Hmongs to repatriated within 2 months : army

"Those who came from Laos will be repatriated to their place of origin with no resettlements in Thailand or third countries," Lt Gen Jiradej Kotcharat told reporters during an inspection of the new Hmong shelter in Phetchabun's Huay Nam Khao.

There are 7,653 Hmong registered at the Huay Nam Khao shelter, with an average of 26 births a month and 1.2 deaths a month, he said.

Most of the Hmong claim to have been associated with the US Central Intelligence Agency's secret army that fought against the communist movement before the fall of Vientiane in 1975 and say they fled to Thailand to escape oppression in Laos.

However, Thailand and Laos regard them as illegal immigrants who should be deported home.

Jiradej said Thai authorities would check the Hmong immigrants' records over the next two months and submit them to Vientiane for crosschecks before their repatriation.

The Army last week moved the Hmong from their roadside camp at Ban Huay Nam Khao to a higher spot a few kilometres away and began to register the population.

Some are apparently ethnic Hmong with Thai nationality, while some were Hmong left over from the closure of the Tham Krabok camp in Saraburi in mid2005, an official said.

The Nation