Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BANGKOK4430
2005-07-07 08:48:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bangkok
Cable title:  

HMONG GROUP IN THAILAND'S PETCHABOON PROVINCE

Tags:  PREF PREL TH 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 004430 

SIPDIS

GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2015
TAGS: PREF PREL TH
SUBJECT: HMONG GROUP IN THAILAND'S PETCHABOON PROVINCE

Classified By: CHARGE ALEXANDER A. ARVIZU. REASONS 1.4 (B,D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 004430

SIPDIS

GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2015
TAGS: PREF PREL TH
SUBJECT: HMONG GROUP IN THAILAND'S PETCHABOON PROVINCE

Classified By: CHARGE ALEXANDER A. ARVIZU. REASONS 1.4 (B,D).


1. This is an action request. Please see para. 15.


2. (C) Summary. The 6,000 Hmong who have congregated in
Thailand,s northern province of Petchaboon have entered
Thailand at different times and for different reasons. It is
unclear how many are recent arrivals from Laos who have fled
persecution, but it is most likely that the number is small
and that the majority have been in Thailand for some time or
entered Thailand in the hope of gaining entry to any new U.S.
resettlement program for the Hmong. UNHCR is actively
engaged with the Thai government on this issue and believes
that the situation needs to be handled carefully because it
could affect the overall Thai position on resettlement. The
Secretary General of the Thai National Security Council,

SIPDIS
General Winai, believes that the situation in Petchaboon is a
result of the pull factor from the existing U.S. resettlement
program for Hmong at Wat Tham Krabok. Thai officials told
UNHCR on July 7 that they would ensure that the basic needs
of the Hmong are met. They would also conduct an
investigation of the Hmong group to determine where they are
from and why they went to Petchaboon. Pending the results of
that investigation, the officials said they did not envision
deportations. The Thai agreed in principle to refer cases to
UNHCR that were compelling and fall under UNHCR refugee
criteria. End summary.

--------------
Make-Up of the Petchaboon Group
--------------


3. (SBU) There seems to be general agreement at this point
that the total number of the Hmong group in Thailand,s
Petchaboon Province is approximately 6,000 persons. What is
less clear is who they are and when and why they came to
Thailand. It seems that the group can generally be broken
down into three parts: a) Persons who entered Thailand
sometime after the Vietnam War and have come from other parts
of Thailand to the Petchaboon site. Some may have previously
lived in the old refugee camps along the Thai-Lao border
and/or at Wat Tham Krabok, the site of the ongoing U.S.
resettlement program; b) Persons who entered Thailand
recently from Laos with the hope of getting into another U.S.
resettlement program for the Hmong; and c) Persons who also

entered recently from Laos but for a different reasons, that
is, they are fleeing alleged persecution or fighting in Laos.



4. (SBU) It is difficult to know how many of the 6,000 fall
into which of the three groups. When approximately 5,000
Hmong approached the UNHCR office in Bangkok last summer and
asked for refugee status (some of these 5,000 may well now be
in the Petchaboon group),UNHCR officials found that they
could not determine when persons had arrived in Thailand and
why they had come. UNHCR believes that many had been coached
to provide accounts which would buttress refugee claims.
UNHCR regional chief Hasim Utkan told Refcoord on July 6 that
he believes the number of recent arrivals with strong refugee
claims is likely small. Embassy Vientiane reports, based on
anecdotal evidence, that some of the Hmong are recent
arrivals in Thailand, albeit an uncertain number, who have
fled Laotian government pressure. Embassy Vientiane also
reports that some members of the Hmong community state that
many in the Petchaboon group are from well-settled Hmong
communities in Laos where the Hmong actually enjoy a rather
high standard of living. They went to Petchaboon on rumors
of another Tham Krabok program, but understand that they need
to present themselves as refugees.


5. (SBU) Embassy Bangkok has also heard reports that the
Hmong in the first two groups above have been encouraged to
go to the Petchaboon site by their U.S. relatives. There are
also reports that other persons in Thailand, Hmong or Thai,
have encouraged Hmong to go to Petchaboon and have collected
fees in return for promises that they would be able to ensure
entry into another U.S. Hmong resettlement program.

--------------
UNHCR Position
--------------


6. (SBU) UNHCR stopped accepting Hmong refugee status
applications in Bangkok last summer when it found that it
could not handle the flood of 5,000 applicants. Despite this
general policy, UNHCR has interviewed and referred for U.S.
resettlement a very small number of Hmong over the past year
who were referred by NGOs. UNHCR has formally asked the Thai
government for access to the Hmong in Petchaboon, but the
Thai have so far refused.


7. (SBU) In a July 6 conversation with Refcoord, UNHCR chief
Utkan stated that the Petchaboon issue needed to be handled
carefully because it could affect the overall Thai government
approach to resettlement at a time when a major international
effort was now underway to resettle Burmese refugees in the
border camps to third countries. Utkan said that UNHCR had
told the Thai that it was willing to consider compelling
refugee cases referred by the Thai government. However,
Utkan said he was leery of establishing any presence in
Petchaboon at this point because it could exacerbate the pull
factor. He also noted that UNHCR did not have the resources
to conduct refugee interviews of 6,000 persons.

--------------
Thai Government Position
--------------


8. (U) The Thai government so far has apparently been unable
to make any headway with the Lao government on the Petchaboon
Hmong issue. News reports have said that the Thai have
approached the Lao government, but the Lao refuse to accept
any responsibility or work with the Thai.

9. (C) During a July 6 meeting with visiting EAP DAS Eric
John, General Winai Phattiyakul, Secretary General of the
Thai National Security Council (NSC),stated that the
situation in Petchaboon was a result of the pull factor from
the Tham Krabok program. He said that some persons had
encouraged Hmong in Laos to go to Thailand to try to get into
any new U.S. resettlement program. Winai noted that Thai
provincial officials along the border had done a poor job of
stopping these persons from entering Thailand. Other Hmong
had come from elsewhere in Thailand. The number of the
Petchaboon group had increased from 2,000 to 6,000, according
to Winai, and the Thai government was worried that another
Tham Krabok settlement could develop.

10. (C) Refcoord responded to Winai that it was important
that UNHCR be granted some access to the group because some
were likely to be real refugees, but that this needed to be
done carefully to avoid exacerbating the pull factor. Winai
responded that he would be willing to approve resettlement
for a small number of the group but it would be difficult to
determine who those persons were because many of the Hmong
would likely claim they were recent arrivals fleeing
persecution. In a later conversation at the Embassy,s
Independence Day celebration on July 6, Winai, in a rare
display of anger, told Refcoord that he was frustrated with
inaccurate press reporting on the Petchaboon situation. He
added that Thailand was a sovereign country which had the
right to control its borders. He said he would welcome a
statement that the USG has no plans to establish a new
large-scale program for the Hmong in Petchaboon.


11. (SBU) Press reports on July 6 said that local Thai
officials in Petchaboon had told local vendors not to sell
food and water to the Hmong. Thai NSC officials told
Refcoord on July 6 that if the stories were true, they would
tell local officials to reverse the directive. The
Petchaboon Governor stated on the same day that there were no
such instructions and that local officials were in fact
providing some food and public health assistance.
The Governor said that there is growing friction between the
6,000 Hmong and the existing Thai-Hmong community in the
area. The latter apparently number about 20,000 and have
lived in Petchaboon for many years. While they initially
provided shelter to the Hmong who went to the Petchaboon
site, they are now concerned about the trouble that is being
created.


12. (SBU) UNHCR/Bangkok Chief Protection Officer Giuseppe de
Vincentis told Refcoord on July 7 that he had met with Thai
NSC officials that morning to discuss the Petchaboon
situation. De Vincentis said he told the Thai that UNHCR
would be willing to go to Petchaboon and conduct a joint
assessment of the situation with the Thai. He said that it
was important that humanitarian assistance is provided to the
group. He also stated that UNHCR would be willing to
consider compelling refugee cases referred by the Thai
government.


13. (SBU) In response, Thai NSC officials stated that
assistance of food, shelter, and basic health services would
be provided to the Hmong. They said that UNHCR could say
publicly that it had received such reassurances from the Thai
government. In addition, the NSC said that the Thai
government would investigate in a systematic way when the
Hmong had come to Thailand and for what reason. Persons who
had Thai ID cards or who had lived elsewhere in Thailand for
a long period would be encouraged to return to where they had
come from. The remainder would be subject to Thai
immigration law, including the possibility of deportation.
However, pending the results of the investigation of the
Hmong group, the officials said they did not envision
deportations occurring. They discounted harsh comments
regarding deportations reported in July 7 press articles
attributed to General Pallop Pinmanee, Deputy Director of the
Internal Security Operations Command. Finally, the NSC
agreed in principle to refer Hmong cases to UNHCR identified
during the investigation that are compelling and fall within
UNHCR criteria. The NSC said that UNHCR could also state
publicly that it received this agreement in principle from
the Thai.


14. (C) Comment. The situation of the Hmong in Petchaboon is
complex and the Thai government is struggling to manage it.
Thai concerns about the Hmong have been growing steadily and
it will be important to follow closely Thai government
actions. The Thai appear to be trying to buy time with their
investigation of the Hmong group. We have heard that they in
fact had already gathered some information about the Hmong.
It is likely that they will use the time to put pressure,
which could include threats of arrest, on the Hmong who have
Thai ID cards or are long-stayers in Thailand to return to
their homes elsewhere in Thailand. We have not seen any
indication so far that the Thai government is rethinking its
overall approach to resettlement out of heightened concerns
about pull factors, though this is an issue that bears
careful watching. End comment.


15. (SBU) Action request: To help resolve the Petchaboon
situation and demonstrate that the USG is prepared to play a
helpful role, Embassy recommends that the Department issue a
statement that the USG has no plans to establish a new,
large-scale resettlement program for the Lao Hmong in
Petchaboon. The statement could also say that the USG
welcomes indications that the Thai government is providing
basic assistance to the Hmong and reiterate that Hmong with
claims of persecution should not be deported to Laos until
those claims can be reviewed.


16. (U) Embassy Vientiane cleared this message.
ARVIZU