Vietnam is sending out tens of thousands of pamphlets to ethnic minorities in three restive provinces, setting out the Communist state's policies that affect the Central Highlands region.

The official Vietnam News Agency calls the booklets "meaningful gifts" from the government.

Three of the pamphlets are being issued in nine minority languages spoken in the Central Highlands area. They are titled "About Vietnamese Law," "On Party and State Policies Towards Ethnic Communities and Highland Regions" and "Don't Believe in the Poisonous Snake's Words."

The booklets are being distributed over the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday this week in Daklak, Bia Lai and Kontum provinces. The region was rocked by serious anti-government protests over land rights and religious freedom last February. The government isolated the area and sent in police and troops to put down the protests.

Hanoi insists the unrest was instigated by U.S.-based émigrés who led an armed rebellion in the region until the early 1990s. The government calls the group "poisonous snakes."

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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