[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 35 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 HOUSE REPUBLICAN RESEARCH COMMITTEE CONCERN ABOUT THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF 
                  HMONG REFUGEES IN THAILAND AND LAOS.

                                 ______


                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 24, 1994

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, Hmong refugees who have been subjected to 
mandatory and forced repatriation from camps in Thailand to Laos are 
disappearing and dying. Laos remains under the crushing jackboot of a 
repressive Communist regime that remains closed to monitoring by 
independent human rights organizations and continues to cling to power 
with its brutal military and secret police.
  The current Hmong refugee crisis is very serious. On behalf of the 
House Republican Research Committee, and as a veteran of the war in 
Vietnam, I urge this Congress to take immediate action on the 
recommendations set forth in the following letter I received recently 
from the Hmong people.

                                     Lao Human Rights Council,

                                        Denver, CO, March 7, 1994.
     Hon. Duncan Hunter,
     Chairman of the Republican Research Committee, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Hunter: On behalf of the Lao/Hmong-
     American community in the United States and Lao/Hmong 
     refugees in the camps in Thailand, I appeal to you and your 
     colleagues in the U.S. Congress to make every effort to stop 
     the forced repatriation of Hmong refugees from Thailand to 
     Laos. The U.S. Congress should also move to harshly condemn 
     the Communist Pathet Lao government for the persecution, 
     abduction and murder of Lao/Hmong returnees in Laos.
       On April 27, 1993, officials of the Thai government and 
     UNHCR forced Mr. Vang Thai Xiong and his family members as 
     well as about 400 non-volunteer refugees from the Napho Camp, 
     Thailand back to Laos. The Philadelphia Inquirer of February 
     27, 1994, accurately reported that Vang Thai Xiong and 
     several hundred other non-volunteer refugees were forced from 
     Thailand back to Laos. On February 27, 1994, Thai and UN 
     officials forced Mr. Wa Lor Xiong (BSC 1526), Wa Chue Kong 
     (BSC 1283), and Ms. Chia Lee (BSC 169), and several other 
     non-volunteer refugees from the Napho Camp in Thailand back 
     to Laos. On March 5, 1994, a number of reliable sources in 
     Thailand reported that about 2,500 non-volunteer refugees 
     will be forced to return to Laos in the near future. Many 
     Hmong refugees also report that the authorities have used 
     food as a political weapon and tool to punish them and to 
     force them to register for ``voluntary'' (forced) 
     repatriation. Recently, high metal fences have been installed 
     surrounding the refugees in the Napho Camp. Now, it is a 
     detention center or prison camp to punish the refugees and 
     force them to return to Laos. About 50,000 Hmong refugees 
     will be forced from Thailand back to Laos between 1994 and 
     1995. The refugees oppose forced repatriation.
       According to reliable sources from Thailand and Laos, as 
     well as human rights groups, Mr. Vue Mai, the former chairman 
     of the Ban Vinai Camp and a volunteer returnee and leader who 
     led the Hmong refugees from Thailand to Laos, ``disappeared'' 
     on September 11, 1993, from his house in Vientiane, the 
     capital of Laos. Four days later, Hmong refugee leader, Mr. 
     Chong Moua Thao, the former Vice Chairman of the Chieng Kham 
     Camp, Thailand, died of apparent food poisoning after 
     eating a meal with senior officials of the Communist 
     Pathet Lao government.
       Mr. Chong Moua Thao led several hundred Hmong refugees back 
     to Laos from the Chieng Kham Camp, Thailand, on August 13, 
     1992. He died on September 15, 1993. Mr. Vue Mai returned to 
     Laos on November 10, 1992. He disappeared on September 11, 
     1993. There are several hundred cases similar to the cases of 
     Vue Mai and Chong Moua Thao. From 1991 to 1993, about 4,000 
     Hmong refugees were forced to return to Laos from Thailand. 
     Hundreds of returnees disappeared, were persecuted, 
     imprisoned, tortured, executed or otherwise killed.
       Therefore, the Hmong refugees in Thailand, the Lao/Hmong-
     American community and the Lao Human Rights Council, Inc., in 
     the United States, would like to propose the following points 
     to you and other members of the U.S. Congress for action:
       1. The U.S. Congress should urge the Thai government and 
     the UNHCR to allow Hmong refugees to choose freedom of 
     residence, freedom of movement and family reunification, 
     according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 
     the U.S. Refugee Acts of 1975 and 1980.
       2. The U.S. government, Thai government and the United 
     Nations must recognize that Hmong refugees are political 
     refugees because of the legacy of the Vietnam War and the 
     role of the Hmong in the CIA's ``Secret War.''
       3. Peace, democracy, human rights, freedom, justice and 
     safety must be restored to Laos like it has been done in 
     Cambodia, before the repatriation of Hmong refugees from 
     Thailand to Laos continues.
       4. The U.S. government, Thai government and the United 
     Nations should provide emergency humanitarian assistance 
     inside Thailand for the Hmong refugees to stay there 
     temporarily, so the refugees have the opportunity to choose 
     freedom of residence and freedom of movement according to 
     international refugee law and the Universal Declaration of 
     Human Rights.
       5. The U.S. government and the United Nations should insist 
     that all North Vietnamese troops be removed from Laos 
     completely and unconditionally before any further 
     repatriation of refugees back to Laos takes place.
       6. Unsolved problems of the Hmong refugees in Thailand must 
     be based upon the Eighteen Points on Laos which were 
     published in the Congressional Record of October 3, 1991.
       7. U.S. Congressional hearings on the Lao/Hmong refugee 
     crisis and factfinding missions to the refugee camps in 
     Thailand and in Laos are necessary and important.
       The above seven-point proposal was written in consultation 
     with Lao/Hmong refugees in Thailand as well as the Lao/Hmong 
     community representatives in the United States.
       I have been elected by the Lao/Hmong people in America to 
     serve as the Chairman and Executive Director of the Lao Human 
     Rights Council, Inc., since 1987. Therefore, I sign my name 
     on behalf of the Lao/Hmong refugees and communities in the 
     United States, with the authority they have entrusted me 
     with.
       I submit the above points to you and members of the U.S. 
     House of Representatives and Senate for your earliest 
     consideration and action.
       Your assistance is urgently needed.
           Respectfully yours,

                                              Dr. Vang Pobzeb,

                                                         Chairman,
     Lao Human Rights Council, Inc. in the United States.

                          ____________________