Thailand Deports Hmongs Back To Laos

[Jai Dee]

Thailand deports Hmongs back to Laos

Thailand on Tuesday began deporting 153 Hmong refugees from a border detention centre to Laos, despite repeated claims by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that the group would be under "serious risk" if forced to return.

"The deportation is still going on," said Giuseppe de Vincentis, deputy regional representative for the UNHCR in Bangkok. "Most of the women and children have been loaded on the buses but the men are resisting and are still inside the detention centre."

Unconfirmed news reports said that some of the Hmong men had threatened to commit suicide rather than face deportation to communist Laos across the Mekong River.

The Hmong were arrested in Bangkok on November 17, and later trucked to Nong Khai, a city on the Thai-Lao border 500 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, where they have been awaiting deportation since.

Although the number of Hmong refugees was originally 152, it rose to 153 on Monday with the birth of a baby in detention, said Vincentis.

The UNHCR has classified all 153 Hmong as "refugees," claiming they could face persecution and possibly death if forced to return to Laos.

Thailand sees the refugees as "illegal immigrants," and as part of their bigger problem with some 9,000 Hmong who have been living in the country for years awaiting in vain for resettlement abroad or a change in government in Laos that would allow them to return without fear.

Laos refuses to acknowledge the "refugee status" because it denies there is ongoing persecution of the Hmong, an ethnic minority group that sided with the US military in the Indochina War.

The fate of other Hmong who have previously been deported to Laos remains unknown, since the Lao government has thus far refused to allow the UNHCR a presence in the country to monitor the repatriation process.

Given the high profile the Nong Khai refugees have received, Laos is considering allowing "third party" surveillance of this repatriation, Thai sources said.

"They have agreed in principle that they might adopt some sort of third-party reassurance, although they clearly don't mean the UNHCR or any other international organization," said Kitti Wasinondh, spokesman for the Thai Foreign ministry.

"It could be some foreign embassy, but of course they haven't officially announced this yet," Kitti told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

The Hmong are a sensitive issue for the Lao government. During the Vietnam War, the US military recruited tens of thousands of Hmong in Laos' mountainous areas, to serve as a guerrilla force against the Vietnamese and Lao communist troops.

When the United States lost the war in 1975, the Hmong were left to fend for themselves. They were eventually defeated by the Lao and Vietnamese forces in 1975 to 1976, prompting hundreds of thousands of Hmong to flee Laos and seek resettlement abroad, primarily in the United States.

Remnant Hmong resistance groups remained in Laos, financed primarily by the overseas Hmong.

Although they do not pose a serious threat to Vientiane, periodical reports of atrocities and heavy-handed tactics in suppressing the Hmong are a frequent embarrassment for the regime.

Source: DPA - 30 January 2007

[Jai Dee]

UN Agency Concerned at Thai Deportation

The United Nations refugee agency has expressed concern over Thailand’s decision to deport 16 Lao Hmong to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic without screening them to see if they needed international protection, and has repeated its offer to help Thai authorities put in place a screening system.

The 16, who were deported last Friday, had been in detention in the north-east Thai town of Nong Khai since 7 November last year, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a press release, adding the deportation has “heightened” the agency’s concern over the fate of a further 153 Lao Hmong also detained in Nong Khai.

“Any country obviously has the right to deport illegal migrants. However, this should be done within a framework which ensures that any individuals among them who may have protection concerns are screened in line with international standards,” said UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Erika Feller.

“We have consistently advocated with Thailand to put in place such a system and are ready to help the Thai authorities in any appropriate way to support them in managing this situation.”

UNHCR said it was still hoping for a favourable solution to the fate of the other 153 Lao Hmong detained in Nong Khai. These have been recognized as refugees and UNHCR is currently working out resettlement arrangements with third countries.

There are an estimated 7,000 Hmong in Phetchabun province. UNHCR does not have access to this mixed group, which has been in Thailand since about July 2005.

“We cannot keep silent where we witness persons, among whom may be asylum seekers, being forcibly returned without having their cases formally assessed. This is not in line with international standards,” said Ms. Feller.

Friday’s events highlight again the precarious situation of the Lao Hmong living in makeshift camps near Huay Nam Khao village in Phetchabun province near the Lao border. In December, the Thai and Laotian authorities reached a bilateral agreement to return them to Laos; more recently, the Thai government announced plans to have the army set up a temporary holding camp for them.

Tuesday, 30 January 2007, 1:49 pm

Press Release: United Nations

UN Agency Concerned as Thailand Deports Lao Hmong to Laos, Reiterates Offer to Help

New York, Jan 29 2007 6:00PM

[Dupont]

Nearly a three month time scale here. Obviously far to short a period of time for the UN to be acting. Another shocking failure of the worlds policemen to act in a region devoid of oil, and a terrible time for an abandoned people, a people who undoutedly were duped into supporting the USA at the time by a major propaganda excesice (hearst and minds = propaganda by another name) or hollow promises.

Terrible situation and they should have been offered repatriation in the US (as they were almost totally responsible) or some other country through the UN as they feel so strongly about this. Obviously though, neither party feels stongly enough about it to offer any practical solution and Thailand cannot be expected to swallow up refugees from Burma and Laos.

Maybe The Thai authorities have tired of the prevarication of the UN and USA in this matter and have done this to force the issue. They (Thailand) cannot allow any groups residing in the country, being funded by overseas supporters, being hostile towards neighbouring countries.

[Krungthepian]

There may be a God after all. Latest reports (5pm Bkk) are that the Hmong men's desperate threats to kill themselves - while the cells where they were barricaded were tear-gassed - may have convinced the Thai authorities to halt the deportation.

It sounds like this about-turn was helped by the sudden arrival of officials from several Western nations (and possibly the UNHCR) and a couple of Western photographers who refused to leave and took photos of all the officials involved in this entire sordid deal - allegedly at least 20 officials from Laos, including some quite senior, plus the Nong Khai governor, etc. One of those photographers flew up from Bangkok, so his performance was gutsy to say the least.

I'm told Thailand and Laos had signed an agreement to return these 153, despite allowing other countries to interview them.

Part of the problem for the Thais was at least two of the women were allegedly beaten and may have had obvious bruises, bleeding - as would the men, who may have been groggy and bloody after a violent stand-off in the cells. Thing is, some of these people have nothing to lose - going back may well be a death sentence and they know it. If you look up the website of Roger Arnold, US photog, you may see pics of Blia Shoua Her, at the scene of the Vang Vieng massacre (by the graves, including one of his son - the only male among the 26 dead - rest were women and children ambushed while foraging for food - most allegedly shot in the back). In fact, Arnold's and the Fact Finding Commission website have pics of the bodies of those killed on April 6.

The US ambassador to Laos made a big deal about that incident, as people may recall.

The Thai authorities who gave this scummy operation the go-ahead should be hung out to dry.

Suggestions as to who may have been responsible include Suwat Tumrongsrisakul, head of Immigration Police (and usually a happy figure - seen in many pics when they deported John Mark Karr, who confessed to the JonBenet killing).

Other nominees include General Winai, now a CNS deputy. I must stress that that's only speculation, but it's accepted among Western embassies that the Thai government is split about the return of these 153.

Allegedly the Foreign ministry is against it - cos they know what bad publicity it is, but some hardline generals are all for it.

Big question is whether this ugly scene is going to be repeated tomorrow or another day soon.

Just hope the UNHCR gets off their well-paid asses and gets these people overseas. Many of them have already been interviewed by Western nations.

[bmanly]

The Thai authorities who gave this scummy operation the go-ahead should be hung out to dry.

Suggestions as to who may have been responsible include Suwat Tumrongsrisakul, head of Immigration Police (and usually a happy figure - seen in many pics when they deported John Mark Karr, who confessed to the JonBenet killing).

Other nominees include General Winai, now a CNS deputy. I must stress that that's only speculation, but it's accepted among Western embassies that the Thai government is split about the return of these 153.

Allegedly the Foreign ministry is against it - cos they know what bad publicity it is, but some hardline generals are all for it.

Big question is whether this ugly scene is going to be repeated tomorrow or another day soon.

Just hope the UNHCR gets off their well-paid asses and gets these people overseas. Many of them have already been interviewed by Western nations.

I couldn't agree with you more, sending these people back is certain death, following is part of a report from Amnesty International.

The children, aged between 13 and 16 years old and part of an ethnic Hmong rebel group, were brutally mutilated -- the girls apparently raped before being killed -- by a group of approximately 30-40 soldiers. The victims -- four girls, Mao Lee, 14; her sister Chao Lee, 16; Chi Her, 14; Pang Lor, 14; and Tou Lor, Pang Lor’s 15 year old brother -- were killed whilst foraging for food close to their camp. They were unarmed.

More at this link.

[sriracha john]

It's been stopped.... just in from Reuters

Thais halt Hmong deportation after stand-off

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand was forced on Tuesday to halt the deportation to Laos of 153 Hmong, the ethnic minority who fought alongside America in the Vietnam War, after the men in the group put up a struggle, the general in charge said.

"Top officials have decided to cancel the deportation," Lieutenant-General Nipat Thonglek, head of the army's border affairs, told Reuters from the border town of Nong Khai, where the group has been held since late last year.

He gave no details but apologized to Lao government officials who had arrived with three buses to repatriate them. Human rights organizations fear the group would face persecution from Vientiane's communist rulers.

Earlier, Nipat said police had managed to get 100 women and children onto the buses, but the remaining men refused to go. One human rights group said they had barricaded themselves inside the compound.

"There are three leading troublemakers among the men who refuse to go," Nipat said.

A California-based Hmong lobby group called the Factfinding Commission said two women who refused to board the buses had been beaten.

Nipat denied the report, saying: "We didn't beat them up."

Before Bangkok's change of tack, the United Nations' refugee agency criticized the deportation, saying it broke international law as every person in the group had been accorded official refugee status.

They were also being considered for resettlement elsewhere and immigration officials from the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands had already interviewed some of the group, the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said the deportation had "put on hold indefinitely" after the four countries in question assured Bangkok they would take the Hmong.

UNHCR, which criticized Thailand last week for deporting 16 Hmong, said the Nong Khai group included a two-week-old child and three men described as "prominent figures who might be at particular risk."

Dubbed "America's forgotten allies" after the war, the Hmong have had a difficult relationship with the Pathet Lao communists who have run the landlocked southeast Asian nation since seizing power in 1975.

Human rights groups accused them of waging a 30-year campaign of vengeance against Hmong guerillas still hiding out in the forests. Vientiane denies the accusations.

Since the war, the United States has granted asylum to thousands of Hmong, although it has indicated in the last few years it will accept no more

[Artfullmover]

AUSTRALIA has agreed to join other western countries, including the United States, in resettling up to 150 Lao Hmong refugees after Thailand halted their deportation overnight.

The threatened deportation of the 153 Hmong came after strong representations by US, UN and Australian officials amid scenes of chaos at the Nong Khai immigration detention centre, 500km north of Bangkok.

A Thai foreign ministry spokesman said that since Thai authorities had received reassurances from the US, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, the Thai authorities will not send them back to Laos.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...9-29277,00.html

[bmanly]

This is terrific news, thanks for the update, well done to all the agencies involved.

[benw]

It's no coincidence that Thai authorities are 'reversing' years of of unoffocial policy, during which Hmong refugees were able to find shelter here (the current round of deportations started in 2005), at the same time that the Lao and Thai governments have announced a plan to increase bilateral trade to $4.5 billion by 2010 (triple the current level, I guess, according to official figures).

[Jai Dee]

Relief as Thailand Stops Deportation

The United Nations refugee agency today expressed relief that Thai authorities have delayed the deportation of scores of Lao Hmong refugees to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic after a group barricaded themselves in the centre where they were being detained, and warned that any forcible deportation would be a “major breach of international law.”

“We are relieved the deportation is on hold after some extremely worrying moments today,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Geneva-based Asia bureau director, Janet Lim. “These refugees should not be forcibly returned to Laos under any circumstances and we will continue to work with third countries on their resettlement.”

“If this deportation had gone ahead, it would have been the first time Thailand would have refouled [forcibly repatriated] refugees individually recognised under UNHCR’s mandate and a major breach of international humanitarian law.”

Authorities at north-east Thailand’s Nong Khai detention centre had earlier on Tuesday attempted to move the 153 refugees, including a newborn baby, onto buses in preparation for deportation. Many women and children boarded the buses, however 54 male refugees barricaded themselves into the immigration detention centre and resisted all attempts to move. UNHCR understands a group of some two dozen children were with them.

The agency has made repeated offers to the Thai Government to help find alternative solutions for the Lao Hmong group in detention and has been working closely with third countries to find resettlement solutions.

Today’s attempted deportation comes just a few days after Thai authorities deported 16 Lao Hmong to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic without screening them to see if they needed international protection, a move which sparked concern at UNHCR.

“We have serious concerns for the safety and security of those being deported to Laos,” agency spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis said at a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. “UNHCR does not have access inside Laos to people returned against their will.”

UNHCR is also gravely concerned about the fate of 26 Lao Hmong children – separated from their parents – who were deported from Thailand to Laos in December 2005. There has been no trace of them since, despite efforts by the agency and the Thai Government to find out what has happened.

These moves by Thai authorities underline the tenuous situation of some 7,000 Lao Hmong who have been living in makeshift camps near Huay Nam Khao village in Phetchabun province since about July 2005. UNHCR does not have access to this mixed group but has consistently advocated with Thailand to put in place a system that would ensure that any individuals among them who have protection concerns are screened in line with international standards. UNHCR is ready to help the Thai authorities in any appropriate way to manage this situation.

Wednesday, 31 January 2007

Press Release: United Nations

UN Agency Relieved That Thailand Stops Deportation of Lao Hmong; Says Action is Illegal

New York, Jan 30 2007 2:00PM

[John K]

I am curious about #153 if in fact that baby is now a Thai citizen. I know that any baby born in the USA can claim citizenship even if their parents are just tourists.

[oxymoron]

I am curious about #153 if in fact that baby is now a Thai citizen. I know that any baby born in the USA can claim citizenship even if their parents are just tourists.

Do not know about USA but I understand this is not so in Thailand or Australia for that matter unless one parent a least is a Thai National or an Oz Citizen ( since around 1986 I believe in the Oz case)

[Dupont]

Well, this quiet deportation they planned has made the news on all the major news agencies and I have found links to over 70 worldwide media outlets just with a quick Google news search.

There appears to be no political will from anybody, and it;s to be hoped that the massive media attention this has brought, will shame somebody.

Thailand is getting a higher profile of late and its mostly negative stuff, Coup, Bird Flu, Legionella, murdered tourists, bombs, foreign business act, monetary controls. Really enhancing our image as Land of Smiles? Anybody with little or no money, and with darker skin just will not recognise the LOS thing.

We are lucky as rich (relatively) farangs. Burmese, Cambodians, and Laos are called ugly, and as for black people, they are refferred to and openly called chocolate!

Some people really like to make a difference when they enter politics. Well this lot and Thaxins lot certainly are making a difference.

[Jai Dee]

Thailand halts Hmong deportation

Hmong refugees gather at an immigration office near the Laos border in northeastern Thailand.

Thailand has halted the involuntary repatriation of more than 150 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos after receiving assurances from the U.S. and elsewhere that they can be resettled in third countries, the Foreign Ministry said.

The decision came after some refugees were removed from their cells at the immigration detention center in the northern town of Nong Khai and put on buses for the short journey to the nearby border with Laos.

Although Thai authorities were able to gather women and children among the refugees, male Hmong strongly resisted efforts to be taken from their cells, and the situation had turned into a standoff after they tussled with Thai police.

"Since Thailand has received reassurances from the U.S, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands regarding the resettlement of the Hmong refugees, we have halted their planned deportation so that the aforementioned third countries can take them in for resettlement," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The suspension of the move came after the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concern about the move and sent a representative to the scene.

The Fact-Finding Commission, a U.S.-based advocacy group for Hmong rights, cited witnesses as describing strong resistance by male refugees to be taken from the immigration detention center in the northeastern town of Nong Khai.

The group, whose information in the past has proven reliable, said the refugees -- who number 153, or more according to some counts -- were informed Tuesday morning they would be sent back to Laos, after which women and children were dragged from their cells and put on trucks.

It said male refugees resisted more vigorously, and Thai authorities used what appeared to be tear gas to dislodge them as they struggled to keep their cell doors closed, leaving the situation in a standoff. The account could not be independently confirmed.

However, Giuseppe de Vincentis, deputy regional representative for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, confirmed that some women and children had been loaded on buses, while Hmong men refused to be moved.

He said his agency on Tuesday reiterated its concern that the Hmongs' safety was not assured should they be returned to Laos, and said the UNHCR has been actively working to resettle them in Western countries such as Australia, the United States, the Netherlands and Canada.

UNHCR had issued a statement Monday that expressed "concern" over Thailand's decision to deport the Hmong -- whom it said had been recognized as legitimate refugees -- and said it was hoping for a "favorable solution."

The United States has taken a similar position.

U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce said last week the U.S. Embassy had expressed its "deepest concern" to Thai officials about the deportation plans.

"We understand the Thai government's concerns about Thailand becoming a magnet for refugees from neighboring countries," Boyce said in a question-and-answer session on the Internet. "But we will continue to oppose the deportation of the Hmong to Laos and to urge the Thai government to allow them to be resettled in another country where they will be safe."

Hmong refugees in Thailand claim they will be persecuted by the communist government of Laos if they return because of their Vietnam War-era ties with the United States. Many Hmong fought under CIA advisers during the so-called "secret war" against communists in Laos.

More than 300,000 Laotians, mostly Hmong, are known to have fled to Thailand after the communists took over their country in 1975. Most were either repatriated to Laos or resettled in third countries, particularly the United States.

Yong Chanthalansy, a spokesman for the Lao Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday morning in a telephone interview that the Laotian government "guarantees that these Hmong will not be prosecuted. They will be sent back to lead a normal life."

He also said the matter was a "totally internal affair of Laos" and the UNHCR has no reason to intervene.

"They are not the refugees who have escaped from a war-torn country," he said. "There is no fighting in Laos."

Source: CNN - 31 January 2007

[Krungthepian]

The drama isn't over sadly. The Thai immigration officials at Nong Khai appear to have decided to punish the Hmong for refusing to go back to persecution and possible death.. by denying them food and proper medical attention today (Wed).

The following report is from Laura Xiong, a Hmong advocate in the US who has been in touch with her fellow Hmong at Nong Khai for several weeks:

1pm Bangkok time:

We have been informed that the children are no longer able to cry due to starvation. The adult are getting weaker and weaker and everyone is dehyrated. It is 12:00 PM (1:00 PM local time in Thailand) and the detainees are still having nothing to eat. The foods are still sitting at the middle of the prison cell that set by the Thai Police.

The detainees attempted to snatch the food for the children, but the police officer jumped in to take away the wires used for snatching the food. He said that they do not deserve to eat the food. He continues to threaten the group with deportation.

(Western photographer, name deleted) is currently in the premise monitoring. He reports that the thai police officer is blocking the door prevent reporters from gaining access to the jail cells.

The detainees are begging the UN and the international communities to bring in food and water. They have not eaten for more than 28 hours and everybody is dying!

Laura

Earlier note:

Yesterday the Thai Police brought Tong Her back from the Hospital with handcuff. In addition to that, his face surgery seem critical. The surgery seems to be a major work done, but no medication was prescribed. He is currently tide up a bundle with the other two patients and leaving out side of the jail cells. Tong Her is in critical condition. Please help to provide medical treatment for him as soon as possible.

It has been reported that the Thai police brought in food to the women and children, but forbidden the men from getting anything. The foods are being set right in the middle of the two jail cells, allowing the men to watch. The guards told them that they will not get anything to eat until they die.

The water supply has been turned off and the toilet is getting nasty.

If man cannot help this group, is there a God that can? God lives in each everyone of you that list on this email, and please do something about it. Tong Her should be transfered to a hospital where quality medical treatment is available. Base on the information I received, instead of providing medical treatment to cure his wound, the medical team deteriorating the injury. Now he is in serious condition. Please help.

Laura

The detainees informed me that the chief police in charge is bringing in a box of handcuffs and metal chains to the door. He threatens to handcuff the ones that lead the resistance. He also cut off the electricity and disallow them to drink or eat.

During the attack, the Lao police forces used some kind of electrify light that knock down the individuals when pointing at them. In addition to the electrify light, the police used intoxicated gas on them. Now the chief police in charge threatens to starve the group and forbid them from drinking any water. They have not eaten or drank since this morning.

Why using intoxicated gas, electrify and starvation as weapons to torture the victims? They are not criminals and do not deserve to be degrade treatment or torture such as this.

Two women have been severely beatened earlier when they could not convince their husbands to cooperate with the Lao PDR Officials. Now one woman is in the state of suicidal attempt. Please save these helpless victims. They are dying.

Laura

---------

The "dying" is perhaps a bit strong, but one perhaps needs to bear in mind this woman's emotional attachment to her kin.

Meanwhile, credit for where it is due..

The Bangkok Post reported today that Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was the one who pulled the pin on this ugly little plan to deport the Hmong - while they were being interviewed by the UNHCR and Western embassy officials for resettlement.

Perhaps the good Prime Minister - or someone with some sense of compassion and a realisation of what this continuing saga does for Thailand's international standing -at the Foreign Ministry, perhaps - needs to ring those pathetic officials out at Nong Khai IDC and tell them to pull their heads in.

More than half of these refugees are women and children.

And the man mentioned above requiring medical attention (Tong Her) has a gaping bullet wound in the middle of his face. Check www.rogerarnold.net for pics of this sad young fellow. If ever there was proof of what jungle Hmong go through in the wilds of Laos, it's this young man's face.

[sriracha john]

Ethnic Hmong women and children cry after being loaded onto a bus to be deported to Laos from an immigration office at the Thai border town of Nong Khai January 30, 2007. The deportation of the group of 153 refugees was later halted after the men in the group put up a struggle. Thailand will not force Hmong to Laos, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said on Wednesday, a day after Bangkok made a last-minute decision to halt the deportation of 153 refugees on the request of Vientiane. Picture taken on January 30.

REUTERS

[sriracha john]

Ethnic Hmong women and children, scheduled earlier to be deported to Laos, are seen detained at an immigration office on the Thai border town Nong Khai January 30, 2007. Thailand halted the deportation to Laos on Tuesday of 153 Hmong, after they men in the group put up a struggle, the general in charge said.

REUTERS

==============================

Not to forget there are thousands of other Hmong in Thailand refugee camps... hopefully their deportations have stopped completely.

Map locating Petchabun in Thailand where 6,500 refugees from the Hmong ethnic minority in Laos live in a camp. Thailand has said it will not go ahead with plans to send more than 150 Hmong refugees back to neighbouring Laos after dozens of them threatened to commit suicide.

AFP

[chownah]

Of course it was the evil previous government that wanted to force them back to their doom and it is the kind and benevolent present gov't that has saved them from this fate after first making them grovel for their lives.

[sriracha john]

An ethnic Hmong woman, overcome by emotion and exhaustion, is helped off a bus after the deportation of a group of 153 to Laos was called off at the Thai border town Nong Khai January 30, 2007. The deportation of the group of 153 refugees was halted after the men in the group put up a struggle. Thailand will not force Hmong to Laos, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said on Wednesday, a day after Bangkok made a last-minute decision to halt the deportation of 153 refugees on the request of Vientiane. Picture taken on January 30.

REUTERS

Edited January 31, 2007 by sriracha john

[richard10365]

Since this happened as a result of U.S. policy, what does the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok have to say about all of this?

[Prakanong]

Its time for the USA to "Belly up to the bar"

[Krungthepian]

The drama at Nong Khai has not ended. Latest reports from Hmong advocates in the US are that the Hmong are still barricaded in their cells and have not eaten for about two days. Electricity and water has been cut off and the refugees are reportedly very weak. The Thai officials are demanding access and have claimed they must search the cells because of reports the refugees have bombs and weapons. Their contacts abroad are seriously concerned that this is a ploy to save face and plant some illegal substance or items on them .. it follows allegedly unsubstantiated reports last week (Radio Free Asia, I believe but not certain) that up to 1000 of the Hmong at the Huay Nam Khao were involved in drug dealing. So it sounds like more dirty tricks on the local officials here.

Urgent appeals have been sent out to Westn embassies and the UNHCR for observers to be present while the cells are searched, but there seems little chance of that happening, sadly. If it was allowed it might resolve this stand-off very promptly.

Thailand looking bad again, partly by association with the grubby regime across the river.

Little wonder now that the Hmong at Nong Khai IDC are asking why the Thais are treating them like animals.

I truly hope the UNHCR can get some sense into the Thai officials because they are looking like a law unto themselves. All this is happening despite a promise by the prime minister (Surayud) that no Hmong will be forcibly returned.

He needs to get involved again and to remove the imbeciles treating the Hmong this way.

[sriracha john]

Since this happened as a result of U.S. policy, what does the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok have to say about all of this?

I believe their exact words were:

Shhhhhhhh..........

[sriracha john]

Laos demands Hmong deportation

Thailand and Laos are split over the repatriation of 153 Hmong. Vientiane wants the group back but Bangkok is now seeking third countries to take them.

This past weekend, Laos demanded Thailand honour a December 2006 bilateral repatriation agreement and deport the group.

The repatriation of the group planned for January 30 had to be aborted.

The Hmong - including one newborn infant - are housed in a Nong Khai detention centre. The group is resisting deportation and has threatened to commit mass suicide.

On January 30, Hmong women and children were seen being dragged on to buses and lorries. The men tied themselves to detention-centre cell bars.

Laos said Thailand was "ill prepared" to process the group and blamed the intervention of third parties for the aborted repatriation.

"The Lao side requests Thailand continue to ready the group for repatriation and ensure the security of Lao officials who will accompany the group," Laos foreign ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy said in a statement.

Yong issued the statement after Bangkok said it would not force the Hmong home against their will. It will seek third party resettlement.

The Foreign Ministry said earlier Western countries including the United States, Australia and Canada were prepared to accept the group.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has granted the group protection and declared it "persons of concern". It has not provided food and shelter for them.

Members of the group were arrested for illegal entry on November 17 after they escaped from a Ban Huay Nam Khao, Phetchabun shelter.

The Nation

[sriracha john]

Lao Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy(L) talks to Laos-based diplomats during a visit of the Hmong majority village of Na Lau in nothern province of Laos. Laos asked Thailand to deport 153 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos, after their expulsion was suspended in January, despite criticism by the UN refugee agency.

AFP

Laos urges Thailand to deport refugees, despite UN concerns

VIENTIANE - Laos asked Thailand to deport 153 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos, after their expulsion was suspended in January, despite criticism by the UN refugee agency.

"We have concluded an agreement (with Bangkok) for the repatriation of our citizens who entered illegally into Thailand," said the spokesman for the foreign minister, Yong Chantalangsy.

"There is no reason that the agreement should not apply because of interference of third parties."

On January 31, Thailand backed down on a plan to deport the refugees after dozens barricaded themselves inside a detention center and threatened to commit suicide.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Louise Arbour had asked Thailand in December to review the case, saying the refugees risked persecution if they were returned to Laos.

Around 6,500 Hmong people live in a refugee camp in Phetchabun province, also in northeast Thailand, where they are awaiting a diplomatic solution between the neighbors and the possible intervention of a third party to help them.

Some Hmong, a hill tribe people, were allied with the United States during the "Secret War" in Laos that was part of the wider Vietnam conflict and have suffered persecution as a result.

Recently, many others have fled to try and escape rural poverty.

Lao exile groups and human rights activists say unknown numbers of Hmong remain in mountainous jungle areas of Laos, hiding from attacks by the Lao military -- a claim the Laos regime denies.

The Laotian foreign affairs spokesman added: "We have have the ability to work together (with Thailand) to solve the problem once and for all."

- AFP

------------------------

The "once and for all" statement sounds ominous...

[Dupont]

If these were 153 politicians, journalists or western politicians, they would have been out of there in 1 minute flat and out of the country the same day.

Its political will by all concerend ie. there is none.

It would be cheaper all round to put em up in the American Embassy or UN mission until they make a decision. This is costing a fortune to all concerned, far better to let the US take em it.

Shame for them that they are poor and of no use to the US in its war on terror.

[lannarebirth]

If these were 153 politicians, journalists or western politicians, they would have been out of there in 1 minute flat and out of the country the same day.

Its political will by all concerend ie. there is none.

It would be cheaper all round to put em up in the American Embassy or UN mission until they make a decision. This is costing a fortune to all concerned, far better to let the US take em it.

Shame for them that they are poor and of no use to the US in its war on terror.

A lot of disinformation in this thread. Firstly, last year the US took the remaining 14.500 registered Lao Hmong refugees from Wat Tham Krabok and environs. Most of these refugees were not even alive at the time of the Vietnam war, but they took then anyway.

Current Lao Hmong / Lao PDR conflicts center around Hmong wishes to create autonomous economic zones in Lao and their rate of childbirth compared to the existing Lao population. Anyone even peripherally associated with this cause will have participated in a meeting where Hmong leaders propose armed resistance to Lao PDR(fomented by overseas Hmong).

All that said, it is shameful what the Lao PDR continues to do to their native Hmong population. I support compassionate Thais?Americans who continue to help the Hmong cause, and hopefully a compassionate stance will be forthcoming from the Thai government as well. This is no longer a Vietnam war issue.

Edited February 9, 2007 by lannarebirth

[Jai Dee]

Hmong refugees in Thailand to move to Netherlands

Some 22 ethnic Hmong refugees are set to move to the Netherlands, after fleeing Laos to neighboring Thailand where they were at risk of deportation, the UN refugee agency said Friday.

They are among 153 migrants who have been held at a detention centre near the Thai-Laos border since December for illegally entering Thailand.

Communist-ruled Laos on Thursday had again urged Thailand to return the migrants, after a failed attempt to deport them last month resulted in a tense standoff between the refugees and Thai authorities.

Apart from the 22, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was in talks with Australia, Canada and the United States for resettling the remaining Hmong refugees.

"So far 22 people were approved by the Netherlands and they are ready to go to the Netherlands," said Giuseppe de Vincentis, UNHCR deputy regional representative in Bangkok.

"They deserve international protection and should not be deported," he said, warning the Hmong refugees could face risks including "persecution and limitation of freedom" in Laos.

No Thai government spokesman was available for comment.

The 153 Hmong refugees, including 86 children, were to be sent back to Laos in late January.

But 54 men blocked themselves inside cells in the Nong Khai Immigration Detention Center and threatened to commit suicide, forcing the Thai government to call off the deportation.

Source: The Nation - 9 February 2007

[Jai Dee]

Laos's Hmong refugees living in limbo in Thailand

When Lao Teng and his wife, members of Laos' ethnic Hmong minority, fled their homeland last June, they had hoped that they could leave their fear of persecution behind.

Harsh reality quickly set in when they were arrested for illegal entry into Thailand upon their arrival at Huay Nam Khao, where about 8,000 other Hmong refugees have been living in limbo, wondering if their future holds a forced return to Laos.

Thailand classifies them as illegal immigrants despite their claims that they face persecution by the communist government of Laos due to their Vietnam War-era ties with the United States.

Ironically, the U.S. itself has raised a new hurdle to their migration. Post-9/11 anti-terrorism laws have disqualified many Hmong refugees for resettlement, since their guerrilla activity, originally in support of U.S. aims and later in self-defense, technically qualifies them as terrorists.

This would make many ineligible for asylum or green cards, even though in 2000 Congress passed a law easing the citizenship requirements for the Hmong in recognition of their Vietnam-era efforts. Their supporters hope the law can be amended or the Hmong given waivers.

"For far too long, the Hmong people have been dealing with the unintended negative consequences" of U.S. anti-terrorism laws, said Senator Norm Coleman, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Certainly Hmong refugees deserve better than this."

He gave no timetable for if or when the Senate might consider reviewing U.S. policy.

In January, a group of 153 Hmong -- including Lao Teng's brother and two nephews -- were on the verge of being sent back to Laos until last-minute agreements were confirmed with the U.S., Australia, Canada and the Netherlands to consider resettling them.

Smaller groups -- including a batch of 26 children and one adult -- have been quietly sent back in the past few years, generally to unknown fates, though the Lao government says it does not mistreat the Hmong.

The risks of involuntary repatriation seem even greater now, since the Lao government in December said it would officially take back the Hmong, reversing an earlier position.

"I wonder if they will still kill us as soon as we get in. That constant doubt makes it difficult to have a good night's sleep," said Ma Wai. He displayed scars on his shoulder and leg from what he said were gunshot wounds inflicted by Lao soldiers. He slipped into Thailand, along with his wife and uncle, two years ago.

"My uncle was one of the people secretly deported to Laos," he said. "No one has heard from them since they were sent back."

Victims of Vietnam-War-era ties

The Hmong were recruited in the 1960s by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to fight on behalf of a pro-American government, only to find themselves all but abandoned after their communist enemies took over Laos in 1975.

More than 300,000 Laotian refugees, mostly Hmong, managed to flee into Thailand. Most later resettled in the United States and elsewhere, but thousands stayed behind, some adjusting to the new hardline regime and others staying in the jungle, where they faced continuing attacks.

Many lingered in Thai refugee camps. In May 2005, the last major camp was closed, and in what was supposed to be the final big movement of Hmong refugees, some 15,000 were relocated to the United States.

But thousands more slipped through the cracks, coming here to join an unofficial refugee settlement alongside a Thai Hmong community in Phetchabun, 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital, Bangkok.

A few here have documentation proving a direct connection to the ill-fated U.S. war effort in Laos. For the most part, though, the refugees here can only lay tenuous claim to fleeing oppression and a lingering, almost invisible post-1975 conflict with the Lao government.

At most risk of being sent back are relative newcomers such as Lao Teng, 26, and his 24-year-old wife Li Jer, now four months pregnant.

They are among about 50 Hmong who arrived here in the past year and are being detained at the Ta Pon police station. More than 20 of them are under 15 years old, two are pregnant, and they share one bare room with nothing to sleep on but a cement floor.

About 100 others live in tents behind various other police stations in Phetchabun.

Slightly better off are the estimated 8,000 Hmong living in the squalid makeshift refugee settlement set along both sides of a mountainous road. Once integrated into a nearby Thai Hmong community, in June 2005 they were forced out of their established accommodations in an effort to pressure them to return to Laos.

In the immediate aftermath of that move, many were without any housing at all. A two-month-old girl died after she and her family spent a day and a night shelterless under occasional rain.

Now most families live in flimsy makeshift bamboo shacks with thatch roofs, but conditions are still crowded and unhealthy. Despite the circumstances, the community has a birthrate of around 25 children per month.

Some shacks house as many as a dozen people, causing communicable diseases such as flu and diarrhea to spread quickly, according to Margaret Wideau, a representative of the international medical assistance group Medecins Sans Frontieres. In winter, food is scarce.

Restrictions of movement outside the camp make it hard for them to provide for themselves, said Wideau.

Children, some of whom have lived here for more than two years, have no access to education because the only local public school can enroll only students who have Thai citizenship.

"The kids have little future here. The only thing that gets people going is a sense of hope that they will be resettled somewhere and this nightmare will end," Wideau said.

Before repatriation was halted earlier this year, Lao Teng had given up hope for a life free from a threat of persecution in Laos. In an act of desperation, he stabbed himself in the stomach with a four-inch (10-centimeter) nail-cutter and jammed in a fountain pen.

"I would rather die here than go back," he explained afterward. "We will be tortured and killed there. But even if they halt the deportations now, who can tell us when they might resume?"

Source: CNN - 18 May 2007

[Krungthepian]

Good to see CNN getting into this issue, as it desperately needs international attention.

However, their report is outdated a little. It mentions the group of 27 Hmong teenagers snatched just prior to Christmas 2005, that there's been no word on them.

But, after much press behind the scenes and publicly, Laos finally came out in March, I think, and said 'hey, guess what, we've found the 21 girls'.

They held a press conference last month to parade this poor kids in front of the media - on the day before Songkran, when foreign media and diplomats were not aware, I believe.

These girls - mostly young teenagers - had been imprisoned for about 15 months, according to some US Hmong sources. But the Lao govt tried to make it look like they had just found them. And, they refused to allow them to rejoin their parents in Phetchabun. Lao spokesman Mr Yong said - if the families wanted to reunited with their children, the parents have to come back. These girls were handed over to relatives, in Vientiane or other places.

Some people watching this disgusting behaviour have likened it to the government holding these girls as hostages.

Meanwhile, there has been no word on the five boys and the female pastor who disappeared with them.

There have been sporadic reports that some of the boys and girls died. The Fact Finding Commission posted a report a month or two back saying two girls had died, but it appears that one of the two they named is still alive.

On top of all this, the UNHCR sent a high level officer here two weeks ago to check on the Hmong at Nong Khai, plus the Burma camps. Things on the Burma side are reportedly going ok, but there are major concerns re the Hmong at Nong Khai.

The UNHCR's assistant high commissioner for protection, Erika Feller, told a press conference at the FCCT they would like to see the Hmong resettled abroad, as many are listed as "persons of concern".

If that could not happen straight away, they want Thailand to move the Hmong from the cramped facilities at Nong Khai IDC away from the border - and the obvious temptation for Laos to "nip across" and snatch them back.

Ms Feller had talks with both Vientiane and Thailand. However the Lao side appear to now be distorting what occurred during these talks. A senior government member has reported claimed that UNHCR agreed that the 155 at Nong Khai were only "illegal immigrants" - not refugees.

However, if one looks at the UNHCR website, country page for Thailand, it is very obvious, that is hogwash.

Why does Vientiane want these Hmong back so bad?

Hmong groups in the US say it's because the group includes two jungle leaders who could prove a PR nightmare for the Laos if Western media got to them (after being resettled). This was reported in the Nation on May 5.. in the bottom half of the following story.

UN welcomes moves to resettle Burmese refugees

Jim Pollard

The Nation (5-5-07, p4)

Senior United Nations officials have welcomed Thai government moves to allow Burmese refugees to be resettled abroad.

Some 8,700 Burmese refugees have been moved to third countries over the past year and a half, and a further 10,000 are expected to depart this year, according to Erika Feller, the assistant UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Ms Feller, who spoke at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok late on Thursday, said she was “very pleased to see the change in atmosphere at Tham Hin” camp in Kanchanaburi.

The camp was crowded and “was a very depressed place when I toured there two years ago, but it’s changed remarkably”, she told journalists.

“Resettlement has been a major factor in that regard - it has created more space and given people expectancy,” she said.

A downside to the resettlement program was that the camps had lost a lot of teachers and medics, but work was being done to replace those service providers, Ms Feller said.

The assistant commissioner said more than 80,000 Burmese refugees out of the 140,000 or so in camps along the border had been given identity cards recently, and this was also “very positive”.

She urged Thai authorities to pursue plans for the refugees to be able to work in the immediate vicinity of their camps, so they can develop livelihood opportunities and employment skills.

# Ms Feller said she had spoken with Thai and Lao authorities about the 155 Hmong refugees at Nong Khai detention centre.

She said UNHCR was concerned because most of the refugees - about 90 of them - were young children and the facility was “very cramped” and there was little privacy.

“We explored the possibility perhaps to move them away from Nong Khai to a more receptive environment - better for children.”

Ms Feller and UNHCR country representative Hasim Utkan both said the 155 Hmong should be resettled abroad, as many of those at Nong Khai were registered “people of concern” who should not be forcibly returned.

However, she admitted that Vientiane would prefer the Hmong at Nong Khai be “returned home”.

Thai officials are due to discuss the matter with their Lao counterparts in a few weeks time when a bilateral border committee is due to meet.

A move to deport the Hmong at Nong Khai IDC in late January provoked a near riot at the detention centre, with Hmong men barracking themselves inside and threatening to commit mass suicide.

Hmong groups in the US say Vientiane is determined to deport the 155, because it includes two prominent leaders of jungle Hmong groups who have extensive knowledge of massacres and the allegedly brutal campaign to quell the last pockets of Hmong “resistance” in central northern Laos.

Ms Feller said Vientiane feared that if the Hmong were resettled it would create a precedent and a “pull factor” effect encouraging more refugees.

But she was hopeful that a positive humanitarian solution could be found.

===========

The interesting thing one Hmong advocate from the US has claimed that Laos has told Bangkok it will not take any of the Phetchabun Hmong back (7000-8000 people) if Thailand allows teh 155 at Nong Khai to be resettled abroad. That alleged threat has alleged frozen the entire processing of refugees in Thailand.

Reuters carried a report two days ago that UNHCR's operations were "in limbo" because of the situation in regard to Hmong and North Korean refugees.

The big question for some foreign observers watching this fiasco is - when is Thailand going to stand up on its own two feet and do the right thing - instead of allowing itself to be bullied by a regime that many regard as little better than Rangoon.