Thailand will not deport a group of 152 Hmong migrants being detained in Nong Khai province to Laos before an agreement with Vientiane, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Concern of international organisations and human rights groups would also be taken into account before the repatriation, said the ministry's spokesman Kitti Wasinondh.

The Immigration Bureau transferred the 152 Hmong arrested in the middle of November to Nong Khai last week pending deportation across the Mekong River to Laos.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees who recognised at least 104 of them as "persons of concern" heavily lobbied Thai authorities to suspend the deportation.

However, Kitti said the shipment of the Hmong from Bangkok detention centre to Nong Khai last week was not a part of the move to deport them, but aimed to give the group some more space as the jail-like centre in Bangkok is over-crowded.

"Thailand considers the group as illegal immigrants who need to be deported to their place of origin," Kitti said, "But we will handle the matter on a humanitarian basis taking all concerns into account."

The Hmong issue, including the bigger group of more than 7,000 people being sheltered in Phetchabun, will be up for discussion between Thailand and Laos next week during a meeting of the General Border Committee, he said.

Thai authorities have already submitted to Vientiane the background and details of the 152 Hmong enabling the Lao authorities to cross-check and take back those who clearly are Lao nationals.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the Thai authorities not to force back the Hmong as they could be in grave danger due to their alleged connection with ethnic Hmong resistance groups.

"Thailand should not forcibly return Hmong who may face persecution when they go back to Laos," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch in a statement yesterday.

"Rather than breaching its international obligations, the Thai government should ensure that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is able to identify and protect those who have a well-founded fear of persecution in Laos."

The 152 Hmong, including 77 children and eight infants, were arrested on November 17 in a police round-up after they escaped from Phetchabun's Ban Huay Nam Khao shelter. 

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation