Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07VIENTIANE205
2007-03-13 11:07:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Vientiane
Cable title:  

LAO GOVERNMENT AGREES TO LET 21 HMONG GIRLS RETURN

Tags:  PHUM PREF PGOV PREL LA TH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3579
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHVN #0205/01 0721107
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 131107Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1002
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0011
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK IMMEDIATE 7192
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VIENTIANE 000205 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV PREL LA TH
SUBJECT: LAO GOVERNMENT AGREES TO LET 21 HMONG GIRLS RETURN
TO THEIR FAMILIES

REF: A. VIENTIANE 0144

B. 06 VIENTIANE 1205

C. 06 VIENTIANE 1141

Classified By: Mary Grace McGeehan, Charge d'Affaires. Reason: 1.4 (b)
and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VIENTIANE 000205

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PACOM FOR FPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV PREL LA TH
SUBJECT: LAO GOVERNMENT AGREES TO LET 21 HMONG GIRLS RETURN
TO THEIR FAMILIES

REF: A. VIENTIANE 0144

B. 06 VIENTIANE 1205

C. 06 VIENTIANE 1141

Classified By: Mary Grace McGeehan, Charge d'Affaires. Reason: 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C) Summary: During bilateral talks in Luang Prabang on
March 8, the Lao Foreign Minister told his Thai counterpart
that twenty-one girls from the Petchabun settlement in
Thailand had been &found8 living with relatives in Laos and
would be allowed to return to their families if they wished.
The girls were part of a group of 26 Hmong children and one
adult that was irregularly deported from Thailand and
detained by Lao authorities in December 2005. The spokesman
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that the girls,
situation will be resolved &quite soon,8 but that some,
perhaps most, will choose to stay in Laos. The fate of the
five boys remains uncertain. Radio Free Asia aired a story
on March 3 quoting an unidentified man as confirming that the
boys are alive in northern Laos.


2. (C) These developments suggest that, fifteen months after
the children were sent out of Thailand, a resolution may
finally be at hand (for the girls, at least). However,
seemingly imminent solutions for this group have been
derailed in the past. There appears to be consensus among
foreign embassies and international organizations here that
the best thing for the international community to do at this
point is to keep a low profile and let the Thai-Lao process
unfold. To do otherwise ) e.g. to publicly question the
premise that the girls were &lost,8 to issue a public
statement (even a positive one) about the situation, or to
call for monitoring by international organizations here in
Laos -- could jeopardize the girls, return to their families
and diminish prospects for the boys, eventual release. End
summary.

Girls, Return to Families Reported Imminent
--------------


3. (C) Even before the Lao-Thai Joint Boundary Commission
talks and subsequent Foreign Ministerial bilateral took place

on March 8, word started circulating in Vientiane that a
resolution to the case of the 21 missing Hmong girls was
imminent. (The girls, along with five boys and one adult
woman, were detained by Thai local authorities and sent back
to Laos on December 5, 2005, where they were in turn detained
by Lao authorities. The girls and the woman were eventually
separated from the boys. Lao officials initially
acknowledged, but later denied, that the government was
holding the children.) At a March 7 reception following a
European Commission ) Lao government joint committee
meeting, the German ambassador made a cryptic remark to the
Charge saying that we could expect good news, which seemed to
be a reference to the children. The next day, the Polish
charge d,affaires told the Pol/Cons officer that Vice
Foreign Minister Phongsavath Boupha had said on the margins
of the meeting that he felt that the children,s case would
soon be resolved.


4. (C) Soon after the March 8 bilateral, the Thai press
began reporting that Lao Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign
Minister Thongloun Sisoulith had told Thai Foreign Minister
Nitya Pibulsonggram that the children had been &found.8
Pol/Econ Chief received an e-mail from Ministry of Foreign
Affairs spokesperson Yong Chanthalangsy, sent late on March
9, saying, &Yes indeed, we had informed the Thai side that
21 girls have been located and we are willing to reunite them
with their family if they wish to.8 The Charge notified the
UNICEF representative and a staff member in the office of the
United National Resident Representative; neither office had
been aware of the reports.


5. (U) On March 13, a Thai news service carried the
Thai-Lao joint communiqu on the bilateral meeting. The
section of the communiqu titled &Hmong Issues8 reads as
follows:

Begin text:

-- 5.1 On the case of 21 Hmong children. The Lao Government
informed that it has already located 21 of them, all of whom
are girls who are in good health. The Lao authority will
cooperate with relevant Thai authorities in contacting the
families of these children. The Thai side expressed their
appreciation for the efforts that the Lao counterpart had

VIENTIANE 00000205 002 OF 003


made in this respect.

-- 5.2 The Lao side expressed its understanding of the
situation and pressure Thailand has faced on the issue of the
Hmongs. Both sides agreed to work closely together under the
General Border Committee framework to find solutions to the
problem.

End text.


6. (C) On March 12, the Charge met with French Ambassador
Maurice Portiche and First Secretary Robert Sourby regarding
the situation. (Comment: Ambassador Portiche, who was first
stationed in Laos in the 1970,s, is one of the most astute
observers of contemporary Vientiane and has very good
contacts for his earlier days here. End comment.)
Ambassador Portiche said that he is certain that the Hmong
girls, return to their families will occur. He was not sure
of the timing, but he expected things to proceed quickly.
The Lao-Thai bilateral border commission would be the
mechanism for the reunification. He said that it is quite
possible that some girls will decide not to return to the
Hmong holding camp in Petchabun, where life is very
difficult. Asked if the international community could be
confident that the girls, wishes were being respected,
Ambassador Portiche said that he did not think the Lao would
play games with the situation at this point. He noted that
it was possible that the girls, parents would be able to
visit them in Laos as a result of the border commission,s
proceedings.


7. (C) On March 13, MFA spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy told
Pol/Econ Chief that the girls, situation will be resolved
&quite soon.8 He said that some, perhaps a majority, will
elect to stay in Laos because they were &traumatized8 by
the Thai police in Petchabun. Several were &extremely
traumatized.8 Some will stay in Laos because their parents
are here rather than in Petchabun. The ones whose parents
are in Petchabun will be reunited with them, even if only for
a short time before the repatriation of the Petchabun group
to Laos. Meanwhile, the girls have been able to call their
relatives in Petchabun. (Note: The overall goal for both the
Lao and Thai seems to be the closure of the Petchabun holding
camp, which currently holds more than 8000 Hmong. End note.)

Need for Discretion Seen
--------------


8. (C) Ambassador Portiche told the Charge that it is
extremely important that the girls' return to their parents
be allowed to take place in a discreet way. Otherwise there
would be a loss of face, especially for the Thais, who caused
the situation in the first place. Any press statements or
public criticism could jeopardize the boys, on whose behalf
Ambassador Portiche said there will be continued efforts.
The Ambassador said emphatically that he sees no role for UN
representatives in Laos in the return of the children to
their parents. Any attempt to try to get UNDP or UNICEF
involved, he said, could derail the arrangements.


9. (C) The UN Resident Representative's office staff
member, with whom the Charge has been consulting daily
regarding the girls, situation, said that the UN also
believes that outside interference could jeopardize this
process and does not plan to seek a role for itself.

As For the Boys...
--------------


10. (C) MFA spokesman Yong told the Pol/Econ Chief during
their March 13 conversation that there is &no barrier8 to a
resolution of the situation of the five boys. This will, he
said, have to be done step by step. (Comment: He clearly
meant that it will have to be done following the resolution
of the girls, situation. End comment.) In his March 12
discussion with the Charge, Ambassador Portiche said that he
expects that Lao officials will see how things develop
following the return of the girls before deciding whether to
return the boys as well. A March 3 Radio Free Asia story
quoted an unidentified man as saying that the boys are alive
in northern Laos. (Note: This was apparently done to
counter rumors that one or more of the boys had died. End
note.) Given reports that the boys have been held in much
harsher conditions than the girls, a face-saving resolution
to their situation may be harder to find.

Comment

VIENTIANE 00000205 003 OF 003


--------------


11. (C) We agree with our diplomatic colleagues about the
need for caution and discretion in responding to this
situation. The return of the girls (or at least some of
them) to their families does seem imminent. In the past,
however, seemingly promising resolutions to the children,s
situation have failed to materialize, often because of
claimed "outside interference." We recommend that the USG
take a low-profile approach as this plays out. For USG
officials to do otherwise ) e.g. to publicly question the
premise that the girls were ever &lost,8 to issue a public
statement (even a positive one) about the situation, to call
for monitoring of the girls, return by international
organizations here in Laos, or to speculate publicly about
the eventual resettlement to a third country -- could
jeopardize the girls, return to their families and diminish
prospects for the boys, release. Any press guidance on an
&if asked8 basis should focus firmly on the positive,
saying that we are pleased that the girls will be allowed to
join their families, we hope this happens as soon as
possible, and we look forward to a positive resolution to the
boys, situation as well.
MCGEEHAN