Samak, Thailand Crisis: Over 800 Hmong Forcibly Repatriated to Laos
The brutal and bloody crackdown apparently orderd by Prime Minister Samak, and elements of the Thai military, on peaceful Hmong refugee protestors and marchers threatens to create tensions in Washington, D.C. The forced repatriation of the Hmong comes just after the recent introduction by U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Congressman Frank Wolf, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Congressman Ron Kind of legislation, H. Res. 1273, in the U.S. House of Representatives appealing to His Majesty, the King of Thailand, and the Royal Thai Government to halt the repatriation of Hmong refugees back to Laos.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Under the apparent direct orders from Thai Prime Minister Samak, elements of the Thai Third Army have violently and forcibly repatriated over 800 Hmong political refugees and asylum seekers over the weekend after they attempted to march 150miles to Bangkok in protest of the Thai military's blockade of international humanitarian access to the Ban Huay Nam Khao refugee camp in Phetchabun Province, Thailand.
The brutal and bloody crackdown apparently orderd by Prime Minister Samak, and elements of the Thai military, on peaceful Hmong refugee protestors and marchers threatens to create tensions in Washington, D.C. The forced repatriation of the Hmong comes just after the recent introduction by U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Congressman Frank Wolf, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Congressman Ron Kind of legislation, H. Res. 1273, in the U.S. House of Representatives appealing to His Majesty, the King of Thailand, and the Royal Thai Government to halt the repatriation of Hmong refugees back to Laos.
Former U.S. Ambassador H. Eugene Douglas for refugee and humanitarian affairs has voiced his support for the Congressional resolution and appealed for intervention and assistance to stop the forced and involuntary repatriation of Hmong refugee from Thailand to Laos. http://media-newswire.com/release_1067968.html Doctors Without Borders ( MSF ) and Amnesty International have made similar appeals.
Hundreds more Lao Hmong refugees and asylum seekers are now being jailed after the march and crackdown in Thailand against the peaceful protestors who sought to march to the United Nations’ refugee office headquarters ( UNHCR ) in Bangkok. Other Lao Hmong refugees have simply disappeared. Some credible estimates indicate that the numbers of Laotian and Hmong refugees forcibly repatriated to Laos in recent days are higher.
Southeast Asia scholar and author Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt stated: “Americans and Members of Congress who honor the spirit, determination, and sacrifice of those who marched to Selma, should symbolically stand with the 'Marching to Freedom Hmong' who are trying to walk to Bangkok. Members of Congress should be holding press conferences, scheduling Congressional Hearings in both House and Senate immediately and, most importantly, urging other nations with embassies in Thailand to lead a coalition to rescue these refugees. www.http://tragicmountains.org
“Currently, these Hmong refugee asylum seekers are desperately calling out to the United Nations, the United States, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and all human rights organizations as wellas the world community, all world leaders and anyone that is willing to hear their terrible and last cries to immediately intervene and stop the forced repatriation back to Laos by the Thai government,” said Vaughn Vang, Executive Director of the Lao Human Rights Council.
“Because of the long history of the Lao Hmong as allies of the United States during the Vietnam War, the international community and the United States should work to develop a multinational coalition to press the Thai government to allow international aid and refugee organizations access to the refugees at Ban Huay Nam Khao and stop their repeated attempts to forcibly repatriate the Hmong back to documented persecution in Laos,” continued Vaughn Vang.
There is a call for diplomatic pressure from the U.S. Ambassadors to Thailand and Laos to stop the repatriation of Hmong to Laos and the persecution of Hmong in Laos.
Embassies in Thailand need to immediately request U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to fly to Thailand to address the plight of the 5,400 Hmong who began their 150 mile 'freedom march' to try to reach the United Nations offices, particularly the UNHCR facility, to seek shelter from possible forced repatriation from Thailand back to Laos and into the hands of their tormentors,” Dr. Hamilton-Merritt stated.
“While many of the Laotian and Hmong refugee protesters have reportedly been returned to the camp, as many as 2,000 are still missing and are presumed held by the Thai military for deportation back to Laos,” stated Philip Smith, Executive Director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Public Policy Analysis.
“These Hmong refugees were arrested by the Thai military as they attempted to contact the UNHCR offices in Bangkok, Thailand to plead for refugee status and resettlement inthird countries because of fears of persecution at the hands of the Lao government for their 1960s and 1970s involvement with the U.S. counterinsurgency and military operations in Laos,” Smith said.
This is the latest in a series of events over the past several weeks at the Huay Nam Khao military controlled refugee camp in Thailand. This 'Marching to Freedom' began on Friday morning, June 20 and was immediately ambushed by Thai Third Army troops. Early estimates claimed significant numbers of Thai troops were stationed around the camp to prevent the Lao Hmong refugees from beginning their march. However, last month's fire which destroyed half of the camp also burned and collapsed a large portion of the barbed wire topped fence surrounding the camp. Some 5,400 Hmong refugees used this gap to leave the confines of the camp on their 150 mile attempted journey to Bangkok. These refugees, traveling by foot, were attempting to reach Bangkok and the UNHCR which has been banned by the Thai military and government from interviewing the refugees.
Smith continued: “These tragic and brutal events unfolding the last several days in Thailand to forcibly repatriated hundreds of Hmong refugees at the apparent direct orders of Prime Minister Samak and elements of the Thai Third Army are shocking and outrageous in their defiance of international law and norms of civil society and hinder Thailand’s relationship with the United States and the international community; Unfortunately, these barbarous and violent actions by Prime Minister Samak and some Thai Third Army officers are damaging to the good image and reputation of Thailand in Washington and internationally; These actions are to be condemned in the harshest terms given the recent introduction in the U.S. Congress of legislation, H. Res. 1273, by U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Frank Wolf and a bipartisan coalition appealing to His Majesty, the King of Thailand, and the Royal Thai Government to grant asylum to the Hmong and not force them back to the communist regime in Laos that they fled as political refugees.”
“Later credible reports stated that some 300 Thai soldiers ambushed and severely beat some of the Hmong refugees, at the apparent command of Prime Minister Samak, to try and intimidate the Laotian and Hmong refugees to stop the protest march. It seems that under mounting pressure for democratic change in Bangkok, Prime Minister Samak is allowing the Thai Third Army commanders to attack the Hmong in a last ditch effort to maintain control of at least the Hmong refugee situation,” stated Smith.
“The Hmong were eventually surrounded in a field by Khek Noi of Khao Kho district, Thailand. From this location, at least 700 Hmong were arrested and placed on military buses, including many of the camp leaders who have been most vocal against the Thai military plans to forcibly repatriate the Hmong back to Laos,” concluded Smith.
“While the remaining Hmong were forced to spend the night in the open field, these 700 Hmong were sent back to Laos, probably to the tortures and brutality from which they fled to Thailand over the past several years,” Vaughn Vang said. By Sunday, June 22, many of the remaining Hmong were transported by the Thai military back to the Huay Nam Khao refugee camp,” Vaughn Vang concluded on behalf of the Lao Human Rights Council.
According to accounts in the Bangkok newspaper “The Nation”, the UNHCR reportedly said that 1,008 Hmong were “dumped” in Paksane [Laos] late on Sunday, just east of Vientiane, then told [Monday] morning to simply return to the areas they left three or four years ago.
However, elements of the Thai military reportedly claim that 2,000 of the Hmong agreed to return to Laos, a claim which the other Lao Hmong refugees state is not true, leading to international concern that these people are being forcibly returned against international humanitarian law.
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