Vietnam lists overseas dissident groups as 'terrorist organisations'

HANOI — Vietnam has listed two political groups operating in the United States as "terrorist organisations", accusing them of orchestrating attacks and promoting a secessionist agenda, its internal security agency said on Wednesday (March 6).

The groups include North Carolina-headquartered Montagnard Support Group Inc (MSGI) and Montagnard Stand for Justice (MSFJ), which was established in Thailand, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

Both operate in the United States and are accused of involvement in deadly attacks in the Central Highlands region in June 2023 that left nine dead, including four policemen.

The US embassy in Hanoi and the two groups did not immediately respond to separate Reuters requests for comment.

The communist government has long been sensitive to the activities of overseas-based dissident groups led by members of Vietnam's vast diaspora, typically calling them "reactionaries".

It has listed as "terrorist" groups several organisations that have pledged allegiance to the defunct state of South Vietnam, which ceased to exist when the Communist North won the Vietnam War in 1975.

The two groups listed on Wednesday had recruited ethnic minority people in Vietnam, trained them and instructed them to "carry out terrorist activities, incite protests, kill officials and civilians, sabotage state assets and try to establish their own states," the ministry statement said.

"Anyone joining the groups or receiving funding from the groups would be charged with terrorism and be dealt with," the statement said.

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