Cambodian spokesman says 13 hill tribe Montagnards meet criteria for refugee status

 

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- Thirteen Vietnamese Montagnards, who entered Cambodia illegally late last year, have been recommended for refugee status by Cambodian authorities, pending approval by the Minister of Interior, a local media reported Tuesday.

"The General Department of Immigration has found that (they) have enough qualifications in response to the criteria of asylum seekers," Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, was quoted by the VOA radio as saying. 

"We are waiting for the final decision of Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng."  

The 13 Montagnards, including a woman, fled Vietnam into northeast Cambodia's jungle in November. After hiding for seven weeks, they emerged from the forest to seek assistance from the United Nations human rights officials and Cambodian authorities.

Montagnards are mostly Christian ethnic minority groups that live in Vietnam's mountainous Central Highlands region.