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

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 001343 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2016 
TAGS: PREF PREL TH LA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RAISES MISSING HMONG MINORS 
 
Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR BOYCE, REASONS 1.4 (B, D). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  During a March 3 meeting with Thai FM 
Kantathi Suphamongkol, the Ambassador raised the issue of the 
missing Hmong minors.  He encouraged Kantathi to respond to 
the Lao argument that the Thai needed to take the next step 
and provide the Lao with basic facts about the deporation of 
the minors to Laos.  The Ambassador also suggested that the 
Thai find an interlocutor who could help resolve the current 
impasse.  Kantathi responded that he would look further into 
the issue and discuss it again with Lao DPM Somsawat.  In a 
separate discussion, Thai National Security Council chief 
General Winai indicated that he believed the larger issue of 
the Petchaboon Hmong created a human rights problem that 
needed to be addressed by the RTG.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Ambassador, accompanied by Refcoord, raised the issue 
of the missing Hmong minors with Thai FM Kantathi during a 
March 3 meeting.  The Ambassador started off by noting the 
good cooperation on refugee issues over the past couple years 
and the USG hope that this would continue.  The Ambassador 
said he had been in contact, including sometimes almost on an 
hourly basis with Thai National Security Council chief 
General Winai a couple of weeks previous, in an effort to 
find a solution to the issue of the 26 Hmong minors deported 
by Thailand to Laos.  Those efforts had not come to fruition 
due to new conditions raised by the Lao government at the 
time. 
 
¶3. (C) The Ambassador continued that the Lao government was 
telling other governments and the United Nations that the RTG 
needed to take the next step in order for the minors issue to 
be resolved.  The Lao were thereby scoring points at the Thai 
expense.  Kantathi responded that he also looked forward to 
continuing the good cooperation on refugee issues with the 
United States.  He said the RTG had stated its willingness to 
reunite the Hmong minors with their parents in Thailand. 
When it looked at this issue, the RTG was concerned about the 
pull factor which the U.S. resettlement program for the Hmong 
at Tham Krabok had contributed to.  Kantathi asked if the USG 
was prepared to take any more Hmong. 
 
¶4. (C)  The Ambassador responded that the Lao were saying 
that the next step the Thai needed to take was to provide an 
official RTG communication that set out the facts regarding 
the deportation of the minors.  The RTG should consider 
providing such a communication to put the ball back in the 
Lao court.  The Ambassador also suggested that the RTG find 
an interlocutor, perhaps a current or former Thai or Lao 
government official, trusted by both sides, who could help 
find a way out of the impasse.  Refcoord stated that the USG 
position was that there would not be another Hmong program, 
but the USG was prepared to consider resettlement for 
individual Hmong cases referred by UNHCR. 
 
¶5. (C)  Kantathi said that he had discussed the Hmong minors 
issue with Lao DPM Somsawat and indicated Thai willingness to 
work together.  Somsawat had responded by criticizing the 
tone taken by the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane on the issue. 
Kantathi said that he would look more into the issue, 
including having another discussion with DPM Somsawat. 
 
¶6. (C) In a subsequent telephone conversation with NSC head 
General Winai, Ambassador also raised the Hmong minors issue. 
 Winai said he had told his counterparts in other RTG 
agencies that a continuation of the larger situation of the 
Petchaboon Hmong was not good and created a human rights 
problem.  Winai said the RTG would be meeting to discuss this 
issue next week and that establishing some kind of camp might 
be the way to resolve the situation. 
BOYCE