Officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are talking with Thai authorities about 194 people rounded up in Bangkok about three weeks ago.

Most of the "illegals" held at the Immigration Detention Centre in Suan Phlu are Hmong who have fled brutal suppression in Laos. Almost all those in custody are believed to have UN documents declaring them to be "persons of concern".

Given that, rights activists here and in the US are wondering why the 194 have to be locked up in the packed detention centre - where many are reportedly sick and fearful - while awaiting resettlement in third countries. The Hmong in Suan Phlu includes pregnant women and elderly. They claim to have been repeatedly threatened with being sent back and that Lao officials have been allowed into the IDC and given all their details.

"It is ridiculous and preposterous to have them penned up like they are," one member of a major international group said this week.

One complaint to the UNHCR this week said the Hmong "are astounded as to why the Thais treat them so bad, as it was the Thai military, backed by support from the US, who actively recruited and trained them to fight against the communists during the war in neighboring Laos. Then years later in the 1980s, under a secret and unacknowledged programme, the Thai government actively recruited many Hmong refugees out of UNHCR run refugee camps. These Hmong were used to fight communist insurgents inside Thailand and to fight some of Thailand's border wars with Laos. The Hmong have always been very loyal to Thailand and very grateful for the asylum they have received on her behalf, but the way they are currently being treated inside Suan Phlu IDC has really torn them apart in disbelief."

Human rights activists have been lobbying the US Embassy in Bangkok and foreign missions to pressure Bangkok not to return the Hmong, fearing that many would face endless years of misery in jail and some may well be executed. Some of those in Suan Phlu are believed to have been leaders of groups that lived in the jungle for years, hiding and fleeing from Lao and Vietnamese troops in isolated parts of central and northern Laos.

A spokeswoman for the UNHCR said: "We are trying to find a viable solution for them. We are grateful to the Thai government for suspending deportation and taking into consideration the status of those people as asylum seekers."

The round-up of the 194 followed the deportation two weeks ago of 53 Hmong from Nong Khai province - who appear to have been en route to Huay Nam Khao in Phetchabun, where more than 8,000 Hmong are now being sheltered.

The UNHCR was highly critical of the forced return of the 53, saying it contravened international humanitarian law. It feared genuine refugees were among those sent back to Laos and there was no guarantee those deported would be treated properly.

Guiseppe de Vincentis, the acting representative for the UNHCR in Thailand, also noted that there has been no trace of 26 Hmong children deported back to Laos in December last year - despite international lobbying efforts to reunite them with their parents, most of whom remain in Phetchabun.

Foreign ministry officials said the deportations were in line with Thai law and done with the consent of Lao officials. The Thai position was that the 53 Hmong were simply illegal immigrants - not refugees.

The Surayud government's performance in regard to refugees has been mixed, key observers say. Moves started by the previous administration to improve the well-being of the 150,000 or so refugees on the Thai-Burma border have been positive and going ahead slowly. Burmese Karen are now being resettled in the US, Australia and other countries, and work is underway to issue ID cards to the refugees early next year, which would be a prelude to allowing them to work or sell produce in local markets.

But on the Lao side, ironically perhaps, it's a different story. Vientiane denies any persecution of the Hmong despite a mass of evidence to the contrary. Accounts by refugees in Phetchabun and the handful of international media who have sneaked in to document the ugly remnants of the "secret war" make a mockery of Laos' official stance.

Bangkok has said little to challenge this, in a bid to maintain good relations with its neighbour. Police in Udon Thani uncovered strong evidence in June that Vientiane had paid rogue Thai police to murder up to 18 Lao dissidents in Isaan. Two of the victims were US Hmong shot at a Nong Khai monastery in broad daylight 11 months ago. Yet barely a peep has been heard of this amazing confession since then.

Details of Laos' suppression of the Hmong who never integrated into mainstream society after the Vietnam War are difficult to obtain. Supporter groups in the US have put the number of "jungle Hmong" at 10,000 to 12,000 but some activists suspect these figures have been inflated for political purposes. Recent estimates suggest there may only be 2,000 to 3,000 people left in about a dozen groups spread from Vientiane province to Phu Pha Thi, Borikhamsai, Phu Bia, and Nam Tau Sam Seng.

Thousands more - either captured or who surrendered - are believed to be held in isolated prison camps. The conditions of their imprisonment - for men and boys as young as 12 or 14 - are said to be harsh.

A report from one US activist last month said: "These Hmong are constantly held in leg-stocks. They are held four together and are only released temporarily to go to the washroom. Even then, they are supposedly chained together with one other prisoner to avoid the possibility of escape."

The treatment of Hmong women and children from jungle groups is allegedly little better. Many are separated and taken to villages along the Vietnamese border. One woman who managed to flee to Thailand and registered with the UNHCR told of being repeatedly raped by Lao police and soldiers for over a year, until she finally escaped.

An employee of one NGO working with the Hmong in Phetchabun said: "Many people are coming from the jungle [in Laos] and they're coming for good reason. The more we're there, the more we know the evidence of what they've been through - it's terrible."

Some people had bullet or shrapnel wounds, while others were very small or stunted because of chronic malnutrition. Their personal stories were very consistent, he said. Most of them lived in groups of four to five families and had no political aims or modern weapons. They simply foraged for food such as yams, and ran when Lao troops came, then regrouped at secret locations later.

"The Thai government officially doesn't want to admit that these people are something else than illegal immigrants ... [but] they're persecuted! They deserve to be recognised as refugees and 'persons of concern'. Give them the protection they deserve.

"It's important that the UN gets involved and that the Thai authorities say who [among those at Huay Nam Khao] are Thai Hmong; we think it's about 1,500 [of the more than 8,000].

"Everybody knows what's happening to those Hmong in Laos, but nobody is doing anything. Why don't we put more pressure on the Lao government to stop this kind of thing? The donor community needs to stand up, and the UN needs to take responsibility."

# See www.rogerarnold.net and www.factfinding.org for pictures of the alleged massacre of 26 Hmong near Vang Vieng on April 6.

Jim Pollard

The Nation