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Dealing with the Hmong, without the UNHCRBy ACHARA ASHAYAGACHATThe arrest of a Hmong general for seeking to topple the Laotian government will have no bearing on the plight of some 7, 700 Hmong refugees at Ban Huay Nam Khao in Phetchabun province. The position of the Thai authorities on this matter has been clear for some time: the Hmong will be sent back to
Laos, sooner or later. Another clear point is that the Kingdom of
Thailand and the Lao People's Democratic Republic would rather settle the complicated issue of the Hmong ethnic people in a mutually favourable manner, rather than invite the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to intervene.
The repatriation of 31 Hmong illegal immigrants into the custody of Laotian authorities (on condition the safety and dignity of this ethnic group is assured) through
Nong Khai checkpoint following the May 18 meeting has finally eliminated even the minimal mistrust
Laos may have felt towards
Thailand, according to Nipat Thonglek, head of the Department of Military Border Affairs.
The Foreign Ministry has as yet made no official comment regarding Monday's arrest in the United
States of General Vang Pao and nine other plotters, though ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat was pleased for the Laotian authorities.
He said security authorities would check to see if there had indeed been plans to transport weapons into
Laos through Thai territory, as reported in the news.
''We affirm that
Thailand will not allow any party to conduct any kind of activity which will affect the security of our neighbouring countries, either on Thai territory or by using
Thailand as a passage for such activities, '' Mr Tharit said.
Thai-Lao efforts to deal with the Hmong at Ban Huay Nam Khao over the past two years should finally begin to see a conclusion. ''They will be moved to a new place, about two kilometres from the current site, by the end of this month. They will be classified into family groups. Their lodgings will be equipped with water services, '' said Lt-Gen Nipat.
He added that Lao deputy chief-of-staff Brig-Gen Buaxiang Champaphanh had informed
Thailand that
Laos would conduct a large-scale public relations campaign to combat any illegal trafficking of Lao and other ethnic groups into
Thailand and further on to third countries.
''They will create economic opportunities for their citizens by providing training and education as well as arable land. The approach is similar to what
Thailand did in the '80s to bring back communist sympathisers from the jungle, '' Lt-Gen Nipat said.
The so-called ''screening mechanism'' used to identify illegal immigrants from the ill-intentioned persons or khon bor dee would be finished soon, he said, but stopped short of saying when the repatriation to
Laos would start and when the process would be completed.
Lao government spokesman Yong Chantalangsy said news of the arrest of Gen Vang Pao _ who had helped the US Central Intelligence Agency in the ''secret war'' against the communist Pathet Lao before the fall of
Vientiane in 1975 _ should put paid to the intentions of human trafficking groups, which have been luring ethnic people from
Laos into
Thailand on the promise of resettlement in the United
States.
Although the big picture is now clearer, a small thorny issue in Thai-Lao relations remains the 155 Hmong, including two newborn babies detained at
Nong Khai immigration centre, whose fate remains unclear.
These people escaped from Ban Huay Nam Khao late last year and were arrested in
Bangkok before being handed over to
Nong Khai authorities for deportation. But due to international criticism, the Thai and Lao authorities have agreed to put the repatriation on hold for humanitarian reasons. ''The status of the 155 Hmong remains unchanged. They are illegal immigrants and subject to repatriation to their homeland. However, they have UNHCR status as persons of concern (PoC) and the Thai government will find a discreet solution to this matter, '' Lt-Gen Nipat said.
According to diplomatic sources, Assistant High Commissioner Erika Feller of the UN refugee agency was informed by Virasakdi Futrakul, the permanent secretary for foreign affairs, and by senior Lao officials during her visit to the two countries early last month that the two countries would solve the Hmong problem bilaterally, and that the UNHCR should no longer further issue PoC cards to the Hmong.
Giuseppe de Vincentis, deputy representative of the UNHCR in
Bangkok, said it was still too early to comment on the impact of the news of Gen Vang Pao's arrest on the Hmong displaced people in Phetchabun.
The UNHCR's role in the matter of these Hmong would be clearer once the Thai government finished its screening process and shared the information, he said.
''On humanitarian grounds, we believe the return of the Hmong to
Laos is not an option and I hope the Hmong at
Nong Khai detention centre will be able to start a new life [in a third country] as several countries have expressed their readiness to accept them, '' the UN official said.
The US Patriot Act and the Real ID Act, together with remarks from senior US officials, had made it clear even before Gen Vang Pao's arrest that no further Hmong would be given US citizenship.
Without the US promise to support Hmong relatives of the
CIA-sponsored fighters, there should be no ''pull factor'' to attract more Hmong into
Thailand, sources noted.
''We also hope that those working in
Australia will not seize the vacuum to persuade the Hmong to resettle in their country, '' the sources said.
Australia is home to some 2, 000 Hmong, who now form the smallest and newest ethnic group in
Australia's 18 million population.
Since the late 1970s, the US has resettled approximately 250, 000 Lao nationals. Of these, approximately 145, 000 were
highland Lao, the majority of whom were Hmong, according to the US State Department.
''We have repeatedly stated that the US is not planning to open any new large-scale refugee resettlement programme for the Hmong, but we are willing to consider for refugee resettlement any individual who is referred to the US Refugee Admissions Programme by the UNHCR, '' a US official stated earlier. So far no UNHCR programme has been launched specifically for the Hmong.
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