US congressmen visit Lao Hmong returnees – Lao News Agency

(KPL) No evidence of mistreatment of Hmong repatriates from Thailand is recorded as claimed by some groups, said visiting US congressmen.

The delegation, led by Chairman Faleomavaega, is visiting Laos as part of a four-nation tour including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Japan. It is the first US congressional delegation that consists entirely of Asia Pacific Americans, to travel to the region.

“There is no indication of discrimination or harassment or mistreatment to the people in Phalak village,” Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Eni Faleomavaega, said at a press conference in Vientiane on Saturday.

Mr. Faleomavaega and two other congressmen, Mr. Mike Honda and Mr. Anh Joseph Cao, made the statement after paying a visit to Phalak village in Vientiane province where the Lao government has settled about half of the illegal Lao Hmong migrants who have been repatriated from Thailand last month.

The visit of the US congressmen to Phalak village to seek out the facts concerning the returnees follows widespread speculation in the media that returning Lao Hmong were being executed. The Thai and Lao governments agreed to release and repatriate over 4,000 Lao Hmong from Thai detention camps at the end of last month after learning they were not refugees but victims of people smuggling.

The Lao Hmong were tricked into believing they would have a chance to travel to the US if they first went to a camp in Phetchabun province, Thailand.

The Lao government has allocated a large amount of money to build shelters and give farmland to the returnees so they can have better living conditions. Many of the returnees said they were happy to be back in their motherland after several years of waiting for nothing in the detention camp in Thailand. They reported that conditions in the camp were very bad, with inadequate food, poor health conditions and housing, and little or no education for their children.

There were also significant family and social conflicts due to their crowded and prolonged confinement.

“Right now there’s a lot of misinformation. There have been accusations made that the Hmong people coming from Thailand are being executed by the government of Laos,” said Mr. Faleomavaega. “Our purpose is not to come to criticise and pass judgment on something we do not have enough information on.”

He said that was a very serious accusation, one that affected the media or whoever was promoting this kind of information and this was sad because it caused a lot of tension.

“There are 100,000 Hmong in the US so some may have relatives and so may make up these stories just to get the attention of our two governments or just to find out what is going on here,” said Mr. Faleomavaega.

The US congressman said that Mr. Honda represents the 15th Congressional District and many Hmong and Lao people lived in this district and when he goes back to California he will meet with them to let them know he visited Laos.

Officials said the visit of the US congressmen to Laos from January 7 to 9 was to discuss bilateral relations. In addition, the delegation is in Laos to learn more about unexploded ordnance clearance operations, as well as to explore ways to strengthen ties between Laos and the United States.

While in Laos, the group is meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Thongloun Sisoulith and Dr. Saysomphone Phomvihane, Vice-President of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Commission to discuss bilateral relations.

Source: KPL Lao News Agency
January 12, 2010