An international human rights group on Wednesday accused Vietnam of persecuting hill tribes in the troubled Central Highlands and urged Cambodia to shelter refugees fleeing from the region.
"The Montagnard minority in Vietnam have not only faced systematic repression since large-scale unrest in February 2001, but have also been denied safe refuge in Cambodia," London-based Amnesty International said.
In 2001, thousands of ethnic minority people, called Montagnards, joined unprecedented protests in the Central Highland provinces of Daklak and Gia Lai over land confiscation and restrictions on their Protestant faith.
Vietnam's communist government quickly moved to quell the dissent with military force, and more than a thousand Montagnards fled across the border into Cambodia. The United States eventually agreed to resettle about 900.
In a 22-page report, Amnesty International accused Vietnam of continuing to block access to the Central Highlands and systematically arresting those believed responsible for the unrest. At least 35 people have been sentenced to long jail terms, it said.
Vietnam's government is also targeting non-sanctioned "Dega" Protestant churches, which it accuses of fostering an independence movement in the region, the group said.
It said there were many reports of the forced closure of unauthorized churches and the arrest of pastors. Followers have also been forced to renounce their religion, the group said.
The report also accused Cambodia of forcibly repatriating Montagnard refugees to Vietnam. "Cambodia is permitting Vietnamese military/police to cross the border and hunt down Montagnards hiding on the Cambodian side," it said.
Vietnam denies restricting religious freedom. But the government recognizes only certain sects from six religions — Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Caodaism, Hoa Hao and Islam — which accept Communist control.