Lao general offers aid if they return

Hmong in the Ban Huay Nam Khao in Phetchabun

A senior Lao official told Hmong refugees in the Ban Huay Nam Khao shelter yesterday that the ethnic group has no other option but to return home to Laos.

 "Don't hope for a third country, nobody will receive you. Don't dream for a resistance movement, nobody supports you. The quicker you make the decision, the better life you will have," said Lao Deputy chief of staff Brig Gen Buaxieng Champaphan.

 Buaxieng is the first senior Lao official to visit the camp in Phetchabun to try and convince more than 5,000 Hmong to return home voluntarily.

 The general told representatives of the Hmong that Lao authorities would not punish them for fleeing the  country. Each would receive financial assistance of 300,000 kip (Bt1,800), a house and plot of land for farming upon their return, he said.

 The Hmong has been in Thailand since late 2004 after they fled Laos. Some claimed they were close associates of CIA secret fighters who fought against Vientiane before 1975.

 Thailand and Laos considered them illegal migrants who needed to be repatriated to their places of origin.

 Lt. General Nipat Thonglek, head of the Department of Military Border Affairs said Buaxieng's visit was designed to build confidence among the Hmong on their safety and wellbeing upon return.

 Nipat and Buaxieng are cochairpersons of the ThaiLao general border subcommittee who have worked for Hmong repatriation over the past two years.

 A total of 2,057 Hmong have been repatriated since May 2007. Currently 5,474 remain in Ban Huay Nam Khao.

 The repatriation has been slow because Thai authorities would not force them to return against their will, Nipat said.

 "Sooner or later, we will work out [arrangements with them] until all voluntarily return home," Buaxieng said.

 Buaxieng brought with him Pia Ly, a former refugee who was repatriated late last year, to guarantee safety and good treatment of the Hmong  when they returned home.

 "I guarantee you will receive a warm welcome from the government and will get a new house, one that is better than a shelter here," he said.

However Pia Ly told reporters later that his Hmong fellows did not believe what he had said.

 Poh Tor,35, a representative of the Hmong, said after listening to Buaxieng he made the decision to stay on as he fears for his safety.

 "I tried to reach the Lao general to tell him my decision but officials would not allow me," told The Nation after the meeting.

 The Hmong ethnic who accompanied Buaxieng to the camp yesterday was not allowed to talk openly to reporters.