837 HMONG RETURN FROM THAILAND

UNCLAS VIENTIANE 000355 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PGOV PHUM LA TH SUBJECT: 837 HMONG RETURN FROM THAILAND ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On June 22, Thai authorities repatriated to Laos 837 ethnic Hmong who had been residing at the Petchaboun camp. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, they are currently in a temporary processing facility and most will soon be resettled in their home villages. The MFA officials described this as a routine voluntary repatriation and denied any link with a demonstration over the weekend by camp residents. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Following reports of a repatriation of over 800 ethnic Hmong from the Huay Nam Khao camp in Petchaboun province in Thailand, the Embassy contacted MFA Deputy Director General for Europe and the Americas Mai Sayavong and sent an e-mail inquiry to Yong Chanthalangsy, Director General of MFA's Press Department, who oversees the GOL's returnee program. The officials confirmed that the GOL had received 837 returnees on Sunday, June 22. Mr. Yong told us by e-mail that the repatriation "has been conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner without any violence in accordance with the agreement between the Lao PDR and Thailand." He said that the returnees are at the temporary processing center in Paksane in Bolikamxay province that has been used for previous returnees. He said that the GOL was having no trouble accommodating the returnees. He expects that the processing will take no more than ten days. He estimated that only a few of the people will need to be relocated at the government-established resettlement village at Baan Phalak in northern Vientiane province; the rest will be returned to their former villages. ¶3. (SBU) Mr. Mai told the DCM that the repatriation had taken place according to the normal procedures established bilaterally between the Lao and Thai governments. There had been about a week's advance notice, he said. He denied that the repatriation had anything to do with protests by Petchaboun residents over the weekend. Asked why such a large number were resettled at a time, rather than the smaller groups that the Lao-Thai agreement appears to envision, Mr. Mai said that members of the group had realized that third-country resettlement was not a possibility and requested to return voluntarily to Laos. Mr. Mai was unsure about the breakdown among men, women, and children within the group. ¶4. (SBU) UN Resident Coordinator Sonam Yangchen Rana told the DCM that she had heard that 6-8 of the group's leaders are being held separately from the rest of the group. She said that she had no additional independent information regarding the circumstances of this repatriation. HUSO