Plea for Lao Hmong

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it was "deeply concerned" about the conditions under which the Hmong have been held. "UNHCR calls on the Thai government to release all recognised refugees from detention," the rare, strongly worded statement said.

The Lao Hmong began a hunger strike last Thursday over conditions at Nong Khai Immigration Detention Centre, where they have been since late last year. They began taking food after a UNHCR team vis¬ited them on Sunday evening.

The 149 refugees include 90 children.

Janet Lim, director of  UNHCR's Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, said: "They are being held in truly inhumane conditions - including innocent children - confined to two small cells into which daylight does not even shine and not allowed to leave. They also have no water source other than a water tap in the cells.

"There is no reason for these 149 people to be detained, espe¬cially as other countries have come forward and offered them resettlement places if they are only allowed to leave Thailand. They have committed no crime. On the contrary, they have been recognised as refugees in need of protection.

"It is particularly disturbing to us that young children and babies are being subjected to these deplorable conditions." The group was rounded up for deportation in Bangkok on 17 November 2006. After UNHCR intervened, the deportation was called off and the group was transferred on 8 December to Nong Khai, on the border with Laos. Thai authorities attempted to deport them on 30 January 2007, but backed down when the refugees put up fierce resistance.

Since then, UNHCR has been urging Thai authorities to release the refugees. "We appreciate the assurances given by the Thai government that these 149 will not be deported, but now we need to move forward to end their detention, particularly as there is a solution at hand," Lim said.

The Nation