The Montagnard Support Group, Inc (MSGI) and the Montagnard Stand for Justice (MSFJ) are labelled as the two terrorist groups by Vietnamese authorities
MSGI, headquartered in Charlotte, USA, was founded in 2011 by Y Mut Mlo and Y Duen Bdăp with the aim of connecting and enticing ethnic minority people to use violence, carry out terrorist activities, and incite protests and armed riots to demand a separate state in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
Both Y Mut Mlo and Y Duen Bdăp were former members of the Montagnard Foundation Inc (MFI) in the US – an outlawed organization against the Vietnamese state. The former, born in 1960 in Vietnam’s Dak Lak province, acts as the leader of the organization, while the latter works as deputy head. Other members of the organization were all born in Dak Lak and Dak Nong provinces in the Central Highlands.
The organization uses montagnardsupportgroup.blogspot.com, and Montagnard Support Group as the official communication channels.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, MSGI operates in a violent manner. It recruits and trains members in Vietnam; incites protests and armed riots; aids and abets members with money, weapons, and means; and directs terrorist attacks to kill officials and people and destroy State and people’s property in order to demand the establishment of a separate Dega state in the Central Highlands.
Meanwhile, MSFJ was founded by Y Quynh Bdap, Y Phik Hdok, Y Pher Hdrue, Y Aron Eban, H' Sarina Krong, H' Tlun Bdap, Y Ruing Knul, and H Mla Hdruê in July 2019 in Thailand and has been operating in the US since April 2023.
The organization is headquartered at 49/312 Kraorattana, Nonthaburi, Thailand, and it uses msfjustice.org, Montagnard Stand for Justice, Montagnards for Justice, Klei Kpă Enô Kơ Anak Cu Chiang, BHRM Montagnards, and MSFJ TV as official communication channels.
The group is masterminded by Y Quynh Bdap (born in 1992), Y Phik Hdok (born in 1993), Y Pher Hdrue (born in 1979), H' Biăp Krong (born in 1987), and Y Aron Eban (born in 1985). They were all born in Dak Lak province.
MSFJ is tasked with recruiting and training members, providing them with money, weapons and vehicles, and directing them to carry out terrorist attacks by killing officials and people and destroying State and people’s property in an attempt to establish an independent state in the Central Highlands.
The Ministry of Public Security holds that both MSGI and MSFJ are the two terrorist organizations, and warns that anyone who engages in the two organisations’ activities, or incites others to engage in the activities, including financing, receiving finance and training, commit will be charged with crimes of ‘terrorism’ or ‘terrorism financing’ and will be handled according to Vietnamese law.
