US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK5146

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 005146 
 
SIPDIS 
 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF, PREL, TH, Hmong 
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