Thailand Starts Repatriating Hmong People

[webfact]

Thailand starts repatriating Hmong people

Thai security agencies Monday morning began the repatriation of Hmong displaced people from the refugee camp in Phetchabun, the Defence Ministry spokesman said.

Col Thanatip Sawangsaeng, the Defence Ministry spokesman, said soldiers, police and Interior Ministry officials started repatriating the Hmong people from the Ban Huey Nam Khao centre in Khaokho district. He said only those, who volunteered to return to Laos, were repatriated since early morning.

He said some Hmong were still hesitating and others wanted to wait to be resettled in a third country.

The Hmong people, who volunteered to leave, were transported in military trucks to the 3red Cavalry Division in Phetchabun's Lomsak district and they would be transported in buses to a border checkpoint in Nong Khai and further transported to Paksun in Laos.

-- The Nation 2009/12/28

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Credo]

Interesting that need so much military involvement for a 'voluntary' repatriation. This government does a lot of lying, but it's not very good at it.

[Thai at Heart]

Once again, Thailand covers itself in glory when dealing with refugees from a neighbouring country. At least this time, they go home by army truck instead of being towed off into the sea.

[webfact]

Thailand begins final repatriation of ethnic Hmong to Laos

PHETCHABUN, Dec 28 (TNA) - Thailand early Monday morning began repatriation processing of more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong to Laos, with the expectation of completing the movement by the end of the day, with the empty ethnic Hmong camp in Thailand to soon be formally closed.

Col Thana Charuwat, coordinator of the operation, told reporters at an army centre 12 kilometres from Huay Nam Khao, an ethnic Hmong camp in the northern province of Phetchabun that the operation began at 5.30am with 5,000 Thai Army troops assisting.

He said the soldiers were unarmed, but equipped with shields and batons to prevent violent resistance by some Hmong who may refuse to be deported.

If the camp residents still resist, the authorities will force them to return to Lao.

The authorities indicated that 4,506 Hmong are be deported from the camp, Reportedly 2,100 have agreed to be sent back while 2406 remain unwilling, and Thai officials are trying to persuade them.

Col Thana, affirming that the repatriation process would be carried out in accordance with international standards, said the operation was expected to last only one day.

A TNA reporter at the army centre at Khek Noi, the furthest point media were allowed, witnessed trucks filled with soldiers en route to the Hmong camp.

Col Thana said the Hmong group would be removed from Huay Nam Khao camp by truck to Phokun Pha Muang military base near Phetchabun town before transferring by bus to immigration headquarters in Nong Khai before crossing the Mekong River border to Laos at the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier asserted that the repatriation of ethnic Hmong to Laos would be carried out under human rights principles and legal procedures.

The premier said Thailand has clear principles on the matter and would have no problem to clarifiy the issue to the international community.

Thailand claims most of the Hmong at the camp have no legitimate claim to refugee status, but are simply economic migrants who have entered the country illegally.

Many men among the Hmong helped the United States and Thailand as soldiers fighting against the Communist Pathet Lao (Lao Peoples' Army) during the Indochina War in the 1960s and 1970s.

After the Communist victory, many Hmong fled their places of birth and settled in the US and other western countries, while many remain in Thailand and are reluctant to return to their homeland for fear that the Lao government might persecute them. (TNA)

-- TNA 2009/12/28

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[webfact]

REPATRIATION OF HMONGS

Thai army deports Hmong despite international concerns

By Deutsche Presse Agentur

Bangkok - Thailand on Monday began deporting 4,000 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos despite international appeals to the government to reconsider the involuntary repatriation to an uncertain future.

The first batch of 442 Hmong were taken from Huay Nam Khao camp in Phetchabun province at 9:30 am (0230 GMT) to buses that will carry them to Nong Khai province where they will cross the Mekong River on the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge into neighbouring Laos, said Thai Army Colonel Thana Jaruwat, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command.

The remaining 3,600 have thus far refused to leave the camp peacefully, he said.

"We will try to convince them to leave on their own will but if they refuse we will enforce the law," Thana said.

Thailand has never recognized the Hmong at Huay Nam Khao, 280 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, as refugees but instead has classified them as illegal migrants, who, according to Thai law can be expelled without bringing charges against them, Thana said. Officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), other human rights workers and journalists were held several kilometres away from the camp to prevent outsiders from observing the mass deportation operation.

"If the Hmong see journalists they will do themselves harm to make a scene and we don't want that," Thana said.

The US government, the UNHCR and the European Union all urged the Thai government to reconsider its deportation plans but to no avail.

"This is unfortunate and indefensible and we're very concerned about it," said Eric Schwartz, the US assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, in a telephone interview with the German Press Agency dpa.

Thailand and Laos agreed months ago that the Hmong at Huay Nam Khao camp must be deported by year-end. The Lao government announced on state TV Sunday night that the returning Hmong will be treated humanely.

"The government of Laos has a great opportunity now to demonstrate a policy of humanitarian treatment for those who have returned," Schwartz said.

Preparation for the mass deportation began last week when the Thai army, which controls Huay Ban Khao, confiscated all sharp objects and mobile phones from the 4,000 Hmong residents, some of whom have lived in the camp since 2004 hoping to be resettled in third countries.

The Hmong, an ethnic minority which has inhabited the mountainous northern region of Laos for centuries, were recruited as guerrilla fighters by the US military in its "secret war" against communist forces in Laos.

The communists prevailed in 1975, and the Hmong were left behind. Unknown thousands fled to neighbouring Thailand since 1975 and sought resettlement abroad.

In 2003, the US agreed to take 14,000 Hmong who had lived for years at Tham Krabok temple in north-east Thailand. Since then, some 8,000 more Hmong sought refuge in Thailand, claiming persecution at home.

About 3,000 refugees returned to Laos voluntarily in 2008-09. Thailand insists the remainder must be deported to prevent the country from being a magnet for more Hmong migration.

"There are ways to try to discourage economic migrants but you cannot decide by fiat one day that people are going to stop crossing the border when they need protection," Schwartz said.

Besides Hmong, Thailand has attracted more than 1.5 million refugees from Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam over the past four decades.

|The Thai government has been criticised for not allowing UNHCR to determine the Hmong's eligibility for refugee status.

At least 158 former Huay Nam Khao residents, now in a detention centre in Nong Khai, have been classified as "people of concern" by the UN agency.

Despite claims of concern, no foreign country has expressed interest in accepting the Huay Nam Khao community.

To date, the Lao government has not invited the UNHCR to work in the country, nor to monitor the Hmong repatriation process, although foreign embassy staff in Vientiane have been brought to resettlement camps where some of the 3,000 Hmong who returned have ended up.

-- The Nation 2008/12/28

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[Tod Daniels]

Officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), other human rights workers and journalists were held several kilometres away from the camp to prevent outsiders from observing the mass deportation operation.

So much for "transparency". ..

[Bizz]

i can see

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thailand-Sta...ef-t325244.html

[Bizz]

i need help in understanding this,

as i can see do a lot of other people in Thailand

[brahmburgers]

When impoverished hill tribe people hear that some of their brethren were allowed to go to the fabled USA, then (for them) it's a sure lure to want to try to go there also.

Chances are, those that were able to go to the States were given monthly stipends (welfare), plus food stamps, and probably an ok roof over their heads. Additionally, immigrants to the US get job opportunities which pay about twenty to forty times what a base job would pay in Laos. There are probably additional lures for hill tribers being patriated to a place in the US, including educational opportunities.

Considering that playing the game entails making it appear as though one were persecuted, it's no surprise that stories of imminent persecution are in the cards. I personally know dozens of hill tribe folks in my area who, if offered the slightest chance to reside in the States with the percs mentioned above, would do just about anything to qualify.

The people I know are living in dark hovels at the very fringes of society, with no power source, and one small black plastic wash tub the only sink/tub/bathing facility for several families, with water having to be hauled up a steep hill by hand from hundreds of meters away. With luck, one out of ten people has some sort of minimal gig that scrapes together 500 baht/week. Those same folks, many of whom living in Thailand, have no prospect for ID cards, so cannot own a motorcycle, get a license to drive, own property, go to university - they can't even travel from one town to another without prior formal government approval. Plus, they can get fined if found anywhere outside their immediate district. Are they better off than the Hmong in detention?

Edited December 28, 2009 by brahmburgers

[mrtoad]

Officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), other human rights workers and journalists were held several kilometres away from the camp to prevent outsiders from observing the mass deportation operation.

So much for "transparency". ..

I guess when they know that they are acting on the very fringes of the law, then there is a need to keep certain people away. This really is a very poor image of The Thai government and how it has treated these refugees, although of course there are certain other countries that should be equally ashamed of the treatment of the Hmong. Anyway, Thailand has made The Headlines on the BBC website, so sure they will be pleased with that.

[Oberkommando]

The second large scale scandal involving refugees under this government's watch.

Besides Hmong, Thailand has attracted more than 1.5 million refugees from Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam over the past four decades.

The Thai government has been criticised for not allowing UNHCR to determine the Hmong's eligibility for refugee status.

As usual, Thailand makes up new rules or simply ignores the ones it doesn't like.

I would like to see what sort of rights, if any, these 1.5 million refugees have or have had in Thailand, providing they made it to Thailand, and weren't murdered by the authorities in the process as a result of atrocities such as the Preah Vihear Massacre, and more recently, the murders at sea hundreds of Rohingya by the Thai Army ISOC.

[peterallard]

Hmong are a bright and energetic people. Why they are an international pariah remains a mystery to me. Yes, they have added to the welfare rolls in the United States, but they have also added to the political and economic vibrancy of my state (California). They are more an addition, rather than a subtraction, to the welfare of any state. My wish is that Thailand takes the lead in offering these beset-upon and energetic people an opportunity to add to the wonderful mix that is Thailand.

[webfact]

DEPORTATION OF HMONGS

Laos assures safety of Hmong deportees

Vientiane - Communist Laos guaranteed the safety of some 4,000 Hmong refugees whom the Thai government began to forcefully deport across the border Monday, state media reports said.

Brigadier General Bouasieng Champaphanh, chairman of the Lao-Thai general border sub-committee, "assured the world of the returnees' safety," the state-owned Vientiane Times reported.

"The Lao government is ready to welcome back all the remaining illegal migrants and everything is in place for their return," Bouasieng said.

Thailand began to deport 4,000 Lao-Hmong from Huay Nam Khao camp in Phetchabun province on Monday, despite international appeals to halt the process.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the US government and the European Union have expressed concerns that the Hmong, an ethnic minority group that sided with the US military in their "secret war" against communism in Laos in the 1960s-70s, could be in danger if forced to return to their homeland.

"The concerns raised are only those created by subversive elements who seek to tarnish the Lao government's policy and guidance," Bouasieng said.

Thailand and Laos agreed to repatriate the refugees from the Huay Nam Khao camp and 158 other refugees from Nong Khai province by the end of the year, as a means of discouraging future Hmong migration to Thailand.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Hmong fled to Thailand after communist forces took power in Laos in 1975. Most of them sought resettlement in the US. The US government took a final batch of some 14,000 Hmong from Tham Krabok temple, Saraburi province, in 2003.

Since then, as many as 8,000 other Hmong fled to Thailand, where authorities classified them as "economic migrants" rather than refugees, and placed them in Huay Nam Khao camp, 280 kilometres north-east of Bangkok.

In 2008-09, some 3,173 Hmong from the camp "volunteered" to return to Laos, where the government claims they have been reunited with family members of given land to settle on by the government.

"There is nothing to worry about. All those who would be repatriated this week would receive similar assistance package to previous returnees," Bouasieng said. "Until now, no one has been jailed, killed or penalized in any way."

Vientiane has allowed foreign diplomats and journalists to visit the Hmong resettlement villages on several occasions, albeit with official supervision.

The Lao government, one of the world's last communist regimes, has not allowed the UNHCR to set up an office in Vientiane to monitor the resettlement process for the Hmong, who claim to be persecuted.

The UNHCR has classified the 158 Hmong in Nong Khai as "people of concern." It remains unclear whether the government will allow the UNHCR to resettle them once they have been deported back to Laos.

-- The Nation 2009/12/28

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[webfact]

Thai PM: Deportation of ethnic Hmong to Laos conducted without resistance

BANGKOK, Dec 28 (TNA) Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday reaffirmed that the repatriation process for more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong to Laos was carried out without resistance and that the Lao authorities have reasserted that they will have a better life in returning to their places of birth.

The premier commented as the second batch of the Hmong minority departees, some 366 persons, left Huay Nam Khao camp in the northern province of Phetchabun province for deportation to Laos, after the first group of 442 persons left before dawn.

The operation began at 5.30am with 5,000 unarmed Thai Army troops assisting the move.

The remaining 3,698 persons were expected to be deported within Monday.

Mr Abhisit reasserted that the deportation processing has been conducted without any resistance from the Hmong as the Thai authorities have create good understanding to them.

Thailand also coordinated with Lao authorities and has been reaffirmed that the deported persons will be provided a better living condition there, including several thousands Hmongs who had been earlier deported to the neighbouring country, said Mr Abhisit.

"Regarding 100 ethnic Hmongs in Nong Khai province who have received refugee status," said the Thai premier. "The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has sent its representatives to interview them for deportation to a third country."

Mr Abhisit said Thailand has coordinated with the United States to directly contact the Lao government if it is willing to provide shelter to the Hmong as Vientiane would welcome such a request.

Meanwhile Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Monday that the deportation was carried out in accordance with an agreement between the governments of the two countries.

Thai Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda said Thailand must complete the operation by December 319 as required in the agreement made by the two countries.

Gen Anupong said the Thai army has handled the matter gently without violence.

“If the deportation is not carried out, Thailand will face the problems of illegal entry to the kingdom and insufficient farming land," said Gen Anupong.

Thai authorities earlier indicated that a total of 4,506 Hmong are to be deported from the camp.

Thailand claims that most of the Hmong have no legitimate claim to refugee status, but are simply economic migrants who have entered the country illegally.

Many Hmong men helped the United States and Thailand as soldiers fighting against the Communist Pathet Lao (Lao Peoples' Army) during the Indochina War in the 1960s and 1970s.

After the Communist victory, many Hmong fled their places of birth and settled in the US and other western countries, while many remain in Thailand and are reluctant to return to their homeland for fear that the Lao government might persecute them. (TNA)

-- TNA 2009/12/28

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[miguel3x]

The authorities indicated that 4,506 Hmong are be deported from the camp

Deportation of illegal aliens seems to be pretty common amongst most nations of the world.

The USA, for example, deports 1,200 illegal Mexicans every day.

[Thailand]

5,000 troops to oversee a voluntary repatriation -hmmmm.

Mother? & daughter? in the picture look as if they were going of their own accord -not!

[DegenFarang]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/as...l?th&emc=th

There is a much better article about it. I don't understand so many parts of the governments actions. Why not allow foreign governments access to these people to see if they can be granted asylum? I can't think of any reason other than simply loathing these people.

[gbswales]

The authorities indicated that 4,506 Hmong are be deported from the camp

Deportation of illegal aliens seems to be pretty common amongst most nations of the world.

The USA, for example, deports 1,200 illegal Mexicans every day.

I agree and the world - including the US and the UK should be thoroughly ashamed of this fact. I see no reason for anyone being tied to the country that they were born in - we are all born in the world. Migration and movement around the world is the most natural way I can think of to redistribute the worlds wealth and to share the earths dwindling resources more equally

It could also help the planets ecology - Take the simple example of rainforests - if there were fewer people living in the countries guarding these essential resources then there would be less need to cut them down to support the population - Of course a lot of us would end up with a lot less of the unecessary wealth that we have and many more would share a better life - why are we so selfish about this?

I dread to think how we will react if extra-terrestial life is discovered - forget the cosy image in close encounters of the third kind - we would quickly devise ways to send them back to their own planet where they belong - unless they turned out to be wealthy of course!

Mexicans like the Hmong are NOT ILLEGAL ALIENS but fellow human beings living on the same planet as us

Edited December 28, 2009 by gbswales

[BSJ]

Post 13: Vientiane - Communist Laos guaranteed the safety of some 4,000 Hmong refugees whom the Thai government began to forcefully deport across the border Monday, state media reports said.

There you go, everything should be OK!

[Netfan]

BBC (tv) is playing this up; its one of their lead stories. Sad story, shows the rest of the world Thailand isn't always the LOS, and the people who made the decision to carry the move out are pretty cold-hearted.

[webfact]

UN refugees agency calls on Thai govt to stop deporting thousands of ethnic Hmong to Laos, pointing out that some are genuine refugees

-- TNA 2009/12/28

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[dumball]

4,000 some 'Illegals' being deported willingly , assisted by 5,000 UNARMED soldiers that just happen to be carrying SHIELDS AND BATONS , sounds like fairly adjusted thinking , for whom I know not .

[webfact]

Repatriation of Laos' ethnic Hmong finishing late Monday

NONGKHAI, Dec 28 (TNA) - The removal of the last of Thailand’s long-term ethnic Hmong refugee population to Laos from Phetchabun was expected to be complete late Monday, with the official ceremony handing over the returnees will take place Tuesday at Bolikhamsai province's Paksan City, hundreds of miles from their former homes in the north of the Lao PDR.

Thai Army Gen Worapong Sanganetra, Deputy Chief of Joint Staff, chief coordinator of the operation and Lt-Gen Nipat Thonglek, chief of the Army's Border Affairs Department, had checked the readiness of the operation at the northeastern Thai Mekong River province of Nongkhai before the handover ceremony on Tuesday at 10am.

A total of 4,381 ethnic Hmong from Huay Nam Khao in Petchabun province are being deported to Laos.

The first batch of 448 Hmong arrived Nongkhai late Monday afternoon with successive truckloads arriving in the evening. The last batch was expected in Nong Khai at 3am Tuesday.

All will be transferred to Paksan, capital of Bolikhamsai province, after crossing via the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge awaiting the handover ceremony.

Gen Worapong said the operation was running smoothly without resistance. He said the Lao government officials had given assurances regarding the safety of the returnees and would take good care of them.

The Lao authorities were to take 30 days to inspect the documents of the Hmong entitled to resettle in third countries before allowing them to travel to their destinations, he said.

Meanwhile, a Lao official said that the paperwork for the returnees was expected to last one week and then all of them would be sent to their own homes.

If anyone did not want to go to their former homes, the Laos government had prepared locations for them to stay in Bolikhamsai province and in and around Vientiane, the Lao capital.

The government would also provide necessary equipment and financial support during the first year of resettlement.

Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Kasit Piromya said the deportation was done due to Thailand's confidence in Laos which had given assurances that the ethnic Hmong would be safe after returning to their motherland.

Thailand also have full confidence in the closed bilateral cooperation between the two nations, he said.

He said Thailand did not sent the Hmong to be persecuted in Laos but to help them to have a better life, and that this could be proved after seeing that the 3,000-4,000 ethnic Hmong who were repatriated earlier have enjoyed a better standard of living.

Thailand also announced its readiness to finance projects to the develop quality of life of both Lao and Hmong people, he said.

Mr Kasit said it was unacceptable for him if someone said that they did not believe the Lao leaders' promise to take good care of the returnees.

The repatriation of the Hmong to Laos began on May 25, 2007 when more than 3,000 were deported in 19 operations.

Thailand claims most of the Hmong at the camp have no legitimate claim to refugee status, but are simply economic migrants who have entered the country illegally. (TNA)

Last Update : 19:15:47 28 December 2009 (GMT+7:00)

-- TNA 2009/12/28

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[reallyok]

DEPORTATION OF HMONGS

Laos assures safety of Hmong deportees

Vientiane - Communist Laos guaranteed the safety of some 4,000 Hmong refugees whom the Thai government began to forcefully deport across the border Monday, state media reports said.

Brigadier General Bouasieng Champaphanh, chairman of the Lao-Thai general border sub-committee, "assured the world of the returnees' safety," the state-owned Vientiane Times reported.

"The Lao government is ready to welcome back all the remaining illegal migrants and everything is in place for their return," Bouasieng said.

Thailand began to deport 4,000 Lao-Hmong from Huay Nam Khao camp in Phetchabun province on Monday, despite international appeals to halt the process.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the US government and the European Union have expressed concerns that the Hmong, an ethnic minority group that sided with the US military in their "secret war" against communism in Laos in the 1960s-70s, could be in danger if forced to return to their homeland.

"The concerns raised are only those created by subversive elements who seek to tarnish the Lao government's policy and guidance," Bouasieng said.

Thailand and Laos agreed to repatriate the refugees from the Huay Nam Khao camp and 158 other refugees from Nong Khai province by the end of the year, as a means of discouraging future Hmong migration to Thailand.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Hmong fled to Thailand after communist forces took power in Laos in 1975. Most of them sought resettlement in the US. The US government took a final batch of some 14,000 Hmong from Tham Krabok temple, Saraburi province, in 2003.

Since then, as many as 8,000 other Hmong fled to Thailand, where authorities classified them as "economic migrants" rather than refugees, and placed them in Huay Nam Khao camp, 280 kilometres north-east of Bangkok.

In 2008-09, some 3,173 Hmong from the camp "volunteered" to return to Laos, where the government claims they have been reunited with family members of given land to settle on by the government.

"There is nothing to worry about. All those who would be repatriated this week would receive similar assistance package to previous returnees," Bouasieng said. "Until now, no one has been jailed, killed or penalized in any way."

Vientiane has allowed foreign diplomats and journalists to visit the Hmong resettlement villages on several occasions, albeit with official supervision.

The Lao government, one of the world's last communist regimes, has not allowed the UNHCR to set up an office in Vientiane to monitor the resettlement process for the Hmong, who claim to be persecuted.

The UNHCR has classified the 158 Hmong in Nong Khai as "people of concern." It remains unclear whether the government will allow the UNHCR to resettle them once they have been deported back to Laos.

-- The Nation 2009/12/28

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

Can anyone explain, why on earth would the LAO govt want these people back for any other reason than to punish them ????

[reallyok]

The authorities indicated that 4,506 Hmong are be deported from the camp

Deportation of illegal aliens seems to be pretty common amongst most nations of the world.

The USA, for example, deports 1,200 illegal Mexicans every day.

Miguel.........wake up man. This is a completely different situation. Those Mexicans are purely in the USA for economic reasons. They have "Never" fought a war on America's behalf against the Mexican government.............they are purely there for the almighty dollar. When they are repatriated they just go back to their usual life, they will not be hunted down, tortured and raped by the Mexican authorities.

[PeaceBlondie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091228/ap_on_..._thailand_hmong

[miguel3x]

The authorities indicated that 4,506 Hmong are be deported from the camp

Deportation of illegal aliens seems to be pretty common amongst most nations of the world.

The USA, for example, deports 1,200 illegal Mexicans every day.

This is a completely different situation. Those Mexicans are purely in the USA for economic reasons. They have "Never" fought a war on America's behalf against the Mexican government.

The "secret war" ended a long time ago in 1975. Hundreds of thousands of Hmong that participated in it at the time have been resettled in other countries. This current group are described by many as being here for economic reasons with no demonstrable ties to the war participants.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091228/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_hmong

Even if, for the sake of argument, they are political refugees, the expectation that a third world country like Thailand will house and support thousands of refugees for years is unrealistic. If they were political refugees, the answer is movement to another country, but the above article tells how the USA really feels about their asserted political refugee status:

"Washington has said it has no plans to resettle more of them in the U.S."

Is it a sad situation? Yes. Economic refugees are a sad situation wherever they are in the world. But keeping them in Thailand is not the answer. Resettlement to the West or repatriation back to Laos are the viable options and the USA has already stated its policy on the former.

[Credo]

The U.S. government will generally not acknowledge the number or it's willingness to take a particular group of people, for some very obvious reasons, such as creating a situation in which huge numbers start to leave. The Hmong, like any other group, would qualify for resettlement in the U.S. once they are screened and their asylum status is confirmed.

Once they are screened the UN will refer them to resettlement countries. If they have family in a particular country (such as the U.S. or Australia) then that is where they are referred. Many who may not qualify for refugee status are still permitted resettlement under the family reunification policy. They do not go as refugees, but as an immigrant. Their families are responsible for their financial care.

Most of them would probably be refugees simply because they are members of a specially targetted group.

[BourneYellow]

The "secret war" ended a long time ago in 1975. Hundreds of thousands of Hmong that participated in it at the time have been resettled in other countries. This current group are described by many as being here for economic reasons with no demonstrable ties to the war participants.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091228/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_hmong

Even if, for the sake of argument, they are political refugees, the expectation that a third world country like Thailand will house and support thousands of refugees for years is unrealistic. If they were political refugees, the answer is movement to another country, but the above article tells how the USA really feels about their asserted political refugee status:

"Washington has said it has no plans to resettle more of them in the U.S."

Resettlement to the West or repatriation back to Laos are the viable options and the USA has already stated its policy on the former.

True, the Lao civil war ended in 1975 but that does not mean all people are safe and life goes back to normal. Those that fought against the Pathet Lao (communist side) were hunted down or arrested by Lao and Vietnamese officers. This include Lao Hmongs, ethnic Laotians, and any other groups of people fighting against the government. Contrary to Yahoo sources, some of those refugees are indeed political refugees AND some may still have some direct or indirect ties to the secret war in Lao.

The refugee policy at that time screened people to see if they were fit for third country repatriation. In other words, they screened to see if they were indeed political refugees and were able to contribute to the third country. The latter suggests and did act upon brain drain. When those refugee find sponsors, they were able to start a new life in the third country, save money, and buy tickets for their friends or family. Those political refugees with kinship ties were able to escape the refugee camps, but this is to say that not all political refugees were capable of resettlement. In Thailand, if they fail to pass political refugee status, then they are considered an "economic refugee." This process is a bit questionable and does not fully represent those that are truly indeed political refugees.

On US policy of Indochinese refugees, the US is still accepting those refugees. They aren't taking as much as they did in the past but they surely are still accepting more refugees. In addition to this, the US "has no plans to resettle more of them in the U.S." but they are not limited to this policy for the near future. If there is enough coverage and pressure, the U.S. will probably not change its overall polilcy but make exceptions to increase refugee resettlement into the US.

[sunsamourai]

Thailand Starts Repatriating Hmong People

shame on Thailand