US probes claims Hmong facing persecution in Laos
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Tuesday it was investigating claims by lawmakers that Hmong people living in the jungles of Laos were being persecuted and the need for granting access to them.
The ethnic minority Hmong in the 1960s and 70s fought alongside US forces when the Vietnam War spilled into Laos. After the war ended in 1975, many of them fled to the jungles as the communist authorities allegedly targeted them for working with the CIA during the war.
Several US Senators last week wrote to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice asking her to provide them with an update on US efforts for more robust human rights monitoring of the Hmong people.
In addition, they wanted to know what steps the Laotian government had taken to improve its human rights record.
"As longtime advocates for legitimate Hmong refugees, we are concerned about ongoing reports of persecution of those who live in the jungles of Laos," the five senators wrote to Rice.
The State Department said it was looking into the claims.
"We are looking into it and going to provide a specific response as soon as possible," a department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The lawmakers said they had expected international human rights monitoring groups to be allowed greater access to the Hmong after the United States normalized trade relations with Laos in December 2004.
Human rights monitoring groups in Washington claim that about 8,000 Hmong who had fled to Thailand and lived there for years were being forced by the Thai military to make written declarations that they were illegal aliens and volunteering to return to Laos.
They feared the declarations were part of moves by Bangkok to set the pace for forced repatriation.
"We feel very strongly that this is a major effort to force these Lao Hmong refugees and asylum seekers back to Laos," said Philip Smith, executive director for the Washington-based Center for Public Policy Analysis.
The State Department official said that as a general rule, asylum seekers "should not be deported without adequate screening of refugee claims and 'non refoulement' (sending refugees back against their will without checking into their claims)."
"It is a fundamental humanitarian principle that we urge all governments to respect, and as Thailand has a long history of doing," the official said.
