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1979-Tragedy in Indochina: War, Refugees, and Famine

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1979-Tragedy in Indochina: War, Refugees, and Famine 1979-TRAGEDY IN INDOCHINA: WAR, REFUGEES, AND FAMINE HEARINGS BEFORE TIE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS 01"' TI1' COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINErY-sIXThi (cONGRIESS FIRST SESSION FEBIIARY 28: SEPTEMBER IS; OCTOBER 10, 17; I)lE.('lNlE l IS ANI) 19. 1971) Printed forthe use (if the committee e on Foreign Affairs U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 85- 70 WASHINGTON : 1980 H 30HL/ CO31MITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS CLEMENT J. ZAIIOCKI, Wisconsin, Chairman L. H. FOUNTAIN, North Carolina WILIIAM S. BROOMFIELD, Michigan DANTE B. FASCELL, Florida EI)WARD J. DERWINSKI, Illinois CHARLES C. DIGGS, JR., Michigan I'AUL FINDLEY, Illinois BENJAMIN S. ROSENTHAL, New York JOHN 11. BUCHANAN, JR., Alabama LEE II. HAMILTON, Indiana LARRY WINN, JR., Kansas LESTER L. WOLFF, New York BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York JONATHAN B. BINGHAM, New York TENNYSON GUYER, Ohio GUS YATRON, Pennsylvania ROBERT J. LAGOMARSINO, California CARDISS COLLINS, Illinois WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania STEPHEN J. SOLARZ, New York JOEL PRITCHARD, Washington DON BONKER, Washington MILLICENT FENWICK, New Jersey GERRY E. STUDDS, Massachusetts DAN QUAYLE, Indiana ANDY IRELAND, Florida DONALD J. PEASE, Ohio DAN MICA, Florida MICHAEL D. BARNES, Maryland WILLIAM H1.GRAY III, Pennsylvania TONY P. HALL, Ohio HOWARD WOLPE, Michigan DAVID R. BOWEN, Mississippi FLOYD J. FITIIIAN, Indiana JOHN J. BRADY, Jr., Chief of Staff LINDA G. SILVER, Staff Assistant SUBCOMMIrTEE ON ASIAN AND PACIFiC AFFAIRS LESTER L. WOLFF, New York, Chairman DAN MICA, Florida TENNYSON GUYER, Ohio TONY P. HALL, Ohio JOEL PRITCHARD, Washington CHARLES C. DIGGS, JR., Michigan WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania GUS YATRON. Ilennsylvauia STEPHEN J. SOLARZ, New York EDIWARD J. I'AL.NM, Nubcommittee Staff Director JoN D. IJOLSTINE. Minority Staff Consultant CHRISTOPHER I). W. NtIS.x, Subcommittee Staff Associate JAMES J. PaZYSTUP, Subcommittee Staff Associate (II) PREFACE The six hearings printed in this volume focus on Indochina and the chain of events beginning with the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in December 1978 and extending through the United Nations Confer- ence on Cambodia in November 1979 and the subsequent international relief effort for the people of Cambodia. The hearings are arranged chronologically and appear under the subject headings: "Sino-Viet- namese Conflict," "ncdochina Refugees," and "Famine in Cambodia." These hearings and the ensuing legislative activity represent in part the response of the Congress to the events of the past year in Indochina. SINO-VIETNAMESE CONFLICT Oil February 17, 1979, units of the Chinese People's Liberation Army crossed the Sino-Vietnamese border; 4 days later a congressional delegation consisting of the Honorable Elizc)beth Holtzman, the Hon- orable Hamilton Fish, and the Honorable Billy Lee Evans, arrived in Hanoi. On February 28, Mr. Evans reported to the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs on his conversations with Vietnamese officials and his inspection of the Vietnam-People's Republic of China border region. INDOCHINA REFUGEES The second hearing in this volume deals with the refugee crisis in Indochina. During August 1979, a number of congressional delega- tions conducted onsite investigations of the refugee camps in South- east Asia, and on September 18, individual members of the delegations rep orted their findings to the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs. Reporting on that occasion were: the Honorable Lester L. Wolff, and the Honorable Tennyson Guyer, chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, the Hon- orable Dan MaK 'riott±teHonorable Benjamin Gilman, the Hon- orable Charles H1. Wilson, and the Honorable Joel Pritchard. The involvement of the Subcommittee-on-Asian and Pacific Affairs in the refugee issue is one of long standing. As early as a year before the floodtide of the boat refugees from Vietnam, the subcommittee, in a series of hearings printed under the title "Refugee Crisis in Indo- china, 1978," warned of a "refugee crisis of major proportions" and underscored the need for action on the part of the international community. Also (luring 1978, the subcommittee joined with other Members and committees of Congress in requesting the General Accounting Office to evaluate the functioning of the U.S. refugee pro- gram. Again, in January 1979, the subcommittee during its mission to Asia paid particular attention to the refugee problem, discussing the matter with heads of government in Manila and Bangkok and visiting camps in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. The find- ings of the mission were published under the title, "Refugees from (Ill) IV Indochina: Current Problems and Prospects." The record of the sub- committee's oversight activities on the refugee issue during the first 6 months of 1979 is contained in the volume Ilndochina Refugees. Legislatively, in -June 1979, the subcommittee introduced ani reported out House Resolution 321, a resolution calling on the President to request "the Secretary General of the United Nations to convene immediately an emergency session of the General Assembly, or * * * use other appropriate fora to deal with the refugee crisis in Southeast Asia." Subsequent to House passage of the resolution, the chairman of the subcommittee, accompanied by the Honorable Dan Mica, the Honorable Hamilton Fish, an( the Honorable Benjamin Gilman, met with the Secretary General of tlie United Nations to urge him to convene an emergency session of the General Assembly to ieal with the refugee crisis. In response to various international efforts and initiatives, the Secretary General convened the U.N.-sponsored con- ference on the Indochina refugees which met at Geneva, Switzerland, on July 20-21, 1979. FAMINE IN CAMBODiIA The hearings contained in the third section of this volume -are concerned with the ravages of famine and mass starvation in Cam- bodia. The testimony concerns congressional efforts to provide food antI medicine to the people of Cambodia and to insure that the assistance provided does, in fact, reach those for whom it is intended. The legislative record of that effort began on September 26, 1979, with the introduction by the members of the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs of House Resolution 431, a resolution calling on the President to seek an emergency agenda item before the United Nations General Assembly to inaugurate an emergency food and medical relief program for the people of Cambodia. House Resolution 431 passed the House on the following day, September 27. On the same (lay, the Honorable John Anderson, with the Honor- able Stephen Solarz, introduced H.R. 5443, and on October 9, I joined with the Honorable Clement Zablocki, chairman of the House Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, to introduce H.R. 5519. Both bills author- ized the appropriation of funds for U.S. participation in an interna- tional, emergency, famine relief program for the people of Cambodia. On October 10 and again on October 17, the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs met to take public testimony on the proposed legislation and, at the conclusion of the October 17 hearing, recom- mended that the legislation be favorably considered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. On October 24, the legislation was reported out of the Foreign Affairs Committee and passed the House on the following Surin the following 6 weeks, divergent reports on the distribution of food and me(lical supplies to the people of Cambodia came to the attention of the subcommittee. In response, the subcommittee, on December 18 and 19, held 2 days of oversight hearings on the subject of food distribution. Appearing as witnesses were the Honorable Richard Holbrooke, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Mr. Leo Cherne, chairman of the Citizens Commission 'On Oct. 24, President Carter announced that the United States would participate in an International relief effort for Cambodia. And on Nov. 6. at the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance pledged a total of $69 million as the U.S. contribution to the international relief program. V on Indochinese Refugees; Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, Citizens Com- mission; Mr. Warren Meeker, Citizens Commission; Mr. Robert Hohler, Oxfam/America; Ms. Corinne Johnson, American Friends Service Committee; and Nr. William Herod, Church World Service. Finally, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, let me take this occasion to express my appreciation to the members and staff of this subcommittee, to the members and staff of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and to my colleagues in the House and to their personal staffs for their efforts in thi.; truly humanitarian cause. IESTE!. L. VOLFF, chairmann, Sutbcommattee on Asiaii a,:d Pacific Affairs. CONTENTS Page Preface ---------------------------------------------------. H WITNESSES Wednesday, February 28, 1979: Hon. Billy L. Evans, a Representative in Congress from the State of Georgia ------------------------------------------------- 1 Tuesday, September 18, 1979: Hon. Lester L. Wolff, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York ------------------------------------------ 16 Hon. Tennyson Guyer, a Representative in Congress from the State of Ohio ------------------------------------------------------ 21 Hon. Dan Marriott, a Representative in Congress from the State of •Utah -------------------------------------------------- 24 Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York ----------------------------------------
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