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Tribespeople jailed for alleged sedition

Hmong held major gathering to welcome a 'messiah'
Tribespeople jailed for alleged sedition
Published: December 13, 2012 08:11 AM GMT
Updated: December 12, 2012 09:06 PM GMT

Vietnam has jailed four people from the mainly Christian Hmong ethnic group for their roles in an alleged separatist plot to overthrow the communist government, state media reports today.

The men, aged between 27 and 38, were given sentences of between three and seven years at a one-day trial on Wednesday at a court in the northwestern province of Lai Chau, the Communist Party mouthpiece Nhan Dan said.

One of the men, Trang A Cho, had been sought by police since July 2011 for carrying out "propaganda against the State" and seeking to establish a "Hmong Kingdom" to "replace the State of Vietnam," the report said.

The four join eight other Hmong men already jailed for "disturbing security" at a mysterious religious gathering last year, which Vietnamese authorities described as an attempted separatist uprising.

In May 2011 thousands of Hmong convened in the remote northwest, apparently awaiting the arrival of a "messiah". Authorities broke up the gathering in circumstances that remain unclear.

At the time, unconfirmed reports said dozens of Hmong were killed or wounded by troops but Vietnamese officials have not confirmed any military involvement.

A local government leader later claimed that the Hmong were armed.

Other officials said the Hmong were lured by unidentified "individuals with ill-intentions" who spread rumors that a "king" would arrive and lead them to a promised land.

According to Britain-based religious freedom group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the Hmong have "a mythical belief in their culture that a 'messiah' figure will appear and found a Hmong kingdom".

CSW said the prophecy of US radio preacher Harold Camping, who claimed the world would end on May 21, 2011, was key to the timing of the gathering.

The incident was the country's worst case of ethnic tension since about 2,000 Montagnards fled to Cambodia between 2001 and 2004 after troops crushed protests in the central highlands.

Some of the Hmong helped US forces against North Vietnam during the secret wartime campaign in neighboring Laos, and faced retribution after the communist takeover. AFP

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