VZCZCXRO6548
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHBK #1686/01 1950736
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 140736Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7533
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2144

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 001686 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/ENA, PRM/A, AND EAP/MLS 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2029 
TAGS: PREF PHUM SMIG TH LA
SUBJECT: LAO HMONG: CONGRESSIONAL STAFFDEL VISITS PETCHABUN 
CAMP, ENGAGES THAI ARMY AND MFA 
 
REF: A. VIENTIANE 0332: LAO GENERAL LAYS OUT POLICY 
     ¶B. VIENTIANE 0335: GOL SHOWS OFF RESETTLEMENT SITE 
     ¶C. BANGKOK 1485: ENGAGEMENT ON LAO HMONG ISSUE 
     ¶D. BANGKOK 1340: AMB JOHN RAISES HMONG WITH RTARF 
     ¶E. BANGKOK 1305: AMB JOHN RAISES LAO HMONG WITH DPM 
     ¶F. BANGKOK 1225: NGO PULLOS OUT OF PETCHABUN 
     ¶G. BANGKOK 1223: AMB JOHN RAISES HMONG WITH FM 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission James F. Entwistle, Reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d) 
 
 ¶1.  (C) Summary. A House Foreign Affairs Committee Staffdel 
visited Thailand July 2-4 in a fact-finding trip relating to 
Thai policy towards Lao Hmong detained in the army-run camp 
in Petchabun, and a smaller group of UNHCR-recognized 
refugees in an immigration detention center in Nong Khai, 
Thailand. The visit included a first: a ninety-minute foot 
tour of the Petchabun camp, the first access to the facility 
by outsiders (other than NGOs providing services) since it 
opened in July 2007. In meetings with the Royal Thai 
government (RTG) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai 
Armed Forces (RTARF), and National Security Council (NSC), 
the Staffdel heard the Thai position: that the Lao Hmong were 
a bilateral issue to be handled between Thailand and Laos, 
and that Thailand did not want to undercut their neighbor's 
"national reconciliation" process by allowing refugee status 
and third country resettlement. The Staffdel also met with 
UNICEF and the French NGO Doctors Without Borders to discuss 
the Lao Hmong situation, and received a listing of 1,200 Lao 
Hmong in Petchabun who were participants or family members of 
anti-Pathet Lao resistance in the 1970's. 
 
Comment: (C)  The break-through visit to the Petchabun camp 
came off without the demonstrations and violence predicted by 
the RTARF. We will attempt to use the precedent to schedule 
future visits to see PRM-funded assistance in the facility, 
implemented now by the Thai NGO COERR. Although RTG 
interlocutors held to previously announced policy, the 
Washington-level interest may serve to strengthen civilian 
policy voices in internal RTG deliberations on what to do 
with the Lao Hmong, hopefully avoiding a forcible return of 
the remaining 4,800 people in Petchabun. There are signs the 
current "voluntary" returns are slowing down. On April 29th 
almost 300 people were returned, with no further movements 
until July 14 when only 67 Hmong were bused to Vientiane. 
End Summary and Comments. 
 
HFAC Staffdel Hears Thai Side of Lao Hmong Issue 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2.  (C) The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) delegation 
was led by Professional Staff Member Jessica Lee, and 
included majority counsel (and senior policy adviser) Shanna 
Winters and minority chief counsel Doug Anderson. In an 
initial meeting with RTARF Lt.General Niphat Thonglek and 
assembled field officers from the Petchabun camp, the 
Staffdel heard the Thai view of the situation of the 4,800 
remaining Hmong in Petchabun, and 158 UNHCR-recognized Hmong 
long-detained in the Nong Khai Immigration detention center. 
General Niphat, who is Thai head of the bilateral border 
committee overseeing the current return process of Lao Hmong 
to Laos, offered the standard Thai view: that the Lao Hmong 
were illegal migrants to be treated in accordance with a 
bilateral MOU with Vientiane, without third party 
involvement. General Niphat described the RTG internal 
vetting of the Petchabun population, completed in January 
2008, as "meeting all international standards", incorrectly 
suggesting that the U.S. and UNHCR had been involved in 
training the RTG interview teams. No new information was 
offered on the methodology or results of the internal RTG 
screening, however. 
 
Thai Army Criticizes Alleged MSF Anti-Return Advocacy 
    --------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The RTARF's Niphat was sharply critical of French 
NGO Doctors Without Borders (French acronym: MSF), which 
pulled out of the Petchabun camp in May citing army 
interference in its assistance operations.  According to 
Niphat, MSF "crossed the red line" in encouraging Lao Hmong 
to refuse return to Laos in order to hold out for third 
country resettlement (Comment: this was the first time we 
have heard this allegation against MSF. End Comment.)  On a 
positive note, Niphat expressed support for potential IOM 
involvement in the return process, which has seen 2,500 Lao 
Hmong move to Laos over the past 18 months. IOM has proposed 
assistance activities to both the Thai and Lao governments 
which would position it as a de facto third party monitor in 
 
BANGKOK 00001686  002 OF 003 
 
 
the returns. 
 
MFA: "Very Small" Number Fear Persecution in Laos 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶4. (C) The Thai MFA"s deputy director general of the 
Department of International Organizations more charitably 
described the MSF pull-out as "regrettable", but noted that a 
replacement Thai NGO, the Catholic Office for Emergency 
Relief and Refugees (COERR), was already operating in 
Petchabun.  According to the MFA's Ittiporn Boonpracong, "in 
principle" all in Petchabun should be returned to Laos as 
they were illegal migrants and "resettlement seekers." 
However, the RTG recognized that a "very small" number may 
face persecution upon return. A decision had not yet been 
about what to do with this group.  Ittiporn emphasized 
Thailand's wish to avoid undercutting the "national 
reconciliation process" in Laos by allowing third country 
resettlement of the Lao Hmong, but suggested a recent opening 
up of attitudes by the Government of Laos (GOL) towards the 
issue. On the Nong Khai group, Ittiporn indicated that the 
MFA would propose to the interagency RTG policy committee 
that the detainees be released to join relatives in nearby 
Lopburi province. A possible mechanism for third country 
resettlement would then be explored. (Comment: this has been 
our advocacy stance with the RTG during the past several 
months. End Comment.) 
 
 Visit to Petchabun Camp 
 ----------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On July 3rd, the Staffdel (accompanied by RMA 
Bangkok) was allowed access to the Third Army Area-run 
Petchabun camp, despite RTARF warnings of expected violent 
demonstrations. In the event, the camp was eerily quiet, with 
the residents lined silently along the dirt paths behind a 
screen of army personnel. General conditions in the camp are 
basic but livable, similar to what is found in the Burmese 
refugee camps, albeit with far stricter restrictions on 
personal behavior. The Hmong residents appeared intimidated 
by the large army presence and there was little free 
interaction with the Staffdel. However, a self-described "CIA 
fighter" told RMA's local staff that there were 57 such 
families in the camp, with extended kinship groupings 
totaling almost 2,000 people.  Some Hmong children at an 
NGO-run missionary school outside the camp also spoke to the 
visitors; several of the teenagers quietly expressed 
misgivings about return to Laos. The army arranged a meeting 
with a Hmong family which had agreed to return to Laos.  The 
patriarch told the Staffdel that he had been interviewed on 
camera by a BBC crew which had visited his jungle village in 
Laos several years ago   The man related to the BBC 
journalists his extended family's difficult life in the 
jungle, and constant efforts to avoid Lao army patrols. When 
asked, he acknowledged he had no information on present 
conditions in Laos from prior returnees, and was unable to 
explain his decision to return other than to offer: "I don't 
know what else to do."  When quietly asked (out of RTARF 
earshot) whether he wished to resettle in the U.S., he 
quickly answered in the affirmative.  The day after the 
meeting with Staffdel, the man and his family escaped the 
holding area near the Petchabun camp and their present 
whereabouts are unknown. 
 
No Gaps in Humanitarian Assistance-Until Sept. 30th. 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶6.  (U) The Staffdel met with COERR staff and observed 
distribution of charcoal and soap to the Hmong resident in 
Petchabun. COERR program director Ben Mendoza said relations 
with the RTARF in the camp so far were good, after an initial 
dispute regarding stipends paid to Lao Hmong assistants was 
settled to allow the NGO's retention of the workers. 
Cooperation from MSF in the turn-over has been good, with the 
former MSF clinic nurse now employed on site by COERR. Local 
public health officials (mostly ethnic Hmong from a Thai 
village nearby) now provide primary care.  The clinic 
facilities appear clean and well-maintained, with sufficient 
stocks of basic medicines. Providing pre- and post-natal care 
is a major medical challenge, as an average of one child is 
born in the camp every day. Traditional Hmong home-birthing 
is preferred by many in the camp, and persuading expectant 
mothers to deliver in the nearby hospital is difficult. 
COERR's Mendoza stated he expected to remain in the camp only 
until September 30th, the date the RTARF has set to close the 
facility. 
 
"Voluntary" Returns Slowing 
 
BANGKOK 00001686  003 OF 003 
 
 
 --------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  The Staffdel also visited an army barracks 20 
miles away used by the RTARF to hold returnees prior to 
deportation.  One man told the Staffdel (through an 
army-arranged interpreter) that he had been "deceived" into 
leaving Laos for Thailand.  Only 33 Lao Hmong were in the 
facility.  A return of 298 people occurred on April 29th; the 
next movement (of just 67 individuals) occurred on July 14, 
suggesting that the RTARF is finding it more difficult to 
persuade people to return, despite a proffered "readjustment" 
allowance of about USD 330 per family over six members. Upon 
request, the army provided a blank "voluntary return" form 
signed by all Hmong who depart Petchabun.  Written in Thai 
language only (not understood by the great majority of 
Hmong), the returnee only acknowledges that he/she "entered 
Thailand illegally and not fleeing danger, and that (he/she) 
will be processed in accordance with the Immigration Act of 
1979."  (Comment: the brief statement does not meet UNHCR 
standards for affidavits of voluntary returns. Ideally, it 
should be written in the returnee's native language, include 
an explicit statement that the return to Laos was voluntary, 
that the returnee had been counseled on alternatives and 
given an opportunity to change his/her mind. End Comment.) 
The camp commander improbably claimed that none of the 2,500 
prior returnees had changed their mind during their stay at 
the transit barracks, which sometimes lasts several weeks. 
 
 
Lao Hmong Offer Self-Accounting of CIA-trained Fighters 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶8. (C)  Separately, MSF provided the Staffdel with a volume 
prepared by the Petchabun Lao Hmong with information on 57 
families in the camp headed by a former CIA-trained 
resistance fighter.  Family photographs, taken in Petchabun, 
accompanied names and dates of birth of kinship group 
members.  Some pages feature photographs of the Hmong 
resistance in uniform, with military IDs and unit affiliation 
information from the 1970s. A total of 959 extended family 
members were included.  In addition, the names and 
photographs of 47 adult children of deceased (or not present 
in Petchabun) resistance fighters were included, along with 
271 family members. Evidence of relationship to their fathers 
was slim, however. We are in the process of translating the 
information (written primarily in Lao), and considering its 
best use in advocating for the group's protection. 
 
¶9.  (U)  Staffdel Lee did not have an opportunity to review 
this cable before departing Thailand. 
JOHN