About Degar Foundation
Degar Foundation, Inc., also known as the Montagnard Foundation, Inc. (MFI), is a non-membership, non-profit human rights organization founded by Mr. Kok Ksor in 1990 and based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. It works to preserve the lives, rights and culture of the indigenous Degar (Montagnard) people of Vietnam’s Central Highlands through peaceful, humanitarian and non-military means. Read more about the organization »
Our mission
The foundation’s guiding aim is to restore, safeguard and monitor the human rights of the Degar people as they are set out in the covenants and declarations of the United Nations, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In practice this means documenting abuses in the Central Highlands, speaking for Degar communities at the United Nations, in parliaments and before governments, and supporting Degar refugees and their families. The specific rights the Degar people are asking for are listed on our Aspiration page.
MFI has stated many times that it does not seek to overthrow the Vietnamese government or to separate Degar lands from Vietnam. Its position is set out in the MFI Statement of Clarification and in Kok Ksor’s reply to the Vietnamese government.
Founder: Kok Ksor
Kok Ksor, a member of the Jarai people from Gia Lai province, came to the United States with a mission from FULRO leader General Y-Bham Enuol to seek international support for the Degar people. For almost three decades he led the foundation and spoke for the Degar at the United Nations, the European Parliament and national parliaments, including his statement to the UN CERD 80th session in 2012. Kok Ksor died in the United States in January 2019. You can read a portrait of his life in Kok Ksor.
What we do
- Document abuses – news releases and reports on arrests, torture and religious repression, brought together on our page about the persecution of the Degar people.
- International advocacy – statements to UN bodies, the European Parliament and the Italian Parliament.
- Refugee protection – calling on governments and the UNHCR to stop the forced return of Degar refugees to Vietnam.
- Preserving culture – publishing Degar history, language resources and voices, such as the UN Declaration in the Degar language and the novel Homeland.
BAJARAKA
BAJARAKA movement started by a group of restless young Degar peoples in 1957 after the Diem government brought hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese from the North into P.M.S.I. in order to occupy our territories and to begin his assimilative program. Read more »
Who Are Degar?
The Degar people are the indigenous people of the Indochina; majority of Degar people are in Central Highland of Vietnam and over 100,000 are in northern part of Cambodia mainly in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces. Read more »
Get in touch
If you have information about Degar prisoners or refugees, or questions about the Degar people, please visit our Contact Us page or read the Questions & Answers.