; Whereas another 18,000 Montagnards were reportedly en- listed into mobile strike forces, and various historical ac- counts describe a strong bond between the United States Special Forces and the Montagnards, in contrast to Viet- namese Special Forces and ARVN troops; Whereas the lives of thousands of members of the United States Armed Forces were saved as a result of the heroic actions of the Montagnards, who fought loyally and VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR369.IS SR369 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 369 IS bravely alongside United States Special Forces in the Vietnam War; Whereas, after the fall of the Republic of Vietnam in 1975, thousands of Montagnards fled across the border into Cambodia to escape persecution; Whereas the Government of the reunified Vietnamese nation, renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, deeply dis- trusted the Montagnards who had sided with the United States and ARVN forces and subjected them to imprison- ment and various forms of discrimination and oppression after the Vietnam War ended; Whereas, after the Vietnam War, the United States Govern- ment resettled large numbers of Montagnards, mostly in North Carolina, and an estimated several thousand Montagnards currently reside in North Carolina, which is the largest population of Montagnards residing outside of Vietnam; Whereas the Socialist Republic of Vietnam currently remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which continues to restrict free- dom of religion, movement, land and property rights, and political expression; Whereas officials of the Government of Vietnam have forced Montagnards to publicly denounce their religion, arrested and imprisoned Montagnards who organized public dem- onstrations, and mistreated Montagnards in detention; Whereas some Montagnard Americans have complained that Vietnamese authorities either have prevented them from visiting Vietnam or have subjected them to interrogation upon re-entering the country on visits; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR369.IS SR369 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 369 IS Whereas the Department of State’s 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (‘‘2018 Human Rights Report’’) documents that, despite Vietnam’s significant economic growth, some indigenous and ethnic minority commu- nities benefited little from improved economic conditions, even though such communities formed a majority of the population in certain areas, including the Northwest and Central Highlands and portions of the Mekong Delta; Whereas the 2018 Human Rights Report states that, al- though Vietnamese law prohibits discrimination against ethnic minorities, such social discrimination was long- standing and persistent, notably in the Central High- lands; Whereas the 2018 Human Rights Report documents that land rights protesters have reported regular instances of government authorities physically harassing and intimi- dating them at land expropriation sites around the coun- try, or arresting local residents for ‘‘causing public dis- order’’; Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli- gious Freedom (USCIRF) references in its 2019 Annual Report (the ‘‘2019 USCIRF Report’’) the accounts of Montagnards being publicly berated and humiliated for their affiliation with the unrecognized Evangelical Church of Christ; Whereas the 2019 USCIRF Report documents that one-quar- ter of prisoners of conscience were minority religious groups, including the Montagnards; Whereas the 2019 USCIRF Report estimates that 10,000 in- dividuals in the Central Highlands are refused ID cards, household registration, and birth certificates by local au- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR369.IS SR369 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •SRES 369 IS thorities in retaliation for refusing to renounce their faith; and Whereas USCIRF has recommended every year since 2002 that Vietnam be designated a Country of Particular Con- cern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–292) due to ‘‘systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes the contributions of the 2 Montagnards who fought loyally and bravely with 3 United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam 4 War and who continue to suffer persecution in Viet- 5 nam as a result of this relationship; 6 (2) condemns ongoing actions by the Govern- 7 ment of Vietnam to suppress basic human rights 8 and civil liberties for all its citizens; 9 (3) calls on the Government of Vietnam to 10 allow human rights groups access to all regions of 11 the country and to end restrictions of basic human 12 rights, including the right for Montagnards to prac- 13 tice their Christian faith freely, the right to land and 14 property, freedom of movement, the right to retain 15 ethnic identity and culture, and access to an ade- 16 quate standard of living; and 17 (4) urges the President and Congress to develop 18 policies that support Montagnards and other 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR369.IS SR369 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •SRES 369 IS marginalized ethnic minority and indigenous popu- 1 lations in Vietnam and reflect United States inter- 2 ests and commitment to upholding human rights 3 and democracy abroad. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR369.IS SR369 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS