Lack of transparency thwarted attempts to safeguard Hmong

Bangkok Post 13/01/2010

Since the end of the Indochina conflict in 1975, Thailand has been a generous host to hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict and political persecution in the region. Many of these people endured terrible hardships and literally fled for their lives. These people, and the international community, will be forever grateful that Thailand was there in their time of need.

Shattered hopes: Young Hmong refugees play chess at Huay Nam Khao settlement in this June 11, 2007 picture. On Dec 28, 2009 the refugees, who wanted to be resettled in the US, were deported back to Laos.

Thailand was not left to shoulder this burden alone, however, as international agencies stepped in to construct housing, provide medical services and distribute food. Moreover, almost half a million men, women and children who entered Thailand seeking temporary refuge status have been ultimately resettled in the United States and other countries. Most recently, in 2004-2005, the US resettled 14,000 Laotian Hmong who had been sheltered in a temple at Wat Tham Krabok.

Since that programme, we agreed with the Royal Thai Government to begin large-scale resettlement for the ethnic minority Burmese refugees resident in the nine established camps along the border. Over 50,000 people have left Thailand for new lives in the US since 2005.

It is against this background of historical generosity and cooperation that the US was disappointed at the Thai decision to deport 4,689 Laotian Hmong asylum seekers back to Laos on Dec 28, 2009, despite clear indications that some in the group required protection. The asylum seekers were divided into two groups: 4,531 detained in an army-run camp in Huay Nam Khao, Phetchabun province, and 158 people in an Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Nong Khai province who were recognised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as Persons of Concern.

US congressmen visit Hmong returnees in Laos

The Nation 12/01/2010

Vientiane - Three US congressmen visited Hmong refugees who were deported to Laos from Thailand last month despite international concerns that the returnees would face persecution at home, state media said Monday.

"There is no indication of discrimination or harassment or mistreatment of the people in Phalak village," Eni Faleomavaega, chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, said at a press conference in Vientiane on Saturday.

The Hmong are an ethnic minority group that sided with the US military in its "secret war" against communism in Laos in the 1960s and 1970s. Tens of thousands of Hmong fled to Thailand to after the communist forces took over Laos in 1975.

No refuge here in 2009 for Rohingyas and Hmong

Bangkok Post 09/01/2010

Thailand used to be friendly to us. The fear of being killed made us flee to Thailand, to survive. Now it seems they detain us only so that they can deport us.''

These were the words of a Lao Hmong refugee who spoke to Amnesty International in late 2008, frightened of being forced back to Laos.

One year later, his fears came true. On Dec 28 and 29, 2009, Thai authorities forcibly returned to Laos around 4,500 ethnic minority Hmong. Among them were 158 recognised refugees who had been in arbitrary detention in Nong Khai for three years, despite four countries considering to resettle them. The others, who included asylum-seekers, had been living in a camp in Phetchabun province for several years.

Indeed, after more than three decades of widely recognised generosity in protecting asylum-seekers and refugees, Thailand reversed its course in 2009.

Repatriation of the Hmong at Huay Nam Khao

Bangkok Post 06/01/2010

Although the United States protested against the repatriation, Washington had earlier announced it would not resettle them in the US.

On Monday December 28, 2009, the Thai government began repatriating to Laos the last batch of 4,000 Hmong from Huay Nam Khao refugee camp in Phetchabun province, despite protest from the United States. While the Thai government considers that these Hmong people are migrants who entered this country illegally, the US considers them to be refugees fleeing a communist country.

This photo released by the Royal Thai Army shows a policewoman carrying a Hmong refugee child during the forcible deportation of thousands of ethnic Hmong to Laos from the refugee camp at Huay Nam Khao in Phetchabun province on Dec 28, 2009.

The nexus between migrant and refugee has become blurred in the new millennium. The old concept was that migrants moved voluntarily in order to seek better life opportunities while refugees were those who were forced to migrate due to political reasons. During the decades between 1950 and 1980, these definitions were useful in classifying mobile people in the world.

However, in this age of globalisation when people migrate massively due to complicated and overlapping reasons, the distinction has become uncertain and malfunctional.

No word

The Nation

Thailand Begins Repatriation to Laos of Hmong Migrants

VOA News: 28/12/2009

Move comes despite international concerns that they will face persecution in their home country

The Thai government rejects accusations by the international community that thousands of Lao Hmong refugees were being forcibly sent back to Laos. The Thai military carried out the deportation under tight security.

The deportation of 4,000 Hmong to Laos began in the early hours of Monday with convoys of military trucks and buses ferrying people to the border.

Human rights groups fear the Hmong, who have been held at the Huay Nam Khao refugee camp, will be persecuted once they return to Laos.

The U.S. government called for a suspension of the operation, saying Thailand has violated international humanitarian principles by forcibly returning the Hmong.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn denies that accusation. He says Lao authorities promise to grant amnesty to those returning.

Thailand firm on returning 4,000 Hmong to Laos

Bangkok Post 23/ 12 / 2009

Thailand confirmed on Wednesday it will send more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong back to communist Laos, where they fear persecution, by the year's end -- despite serious international concerns about the move.

Hmong refugees are seen at a Thai detention centre in Nongkhai province, northeastern Thailand near the Thai-Laos border, in 2008. Thailand confirmed Wednesday it will send more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong back to communist Laos, where they fear persecution, by the year's end -- despite serious international concerns about the move.

"It is worrying that while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to feel international pressure, the army is doing the opposite,"

Hmong refugees are seen at a Thai detention centre in Nongkhai province, northeastern Thailand near the Thai-Laos border, in 2008. Thailand confirmed Wednesday it will send more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong back to communist Laos, where they fear persecution, by the year's end -- despite serious international concerns about the move.

The group, held in a camp in Huay Nam Khao in northern Phetchabun province, are seeking political asylum based on claims they face persecution from the Lao regime because they fought alongside US forces during the Vietnam War.

"Thailand will complete repatriation of the Hmongs at Huay Nam Khao within 2009 because that is the government policy as discussed with Laos," said defence ministry spokesman Colonel Thanathip Sawangsaeng.

The confirmation came despite recent ministerial talks on the issue with Bangkok-based diplomats and a senior US delegation to Thailand.