A large group of ethnic Hmong that hid deep in inaccessible jungle since the end of the anti-communist war in 1975 surrendered to Lao authorities in the northern province of Xieng Khouang yesterday morning.

A total of 428 Hmong, including 261 children, walked for four days from their jungle base and arrived in Ban Hah in Xieng Khoung's Moung Phu Koud district at about 5am, a day later than planned because of the tough terrain, said their support group, the US-based Fact Finding Commission (FFC).

Another source said there were 405 Hmong, of whom 80 per cent were children.

Lao authorities dismissed reports of a large Hmong "surrender". A spokesman claimed the move to bring the group out of the jungle was part of a government effort to boost public services to isolated ethnic minorities.

"People in this country have freedom of movement and my government encourages them to leave their slash and burn cultivation in mountainous areas to relocate to lower land where we can provide them with public services and infrastructure," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy.

The group and its leader Moua Tua Ter have been the subject of many news reports and documentaries since Time magazine publicised their plight in 2003. Pictures of the group taken by Bangkok based photographer Philip Blenkinsop won many awards.

Moua Tua Ter, a former lieutenant in the CIA's secret army fighting the Pathet Lao during the 1960s and 1970s, and some other leaders have spent years hiding in inaccessible jungle areas for fear of punishment and torture by the Lao authorities, the FFC said in a statement. Moua Tua Ter escorted the group to a road before returning to the jungle, apparently fearing execution if he surrendered.

The FFC, which has been lobbying the US government and international organisations on behalf of the Hmong, revealed recently that the group wanted to surrender. It had urged the US Embassy in Vientiane and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to monitor the group.

But no independent agency was present when the group surrendered. The Lao army reportedly arrested all of the Hmong when they arrived in Ban Hah and was preparing to send them to unknown locations.

Many Hmong were left on their own in the jungle after Vientiane fell to the communists in 1975. Moua Tua Ter's group, which continued to resist the communists, were forced to remain isolated and suffered considerable deprivation. After their story broke in 2003, hundreds were killed in military offensives and through starvation, until their situation became so desperate they decided to surrender.

In June last year, the FFC helped 173 Hmong from the same group to surrender. But their fate is unknown. Unconfirmed reports suggest some were killed.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation