Mr. Speaker. yesterdaynotwithstanding numerous international humanitarian appeals. including several from Members of Congress and from the Executive Branchthe Government of Cambodia forcibly deported nearly 100 Montagnards to Vietnam. into uncertain circumstances where their wellbeing is not subject to effective international monitoring. Indeed. credible reporting by established nongovernmental organizations has documented recent cases in which Montagnard returnees were arrested and beaten after their repatriation. From a humanitarian vantage. the repatriation of Montagnard families in these circumstances was unacceptable. and was carried out to the discredit of both Cambodian authorities and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Two months ago. in a letter to UN High Commissioner Wendy Chamberlin. I and my Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific [Mr. FALEOMAVAEGAI raised the details of this very case. and expressed our deep concerns that this situation "sets a dangerous precedent for refugee protection in Cambodia and elsewhere by lowering the standards for refugee repatriation." I ask that a copy of that May 4. 2005 letter be included in the RECORD. Sadly. the worstcasescenario outlined in that letter came to pass yesterday mornmg. when the visibly distraught families were forced onto buses by Cambodian police. and sent back across the border to Vietnam. At this point.
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refugee Refugees deported