Rights groups: Thailand's Hmong expulsion imminent

By JOCELYN GECKER
The Associated Press
Sunday, December 27, 2009; 2:17 AM

BANGKOK -- The Thai government said it would not disclose the timing for its expulsion of 4,000 ethnic Hmong to Laos, but human rights groups warned it could begin as early as Sunday evening and degenerate into violence.

The Hmong, an ethnic minority group from Laos' rugged mountains, are being held at a camp in northern Phetchabun province.

They say they fear political persecution in Laos, where many Hmong fought on the side of a pro-U.S. Lao government in the 1960s and '70s before the communist takeover of their country in 1975.

The United States and human rights groups have expressed concern about their expulsion, saying some of the Hmong could qualify for refugee status and should not be sent back.

Laos denies the Hmong are Lao citizens, describing them as Thailand's problem. Thai authorities say the group of Hmong in Phetchabun are "economic migrants" who have entered the country illegally and are not legitimate refugees.

"We are not disclosing the operation time for security and safety purposes," said Thai government spokesman Panitan Watanayagorn. But he referred to an agreement with Laos to "repatriate the Hmong by the end of the year providing the repatriation process is handled with order and according to human rights standards."

Human Rights Watch, one of several rights groups monitoring the situation, said the deportation was expected to begin late Sunday or early Monday, noting that soldiers, police and other security personnel were mobilized near the camp and told to wear body armor. There also were reports that 100 trucks and buses were standing by.

Sunai Phasuk, a Thai representative for New York-based Human Rights Watch, said mobile phone signals inside the camp had been jammed so nobody could call out. Rights groups fear the Hmong will resist the deportation, as they have during smaller-scale repatriations.

"It never happens smoothly," Sunai said. "If the Hmong resist it and there is an eruption of violence, the army may react in full force."

The Thai government has sought to quiet international concerns, saying measures will be taken to assure that human rights are not violated.

"We have assurances from the top level of Laos that these people will be safe and sound," Panitan said.

The U.S. State Department has urged Thailand not to hastily expel the entire group, noting that in the past the Thai government has said many of them are in need of protection. Acting spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement Thursday that to repatriate such people would "imperil the well-being of many individuals" and violate international principles.

Toner said the U.S. had raised the issue many times with Bangkok, most recently this week during the visit of a senior State Department official.

© 2009 The Associated Press

Thai military set to deport ethnic Hmong

 Updated Monday, December 28, 2009 10:35 am TWN, AFP

 BANGKOK -- The Thai military was ready Sunday to begin forcibly repatriating 4,000 ethnic Hmong to communist Laos, despite global protests over a deportation that could “turn ugly”, activists said.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that armed forces had been mobilized for the expulsion on Monday from a camp in northern Phetchabun province, where the asylum-seeking Hmong are being held.

“I have heard from local officials that they expect the Hmong will resist deportation attempts. And that can turn ugly,” HRW Thailand analyst Sunai Phasuk told AFP.

Thailand's Third Army chief Major General Thanongsak Apirakyothin has arrived in Phetchabun to supervise the operation and “said the army was ready and could start 'cleaning up' the camp anytime,” he added.

The first “wave of action” to clear the asylum seekers would happen Sunday night and the deportation would begin on Monday morning, Sunai said in an earlier email to AFP.

“During that (period), mobile phone (signals) will be jammed to prevent the Hmong from contacting outsiders. More than 100 buses and trucks are put on standby,” he said.

The only aid group assisting the Hmong, the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR), was on Sunday refused entry by the army in Khek Noi village, about 12 kilometers from the camps.

“As of this morning their access to the camps was denied but their staff are still waiting,” said Tomoo Hozumi, Thailand representative for the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), which supports COERR.

The 4,000 Hmong are seeking asylum based on claims that they face persecution from the Laotian regime for fighting alongside U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.