Why the Communist government so hates these tribal people

By Dan Wooding

Founder of ASSIST Ministries

DIEN BEIN PHU, VIETNAM, AND PHONGSALI, LAOS (ANS) -- Fresh combat regiments of Vietnam Peoples Army's soldiers are now converging in a key province of Northern Vietnam to attack and arrest thousands of Hmong Catholic, Protestant and independent Animist religious believers demonstrating for human rights, religious freedom, land reform and an end to illegal logging and deforestation.

According to a news release from the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) -- www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org -- fourteen more Viet-Hmong people were confirmed dead in in recent clashes between Vietnam's army and ethnic Hmong demonstrators who are Vietnamese citizens

At least 63 protesters have been killed since the outbreak of the peaceful, mass demonstrations, Hmong non-governmental organizations, and Hmong, Vietnamese and Laotian sources in Dien Bien province, and along the Vietnam-Laos border, where the demonstrations began earlier this month.

CPPA went on to say that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) has announced that it has sealed off the area of the demonstrations to independent journalists and news media, barring journalists from covering the events involving thousands of protesters, and has deployed army troops to end the public rallies and appeals.

Hmong women pictured

during an attack

“On completely false pretext, and wrong information, the military generals in Hanoi have sent more army troops to attack and arrest our freedom-loving Hmong people which it continues to falsely accuse with wild distortions and misinformation, while at the same time not allowing independent news media and journalists to visit the ordinary Hmong people in Vietnam who have protested against the current injustices, suffering, and religious persecution,” said Christy Lee, Executive Director of Hmong Advance, Inc. in Washington, D.C. (E-mail: e-mail: info@hmongadvance.org.)

“Why are Vietnam's Party leaders afraid of the truth as to why the people are demonstrating in Dien Bien for meaningful and real change and reform in Vietnam?

“The mass demonstration for reform in Vietnam's Dien Bien province included nearly 5,000 peaceful Hmong Protestant Christians and 2,000 Hmong Catholics with the rest being peace-loving Hmong Animists.”

Ms. Lee went on to say, “The Vietnam People's Army has now killed at least 63 people who were unarmed and peace-loving citizens of Vietnam, many hundreds have been injured or have now disappeared at the hands of the Army which has loaded the Hmong people onto trucks with the soldiers beating them.”

Ms. Lee stated further: “The Vietnamese and Viet- Hmong people in Dien Bien province and along the Vietnam – Laos border area in Northern Vietnam have told us that are poor people simply calling on the government in Hanoi, and Communist politburo officials, to restore basic human rights and justice to the Vietnamese common people, and minority citizens, in the province of Dien Bien.

“The Vietnamese Hmong want Hanoi to institute land reform policies and grant them greater freedom of religion and basic human rights, including an end to oppressive religious persecution as well as halting illegal logging in the province whereby the government is driving the Hmong people from their sacred forest and mountain homelands in Vietnam and Laos.”

Philip Smith, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis said on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, “Today, local sources have reported that fresh regiments of Vietnam People's Army troops in military trucks and vehicles are converging in greater force strength at the sites of the Hmong demonstrations in Dien Bien province from key highways leading to the area including the strategic Route 6 and Route 42.

“We are concerned that many hundreds of Hmong protesters, who are Vietnamese citizens, are being arrested, beaten and forced onto Army trucks by soldiers where they are disappearing after being transported out of the area to unknown locations in Vietnam or Laos,” Smith said.

“The new Vietnam People's Army (VPA) army units deployed against the protesters include regimental-strength convoys of military trucks and armored personnel carriers targeting the Hmong demonstrators for arrest and transport, by force, to unknown locations.”

Smith went on to say, “At least eight more Hmong Christian demonstrators, five men and three women, were killed overnight in clashes with the Army and Vietnamese security forces in Dien Bien province,” Smith said citing Hmong, Vietnamese and non-governmental sources on location in Dien Bien province and the Laos and Vietnamese border area of Northern Vietnam.

“Fresh regiments of Vietnam People's Army soldiers are being deployed to Dien Bien province and are continuing to attack and pursuing many of the peaceful Hmong Catholic and Protestant demonstrators pursuing them into their villages and the mountains. Heliborne combat troops have been deployed as well as M-8 helicopter gunships to attack and pursue the Hmong in the highland areas.

“Additionally, early this morning, five Hmong demonstrators, 3 men and 2 women, were machined gunned to death by an armored personnel carrier when they were caught fleeing the protest region, on Route 42, and had the misfortune of running into a mechanized regiment of Vietnam People's Army troops that were being newly deployed to the area,” Smith commented.

“Unfortunately, the group of five Hmong who were machine-gunned to death this morning by the Army were ordinary and poor people -- mountain-dwelling, Animist believers who had joined the demonstrations only to seek land reform, human rights and greater religious freedom for their suffering people in this neglected area of Northern Vietnam."

About the Hmong:

The Hmong are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. They are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to find more arable land.

The role of the Hmong in the Vietnam War and why they are so hated by the Communist government there

According to Can Tran writing for www.helium.com, the Hmong people aligned with the United States and the South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War.

Hmong fighters captured during the Vietnam War

“Right now, the number of Hmong living in Vietnam could possibly be at least one million people. However, the largest community is in the United States,” he said.

What role did the Hmong people play during the Vietnam war?

“So far, the Hmong people did not play a direct role in the war," he said. "An indirect role is just as good as a direct role. The role that the Hmong people played did not take place in Vietnam. Instead, the role ended up taking place in Laos. This was known as the Laotian Civil War a.k.a. the ‘Secret War.’ It was a secret war orchestrated by the US Central Intelligence Agency. The main objective would be to recruit the Hmong people of Laos to join in the Vietnam War.

“The Laotian Civil War is considered a proxy war. In this respect, it would be calculated that upon success the Hmong people could be valuable allies against the Communist North Vietnamese. The Hmong would be trained in guerilla warfare by General Vang Po. This operation in regards to the Laotian Civil War was to cause trouble for North Vietnamese operations in northern Laos. So far, the North Vietnamese had an upper hand with the maintenance of the Pathet Lao rebellion.

“The reason this is called the ‘Secret War’ is because the CIA would want to do this without any direct involvement. Instead, the CIA would have the Hmong people use the Laotian Civil War as a means to disrupt the North Vietnamese government's operations. General Vang Pao of the Royal Lao Army, a Hmong, would be the one to lead the Hmong forces to fight against the Communist forces.”

An Hmong fighter dazed and injured during the Vietnam War

He added, “The major roll that the Hmong people had played in the Vietnam War would be known as ‘Operation Barrel Roll.’ At the end of end, the Hmong soldiers had suffered extremely heavy casualties. As the Communist North Vietnamese ended up winning the Vietnam War, it turned its wrath upon the Hmong people. To make matters worse, the Lao Kingdom was overthrown by the Communist Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao had the full backing of the North Vietnamese military.

“Overall, the Hmong people played a major role in the Vietnam War. While it was not a direct role, it was still highly significant. After the Vietnam War, many Hmong returned to their home lives or retreated into Thailand. Many Hmong people left Laos out of fear and retaliation by the Communists. There are still many Hmong that remained in Laos. A good number would get sent to the Communist re-education camps. Even today, many Hmong people refuse to return to Laos.”

Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 47 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.