Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08VIENTIANE157
2008-03-11 03:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Vientiane
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES HMONG ISSUES WITH MFA

Tags:  LA PINR PREF PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVN #0157/01 0710321
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 110321Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1897
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 7633
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 2916
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0245
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0157
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0261
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENTIANE 000157 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MLS (BESTIC);
PACOM FOR POLAD (MCADEN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018
TAGS: LA PINR PREF PREL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES HMONG ISSUES WITH MFA
SPOKESPERSON

REF: A. BANGKOK 0685


B. 07 VIENTIANE 0364

C. 07 VIENTIANE 0288

D. 07 VIENTIANE 0110

E. 06 VIENTIANE 1205

Classified By: Ambassador Ravic R. Huso for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENTIANE 000157

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MLS (BESTIC);
PACOM FOR POLAD (MCADEN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018
TAGS: LA PINR PREF PREL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES HMONG ISSUES WITH MFA
SPOKESPERSON

REF: A. BANGKOK 0685


B. 07 VIENTIANE 0364

C. 07 VIENTIANE 0288

D. 07 VIENTIANE 0110

E. 06 VIENTIANE 1205

Classified By: Ambassador Ravic R. Huso for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Lao MFA Pres Department Director General
Yong Chanthalangsy told the Ambassador that the 11 Hmong
"voluntarily" returned from Thailand at the end of February
are being held for "screening" preparatory to being allowed
to return home or being resettled domestically. All are
fine, and none are being mistreated. Of the 7800 Hmong in
Petchabun Thailand, perhaps 1500 would need domestic
resettlement assistance according to Yong. Rejecting third
country resettlement for members of this group directly from
Petchabun, Yong suggested the United States submit a list of
members of this group of interest to the U.S., and they could
be allowed to emigrate after their return to Laos. End
summary.

The 11 Returnees
--------------


2. (C) Lao MFA spokesman and government point man on Hmong
issues Yong Chanthalangsy discussed at length several
intersecting Hmong issues with the Ambassador on March 6.
Concerning the whereabouts of the 11 Lao nationals of Hmong
descent who were returned to Laos by Thai authorities on
February 27 (ref A),Yong stated that all 11 were in Paksan
district of Bolikhamsai province where they were being
"screened" (sic). (Note: Yong's statement is consistent with
information provided by a U.S. citizen of Hmong origin who
informed Embassy Bangkok that she had been in phone contact
with at least one of the returnees.)


3. (C) Yong claimed that the Thai authorities had not
provided any advance information regarding the identities of
the 11 returnees or their places of origin. For that reason,
Yong said, the Lao authorities needed to hold the returnees
in Paksan until officials had sufficient information to
determine who among the 11 could return directly to their
villages or communities and who would need assistance for
resettlement. Yong was adamant that all were fine and would
not face any mistreatment. He tacitly acknowledged that they

were in custody, admitting that, until the authorities had
decided where they would be permitted to go, they could not
leave the facility in Paksan ) a facility that he said was
not a jail but would continue to be used as a transit point
for other returnees.


4. (C) The Ambassador pressed Yong to arrange immediately for
independent actors ) for example, diplomatic representatives
or the foreign media ) to have access to members of the
group to verify their condition. Yong agreed that this
should happen and claimed that, once the authorities had
determined the final destinations for the 11, he would then
be in a position to arrange for a press encounter or similar
event to make public their condition. (Note: DG Yong has
organized tours for the Vientiane-based diplomatic corps in
the past to meet small numbers of "economic migrant" Hmong
returned from Thailand including one family in February 2007
(ref D) and three heads of family in March 2007 (ref C); he
also took an EU delegation to see one older resettlement
village in early March 2008.)

The Petchabun Group
--------------


5. (C) Concerning the 7,800 Hmong from Laos being held in a
camp in Petchabun province, Thailand, Yong told the
Ambassador that only an estimated 1,500 would need to be
resettled after their return to Laos because they were either
destitute or had been slash-and-burn farmers. The remainder,
he added, appeared to have the family ties and sufficient
resources to allow them to return directly to their former
communities. For that reason, the Lao government, Yong
added, was not particularly concerned as to whether the
international community assisted or not with the resettlement
of these or future returnees. The Lao had the necessary
funds and land available to deal with the 1,500 who would

need assistance. In fact, Yong claimed, the new resettlement
location at Phalak north of Vientiane Municipality was ready
to absorb about 500 men, women, and children and could easily
expand to double that size. Yong - aware that the Ambassador
had requested the opportunity to visit this village and other
Hmong resettlement areas ) promised to organize a visit in
the near future.


6. (C) Yong also launched the same trial balloon that he used
with the Thai MFA (ref A),suggesting that the Lao would not
object ) and would even facilitate ) the &third country8
resettlement of returnees from Petchabun after they had
returned to Laos. (Note: DG Yong and Vice Foreign Minister
Hiem Phommachanh had raised this post-return third country
resettlement possibility last year for the 155 Hmong being
held in Nong Khai, Thailand -- see ref B) Yong asked whether
the United States might consider submitting a list of persons
whom we have determined we would wish to bring to the U.S.
Laos, he said, was working with France to facilitate the
departure of 18 individuals for &family reunification.8
(Note: The French have made such a request.)


7. (C) The Ambassador asked whether Yong was implying that
the Lao would accept a refugee resettlement program directly
from Laos. Yong replied that the Lao government would never
accept the principle that a Lao national had a well-founded
fear of persecution in his/her own country, and thus a formal
refugee resettlement programs was out of the question. What
he was proposing, Yong went on, was a tacit understanding
that the U.S. had a special interest in certain individuals,
but their movement to the U.S. would have to be as
immigrants. The Ambassador said the U.S. government would
not agree to deliberately conceal the true nature of the
status of anyone coming to the U.S. from the Congress or the
American people. However, that does not rule out the
possibility the U.S. may in the future decide to approach the
Lao, as did the French, on specific cases.


8. (C) Ambassador pressed Yong to consider resettlement of
&persons of concern8 directly from Thailand. Yong said the
Lao government was strongly opposed because of the &pull
factor8 associated with third country resettlement from
Thailand. He cited the Wat Tham Krabok direct resettlement
program implemented a few years ago as clear evidence that
there is a demonstrated pull factor at work. Also, the Lao
government accepted the principle that Lao nationals
illegally in Thailand should return to Laos. Yong also
affirmed the principle that all should return voluntarily and
that, from the Lao perspective, there was no deadline or
target date for completing the return of the Petchabun camp
population. The Ambassador warned Yong that this approach
was not workable and strongly encouraged Yong to try to
modify the Lao position to allow for the possibility in
certain cases of direct resettlement. This was particularly
pressing in the case of the Hmong in detention in Nong Khai
who had already been identified as Persons of Concern (POCs)
by the UNHCR.

Insurgents
--------------


9. (C) On the issue of Hmong insurgents - or groups that
continued to resist Lao government control - Yong estimated
that there are fewer than a thousand remaining, including
women and children. Yong stated that in 2004 the government
adopted a "comprehensive" policy for dealing with the
remaining insurgents. The military, which had been in charge
prior to that, had made a "mess" of the situation, he said.
The current government policy is based on "clemency" and full
reintegration into society. Yong added that the government
now recognized that the problem was essentially "political"
and claimed that this new approach was working. (Note: the
Embassy has estimated as many as 2000 Hmong surrendered in
2005-2006 (ref E).)


10. (C) Asked if there were problems communicating with these
groups, Yong said, "no." The means of communication is
primarily through messengers. Yong said that there is risk
in this and that &several8 from the government side had
been killed. More recently, more Hmong group leaders have
access to cellular phones. The Ambassador mentioned that
there were reports from U.S. Hmong activists that some of the

insurgent leaders were interested in reintegrating but did
not know whom to contact to arrange a safe surrender. Yong
replied that he has been and would continue to be a point of
contact.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Yong is a emerging as a key player on Hmong issues.
His influence is clear in the decision to allow press
coverage of the return of the 11 Hmong to Vientiane and
arranging several visits by diplomats to Hmong resettlement
areas. Whether his influence extends to policy is not yet
clear. He expressed evident irritation that the Thai
approach to dealing with the Hmong returnee issue primarily
through the Border Committee process had strengthened the Lao
military,s role.

Bio Note
--------------

12. (SBU) Although Yong is currently assigned to the MFA as
its press handler, he is not a career diplomat. He studied
in France 1973-1977 and received a Diploma of Journalism from
the Centre de Formation des Journalistes de Paris in 1977.
He returned to Laos in 1977 and worked for more than 20 years
for the state news agency -- with one year off for training
at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication 1980-1981.
Yong then worked directly for the ASEAN secretariat in
Jakarta 1998-2002 dealing with ASEAN and ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF) disaster relief issues. Yong is smart, self-confident,
and speaks polished French and English.
Huso