NGO reports Montagnards arrested and deported back to Viet Nam

The non-governmental organization Adhoc has reported that ten Montagnard asylum seekers in Cambodia were arrested in Banlung as they attempted to make their way to Phnom Penh, according to The Cambodia Daily. Ratanakkiri province authorities, including the chief of police and the provincial governor, have denied the allegations. Pen Bonnar, the provincial coordinator for Adhoc, has alleged that the 2005 Memorandum of Understanding was broken as a result of the asylum seekers being detained and deported before being given an opportunity to meet with officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In addition to these ten Montagnards, there are reportedly an additional ten still in hiding in the forests of Ratanakkiri.