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I. UNDER FRENCH RULE (1848-1954) -- 106 YEARS In 1848, the first French Catholic Missionaries explored the remote areas in the Central Highlands in Indochina and established a post in the area of Kontum. In 1883, after pacifying the highlands, the French organized the diverse tribes into a cohesive political unit and gave them the name “Montagnard Du Sud Indochinois” or Montagnard of South-Indochina (Anak Cu Chiang Dhung). During the colonization period the French Federal Government recognized the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the Montagnard people. There were no ethnic Vietnamese living in the Central Highlands during that time. In 1884, the French completed the conquest of Vietnam along the shore and divided Vietnam into three zones: North, Central Vietnam and Cochin China. The French stopped the lowland Vietnamese from trading with the Montagnards, for they feared the Vietnamese would exploit, weaken, and eventually drive the Montagnards from the Central Highlands. In 1929, Ho Chi Minh of North Vietnam formed the Indochina Communist Party that dedicated to the overthrow of the French colonization of Indochina. This movement spawned the “Viet Minh” in Vietnam, “Pathet Lao” in Laos and the “Khmer Rouge” in Cambodia. Initially, the Viet Minh was comprised of a wide-range of Vietnamese nationalists; however, Ho Chi Minh arranged the elimination of the other leaders, and the communists took over the entire movement.
French-Indochina War (1945-1954) -- 9 years During the Indochina War between the French and Viet Minh, from 1945-1954, the French recruited thousands of Montagnards, including teenagers and thirteen battalions of Montagnards were armed and joined the French Forces in their fight against the North Vietnamese communists (Viet Minh). The mission of the Montagnards was to keep the Communists off Montagnard land in the Central Highlands. The French gained the support of 95% percent of the Montagnard people. The Montagnard people displayed loyalty to the French people through their courage, strength, and martial spirit. Because of the Montagnards’ loyalty, courage, honesty, sacrifice, bloodshed, loss of life, Admiral D’Argenlieu, a representative of the French Federal Government in Indochina, created an autonomous country for the Montagnard populations of South Indochina when he signed the Ordinance of May 27, 1946, Pays Montagnards Du Sud Indochinois (PMSI) that means the country of the Montagnards of South Indochina. (Ordinance attached in the appendix.) This Ordinance gave to the Montagnard people a Statute Particular granting self-administration and determination to the Montagnard in the Central Highlands; a flag with the elephant head hung parallel with French flag; a Federal Commissariat; thirteen battalions of Montagnard Armed Forces known as The Armed Forces of the Central Highlands -- symbolized the unity and loyalty to French Federal government. A map of the Central Highlands was established as follows:
In 1949, the French created the autonomous Associated State of Vietnam under Bao Dai, the last South Vietnamese King to fight alongside the French against the Viet Minh. Then on April 15, 1950, the French reneged on their promise to the Montagnards regarding the PMSI and gave a portion of the northern remote region of the Central Highlands (from the 17th to the 16th parallel) to the Associated State of Vietnam. The mountainous region of this area was inhabited by Montagnards who were not controlled by the French operating out of the Central Highlands. On July 25, 1950, the French classified our country as a Domain de la Couronne (Crown Domain), directly under the control of Emperor Bao Dai, because the French were concerned that the Montagnards might lack the capacity to rule themselves without training. The thirteen battalions of Montagnard troops continued to serve the French Federal Government and to protect the Crown Domain for the Vietnamese Emperor -- King Bao Dai. For this reason, many Montagnard leaders such as, Y-Ngong Nie Kdam, Rcom Thep, Ksor Ni, Y-Blok Eban etc. fled to the jungle in opposition to the French Federal government Indochina. Unfortunately they ran into Viet Minh who during the early 1950s made deep inroads into the Montagnard villages in the Central Highlands so they joined the Viet Ming against the French. At the same time, the French increasingly rounded up Montagnards from each village who served as corvée laborers, without compensation, and were used to carry food and ammunition for the French army, and to build emergency airstrips and new strategic roads. On May 21, 1951, Decree No. 16/QT/TD was issued (see the Decree attached in the appendix). Article 1 said that the non-Vietnamese populations lived on territories called the “Montagnard Regions of the South” and the Central Highlands administration was separate from the lowlands (South Vietnam). In July 1953, Montagnard autonomy in the Central Highlands was suppressed by the regime of Emperor Bao Dai. The Pays Montagnard Du Sud Indochinois (PMSI- country of the Montagnards of South IndoChina) was changed to the Pays Montagnard Du Sud (PMS – Country of the Montagnards of the South). Montagnard troops continued to fight in the Indochina War, not only to serve Bao Dai and the French government, but also to protect Montagnard autonomy and maintain peace and freedom in the Central Highlands. In May 1954, the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu by the Viet Minh (dominated by Ho Chi Minh’s communists). At the Geneva Convention on July 21, 1954, it was declared that the Indochina War was over. At the Convention, there were delegations from France, Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, the Republic of China, Cambodia, Laos, South Vietnam and North Vietnam. Only French and Vietnamese representatives signed the agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam. The French did not allow representatives of the Montagnard people to participate in the Convention, and consequently they had no voice their own fate. The Montagnards were never given a satisfactory explanation by the French for this.
Vietnam was divided into two separate countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam, divided by the 17th Parallel, and the French agreed to withdraw from Vietnam. During the Convention, Bao Dai had appointed Ngo Dinh Diem as a strong premier with the charge to form a government and cabinet for South Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem became the first President of the Republic of South Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh assumed leadership in the North. On March 1955, General Nguyen Van Hinh, the Chief of Staff of the French Federal Government’s Indochina Army, went to Pleiku province and met with all Montagnard troops. General Nguyen, representing The Republic of South Vietnam, declared that according to the Geneva Convention the French no longer were in power and had to completely withdraw their administration and army from Indochina. At the same time, he gave order to strike both the French and Montagnard flags and hoisted only the South Vietnamese flag. Thousands of Montagnard officers were shocked and saddened by this betrayal. Before returning to France, the French struck the Montagnard flag, and transferred Montagnard land and governance to foreigners who continue ruling the Montagnard people. All of the Montagnard people wondered what would now happen to the Montagnard race? Why did the French transfer Montagnard land and administration to the Vietnamese government? After all, autonomy had been granted to the Montagnard people by the French Federal government in Indochina, not by the Bao Dai government. It became evident that French now considered the Montagnard people in the Central Highlands to be expendable. On April
1955, however, when the French withdrew from Indochina, they
took one battalion of 400 Montagnard soldiers with them to fight as
mercenaries in the North Africa War. The French government had deceived
millions of Montagnards in the Central Highlands and eventually abandoned
them to Emperor Bao Dai without responsibility. Ho Chi Minh also promised the Montagnard people autonomy if they would fight for the communists from the north. The Accords of the Geneva Convention stipulated that the communists were to withdraw to North Vietnam. A great many remained in the south, but as others withdrew, they kidnapped tens of thousands of very young Montagnard children from the various tribal groups and took them to North Vietnam to reprogram them through communist propaganda program, to be used as agents and future fighters in the Central Highlands in the South. Meanwhile, the Montagnard people in the South, Anak Cu Chiang, continued to assert this right to self-governance and autonomous self-rule, and vow to continue a peaceful and legal struggle for freedom and self-determination in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. In 1954, the Geneva Convention served for the time being only to conciliate the North and South Vietnamese in gaining independence for their separate countries. However, it created yet another major problem since it was a one-sided agreement that ignored the Montagnards’ right to autonomy and self-determination on their ancestral land in the Central Highlands.
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