Cablegate: Update On Petchaboon Hmong Situation

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 005146

SIPDIS

GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL TH
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON PETCHABOON HMONG SITUATION

REF: A. BANGKOK 4430
B. CHIANG MAI 173

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY.

1. (SBU) Summary. A Thai National Security Council official
stated on August 8 that the Thai government believed the
cause of the Petchaboon Hmong situation was the pull factor
created by the Wat Tham Krabok resettlement program,
exacerbated by the activities of Hmong-Americans who were
encouraging Hmong to go the site and collecting money for
arranging passage there. The population at the site is now
about 5,700 persons. The Thai are conducting a survey of the
group to determine why, when, and how they entered Thailand.
The NSC official said the Hmong were illegal immigrants under
Thai law. The Thai government would have to enforce its
immigration law, but had so far shown forbearance and was not
rushing to resolve the problem. The official said that if
the Hmong were deported, it would be done in a manner that
was not dangerous to them. Lao government approval or
cooperation was not necessary. The Thai government accepted
that some of the Hmong might be refugees in need of UNHCR
protection. However, it would be difficult, the official
said, to identify and screen such persons without drawing
even more Hmong to the site. End summary.

2. (SBU) Refcoord met August 8 with Tawin Pleansri, Director
of the Bureau of Defense and Border Security Affairs of the
Thai National Security Council, to discuss the situation of
the Petchaboon Hmong.

3. (SBU) Refcoord told Tawin that the USG was watching this
issue carefully and believed that the Thai government should
act according to international norms and permit persons with
refugee claims to have access to UNHCR representatives.
Tawin responded by noting that Hmong-American groups had sent
letters expressing concern about the Petchaboon Hmong to
Secretary Rice, and the Thai king, Prime Minister, and

SIPDIS
Foreign Minister. He said that the Thai government believed
a significant cause of the situation was the pull factor
created by the Wat Tham Krabok resettlement program. Hmong
had begun to congregate in Petchaboon in early 2004 and the
latest Thai government count of the group, taken the previous
week, was about 5,700 persons split evenly between men and
women. The number was not increasing at this point.
4. (SBU) Tawin continued that some in the group claimed they
had recently come from Laos and worked for the United States
during the Vietnam War. Others said they had fled Laos
because of persecution. Another part of the group were
ethnic Hmong who had Thai citizenship, though Tawin stated
that these persons had now all returned to their homes
elsewhere in Thailand. Tawin said that some of the people
from Laos had paid 5-10,000 Baht (USD 122-244) to people
smugglers to get to Thailand. The Thai government believed
Hmong-Americans were encouraging Hmong to go to the
Petchaboon site and were involved in arranging transport
there for payment.

5. (SBU) Tawin continued that under Thai law, all of the
Petchaboon group were illegal immigrants and therefore
subject to deportation. He said that the Thai government did
not believe there was fighting occurring in Laos. The Lao
government stated the same. So the Petchaboon Hmong were not
fleeing fighting. Tawin stated that the Thai government had
to enforce its immigration law but had so far shown
forbearance. Not one Hmong had been returned to Laos. The
government had permitted NGOs and UNHCR to provide basic
assistance. The government was also conducting a survey of
the group, taking pictures and names of families, and trying
to determine why, when, and how they had gone to the
Petchaboon site.

6. (SBU) Tawin said that the Thai government accepted that
some in the group might need protection from UNHCR and was
considering how to identify and treat such persons. It
expected to have discussions with UNHCR on this issue.
However, Tawin stated, it would be hard to screen the Hmong
in a way that would not draw more people to the site and
reward or send the wrong signal to the people smugglers.
Side-effects needed to be considered carefully.

7. (SBU) Tawin asked for understanding of the Thai position,
noting that Thailand was facing waves of illegal immigrants
from its neighbors. This created problems. The Thai
government had to enforce its immigration law to try and
maintain some control over the situation. He said that other
countries, including the United States, deported illegal
immigrants. It was also important to send a signal that the
government would not tolerate people smuggling.

8. (SBU) Tawin said that if the Hmong were deported to Laos,
it would be done in a manner that was not dangerous to them.
Efforts would be made not to separate families. The Hmong
would be sent back to Laos along the same routes they
entered. The Thai government, Tawin continued, did not now
have a date for returning the Hmong. It was still in the
planning stages and was not rushing to take action. The Thai
government did not want to make the problem worse.

9. (SBU) The Lao government, Tawin stated, refused to work
with Thailand on this issue. However, it was not always
necessary to have the approval of neighboring country
governments to carry out deportations. Thai authorities
deported illegal immigrants every day, taking such persons to
the border and telling them to return home. This was done
without the cooperation or knowledge of neighboring
governments. The difference was that the Petchaboon Hmong
were a larger group than normal.

10. (SBU) In closing, Tawin said that it would be useful if
Refcoord went to Petchaboon and personally told the leaders
of the Hmong group that there would be no new resettlement
program. He also asked for USG help in curbing the
activities of Hmong-Americans involved in encouraging and
moving Hmong to the Petchaboon site. What they were engaged
in was creating problems for the Thai, U.S., and Lao
governments.

11. (SBU) Comment. The Thai government is convinced that the
combination of the Tham Krabok pull factor and Hmong-American
activities are responsible for the Petchaboon situation. The
Embassy cannot confirm that any Hmong-Americans are involved.
As Consulate Chiang Mai has reported, persons in Thailand
may also have a hand in this complex situation. While the
Thai have so far not acted precipitously, it seems that they
will move at some point to deport the Petchaboon Hmong. How
they would do this is unclear. The current Thai practice of
deporting illegal immigrants from Laos is to take them to
points on the border where there are no Lao officials with
the knowledge that many will likely turn around and re-enter
Thailand. End comment.
ARVIZU

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