Expert on Gen Vang Pao calls visit a 'NixontoChina' sort of gamble; Foreign Ministry denies any knowledge of plan
General Vang Pao, the Hmong commander during the CIA years and now in American exile, has announced that he is returning to Laos in January, to try to resolve old issues of Hmong resistance fighters in the hills and Hmong refugees in neighboring Thailand, according to a source close to an expert on the long war.
The Thai Foreign Ministry yesterday remained guarded about reports that Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya played a significant role in what is being dubbed a major breakthrough to end the prolonged conflict that grew out of the Vietnam War.
The breaking news came against a backdrop of new controversy involving Hmong refugees in Thailand. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday rejected an appeal by nine American senators to delay repatriation of more than 4,000 Hmong from Phetchabun and Nong Khai to Laos.
Kasit could not be immediately reached for comment, but his secretary, Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, was apparently unaware of Vang Pao's home returning plan. "We had a meeting with senior security officials involved with the Hmong issue yesterday but nobody mentioned such a development," he said.
However, the source close to Roger Warner, who is writing a book and shooting a documentary film about Vang Pao, said the writer had been personally informed that the man in exile was planning to return to Laos. In emails to his close friends, Warner was excited and he believed that the dramatic return will greatly boost chances of reconciliation.
"It's a time of great drama, a NixongoestoChina kind of gamble. Nobody knows whether it will work, but it's clearly worth a shot," one source quoted his email as saying.
Warner also wrote about the development on the huffingtonpost.com. "Until a few months ago, Vang Pao was the marquee defenŽdant in a U.S. federal terrorism case accused of conspiring to overŽthrow the same Laotian regime with which he's now trying to recŽoncile. Now, with the help of repreŽsentatives of the king of Thailand another one of Laos's nextdoor neighbors and an unnamed member of the Lao Poliburo, this 80year old tribesman has put togethŽer a tentative deal. The plan may or may not come to fruition, but it has a certain NixongoestoChina audacity. And it has exposed an embarrassing reluctance to act by the U.S. State Department even though the State Department helped create the Hmong problem in the first place," he said.
The Hmong problem has come back to haunt every party involved, with a Thai repatriation plan being met with international criticism.
Prime Minister Abhisit yesterday insisted that the repatriation was being conducted in accordance with laws and human rights practices.
"It will not affect their rights and the officials would work along these lines," Abhisit told reporters yesterday.
In a letter to Abhisit last week, the US senators expressed concern over the forced repatriation, the deadline for which is the end of this year.
"We remain concerned regarding the lack of transparency in the screening process and the absence of a civilian entity to lead it," the letter dated December 17 said.
Senator Patrick Leahy, who also signed the letter, addressed this issue on the Senate floor in Washington on Wednesday, when he brought up the plight of 158 Hmong in Nong Khai's detention centre. He said this group was under the protection of UNHCR as people of concern, but were still being repatriated to Laos.
"No one with a valid claim should be returned to Laos except on a voluntary basis. The US, and other countries, can help reset?tle those who do have valid claims but need access and the opportunity to conŽsider relevant cases," Leahy said.
Speaking on the phone from Phetchabun, a Hmong representative said they would fight against the repatriation until they die.
