Over 170 Montagnards in Cambodia not refugees: spokesman

Montagnard asylum seekers have not met the criteria for refugee status and would be returned to Vietnam, an Interior Ministry spokesman has said.

The Cambodian government had announced in late January that more than 170 Montagnard asylum seekers would have their refugee applications processed.

"We interviewed them, and if they failed the interview, we will send them back to Vietnam. And so far, we know most of them have failed because they entered (Cambodia) illegally," Gen. Khieu Sopheak was quoted Thursday by the Cambodia Daily as saying.

"They came through the forest and traffickers brought them," he added.

Gen. Sopheak said the entire group would be returned to Vietnam.

"In fact, they all failed the evaluation," Gen. Sopheak said, adding that the group would be handed over to Vietnamese authorities soon.

"We will not keep them for long," he said.