VZCZCXRO3579
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHVN #0205/01 0721107
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 131107Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1002
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0011
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK IMMEDIATE 7192
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VIENTIANE 000205 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017 
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV PREL LA TH
SUBJECT: LAO GOVERNMENT AGREES TO LET 21 HMONG GIRLS RETURN 
TO THEIR FAMILIES 
 
REF: A. VIENTIANE 0144 
     ¶B. 06 VIENTIANE 1205 
     ¶C. 06 VIENTIANE 1141 
 
Classified By: Mary Grace McGeehan, Charge d'Affaires.  Reason: 1.4 (b) 
 and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  During bilateral talks in Luang Prabang on 
March 8, the Lao Foreign Minister told his Thai counterpart 
that twenty-one girls from the Petchabun settlement in 
Thailand had been &found8 living with relatives in Laos and 
would be allowed to return to their families if they wished. 
The girls were part of a group of 26 Hmong children and one 
adult that was irregularly deported from Thailand and 
detained by Lao authorities in December 2005.  The spokesman 
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that the girls, 
situation will be resolved &quite soon,8 but that some, 
perhaps most, will choose to stay in Laos.  The fate of the 
five boys remains uncertain.  Radio Free Asia aired a story 
on March 3 quoting an unidentified man as confirming that the 
boys are alive in northern Laos. 
 
¶2. (C)  These developments suggest that, fifteen months after 
the children were sent out of Thailand, a resolution may 
finally be at hand (for the girls, at least).  However, 
seemingly imminent solutions for this group have been 
derailed in the past.  There appears to be consensus among 
foreign embassies and international organizations here that 
the best thing for the international community to do at this 
point is to keep a low profile and let the Thai-Lao process 
unfold.  To do otherwise ) e.g. to publicly question the 
premise that the girls were &lost,8 to issue a public 
statement (even a positive one) about the situation, or to 
call for monitoring by international organizations here in 
Laos -- could jeopardize the girls, return to their families 
and diminish prospects for the boys, eventual release.  End 
summary. 
 
Girls, Return to Families Reported Imminent 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C)  Even before the Lao-Thai Joint Boundary Commission 
talks and subsequent Foreign Ministerial bilateral took place 
on March 8, word started circulating in Vientiane that a 
resolution to the case of the 21 missing Hmong girls was 
imminent.  (The girls, along with five boys and one adult 
woman, were detained by Thai local authorities and sent back 
to Laos on December 5, 2005, where they were in turn detained 
by Lao authorities.  The girls and the woman were eventually 
separated from the boys.  Lao officials initially 
acknowledged, but later denied, that the government was 
holding the children.)  At a March 7 reception following a 
European Commission ) Lao government joint committee 
meeting, the German ambassador made a cryptic remark to the 
Charge saying that we could expect good news, which seemed to 
be a reference to the children.  The next day, the Polish 
charge d,affaires told the Pol/Cons officer that Vice 
Foreign Minister Phongsavath Boupha had said on the margins 
of the meeting that he felt that the children,s case would 
soon be resolved. 
 
¶4.  (C) Soon after the March 8 bilateral, the Thai press 
began reporting that Lao Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign 
Minister Thongloun Sisoulith had told Thai Foreign Minister 
Nitya Pibulsonggram that the children had been &found.8 
Pol/Econ Chief received an e-mail from Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs spokesperson Yong Chanthalangsy, sent late on March 
9, saying, &Yes indeed, we had informed the Thai side that 
21 girls have been located and we are willing to reunite them 
with their family if they wish to.8  The Charge notified the 
UNICEF representative and a staff member in the office of the 
United National Resident Representative; neither office had 
been aware of the reports. 
 
¶5.  (U)  On March 13, a Thai news service carried the 
Thai-Lao joint communiqu on the bilateral meeting.  The 
section of the communiqu titled &Hmong Issues8 reads as 
follows: 
 
Begin text: 
 
-- 5.1  On the case of 21 Hmong children.  The Lao Government 
informed that it has already located 21 of them, all of whom 
are girls who are in good health.  The Lao authority will 
cooperate with relevant Thai authorities in contacting the 
families of these children.  The Thai side expressed their 
appreciation for the efforts that the Lao counterpart had 
 
VIENTIANE 00000205  002 OF 003 
 
 
made in this respect. 
 
-- 5.2  The Lao side expressed its understanding of the 
situation and pressure Thailand has faced on the issue of the 
Hmongs.  Both sides agreed to work closely together under the 
General Border Committee framework to find solutions to the 
problem. 
 
End text. 
 
¶6. (C)  On March 12, the Charge met with French Ambassador 
Maurice Portiche and First Secretary Robert Sourby regarding 
the situation.  (Comment:  Ambassador Portiche, who was first 
stationed in Laos in the 1970,s, is one of the most astute 
observers of contemporary Vientiane and has very good 
contacts for his earlier days here.  End comment.) 
Ambassador Portiche said that he is certain that the Hmong 
girls, return to their families will occur.  He was not sure 
of the timing, but he expected things to proceed quickly. 
The Lao-Thai bilateral border commission would be the 
mechanism for the reunification.  He said that it is quite 
possible that some girls will decide not to return to the 
Hmong holding camp in Petchabun, where life is very 
difficult.  Asked if the international community could be 
confident that the girls, wishes were being respected, 
Ambassador Portiche said that he did not think the Lao would 
play games with the situation at this point.  He noted that 
it was possible that the girls, parents would be able to 
visit them in Laos as a result of the border commission,s 
proceedings. 
 
¶7.  (C)  On March 13, MFA spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy told 
Pol/Econ Chief that the girls, situation will be resolved 
&quite soon.8  He said that some, perhaps a majority, will 
elect to stay in Laos because they were &traumatized8 by 
the Thai police in Petchabun.  Several were &extremely 
traumatized.8  Some will stay in Laos because their parents 
are here rather than in Petchabun.  The ones whose parents 
are in Petchabun will be reunited with them, even if only for 
a short time before the repatriation of the Petchabun group 
to Laos.  Meanwhile, the girls have been able to call their 
relatives in Petchabun.  (Note: The overall goal for both the 
Lao and Thai seems to be the closure of the Petchabun holding 
camp, which currently holds more than 8000 Hmong. End note.) 
 
Need for Discretion Seen 
------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (C)  Ambassador Portiche told the Charge that it is 
extremely important that the girls' return to their parents 
be allowed to take place in a discreet way.  Otherwise there 
would be a loss of face, especially for the Thais, who caused 
the situation in the first place.  Any press statements or 
public criticism could jeopardize the boys, on whose behalf 
Ambassador Portiche said there will be continued efforts. 
The Ambassador said emphatically that he sees no role for UN 
representatives in Laos in the return of the children to 
their parents.  Any attempt to try to get UNDP or UNICEF 
involved, he said, could derail the arrangements. 
 
¶9.  (C)  The UN Resident Representative's office staff 
member, with whom the Charge has been consulting daily 
regarding the girls, situation, said that the UN also 
believes that outside interference could jeopardize this 
process and does not plan to seek a role for itself. 
 
As For the Boys... 
------------------ 
 
¶10.  (C)  MFA spokesman Yong told the Pol/Econ Chief during 
their March 13 conversation that there is &no barrier8 to a 
resolution of the situation of the five boys.  This will, he 
said, have to be done step by step.  (Comment:  He clearly 
meant that it will have to be done following the resolution 
of the girls, situation.  End comment.)  In his March 12 
discussion with the Charge, Ambassador Portiche said that he 
expects that Lao officials will see how things develop 
following the return of the girls before deciding whether to 
return the boys as well.  A March 3 Radio Free Asia story 
quoted an unidentified man as saying that the boys are alive 
in northern Laos.  (Note:  This was apparently done to 
counter rumors that one or more of the boys had died.  End 
note.)  Given reports that the boys have been held in much 
harsher conditions than the girls, a face-saving resolution 
to their situation may be harder to find. 
 
Comment 
 
VIENTIANE 00000205  003 OF 003 
 
 
------- 
 
¶11.  (C)  We agree with our diplomatic colleagues about the 
need for caution and discretion in responding to this 
situation.  The return of the girls (or at least some of 
them) to their families does seem imminent.  In the past, 
however, seemingly promising resolutions to the children,s 
situation have failed to materialize, often because of 
claimed "outside interference."  We recommend that the USG 
take a low-profile approach as this plays out.  For USG 
officials to do otherwise ) e.g. to publicly question the 
premise that the girls were ever &lost,8 to issue a public 
statement (even a positive one) about the situation, to call 
for monitoring of the girls, return by international 
organizations here in Laos, or to speculate publicly about 
the eventual resettlement to a third country -- could 
jeopardize the girls, return to their families and diminish 
prospects for the boys, release.  Any press guidance on an 
&if asked8 basis should focus firmly on the positive, 
saying that we are pleased that the girls will be allowed to 
join their families, we hope this happens as soon as 
possible, and we look forward to a positive resolution to the 
boys, situation as well. 
MCGEEHAN