U.S. Senate Questions Military Funding for Thailand During Hmong Crisis
Washington and Bangkok, December 27, 2009
Statements by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) were released on
Capitol Hill and Thailand in response to the current Lao Hmong refugee crisis in Thailand and Laos.
"Senator Leahy, chairman of the key committee in the U.S. Senate that oversees international U.S. military assistance,
has issued a clear message to the Thai Government that forced repatriation of Hmong back to Laos, as now appears
imminent, would have dire implications for U.S. military-to-military cooperation with Thailand," said Edmund McWilliams,
a retired diplomat who served at the U.S. Embassies in Thailand and Laos.
"Thailand and the United States are long time friends and allies, and our armed forces have developed a cooperative
relationship," Senator Leahy said. "Many Thai military officers have been trained in the United States, and Thai
soldiers have participated in joint U.S.-Thai training exercises such as Operation Cobra Gold... I am very concerned, as
I know are other Senators, that the Thai Government may be on the verge of deporting roughly 4,000 ethnic Hmong back to
Laos... it could badly damage the Thai military's reputation, and put our military collaboration at risk." http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2009_record=S13870=all
"U.S. Senators, Russ Feingold (D-WI), Richard Lugar (R-IN ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Al Franken
(D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Begich (D-AK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to
Prime Minister Abhisit earlier this month in opposition to the return of the Hmong to Laos," said Philip Smith,
Executive Director of the CPPA in Washington, D.C. "A troop convoy of over 50 Thai army trucks with heavily armed
soldiers has been deployed at the main Hmong refugee camp at Ban Huay Nam Khao to force thousands of defenseless
political refugees back to Laos over the Christmas and New Year holiday."
"U.S. Senators say that the return of Lao Hmong refugees to Laos by Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Army
Chief of Staff General Anupong Paochinda may have negative effects on America's relationship with Thailand, including
potential damage to the U.S.-Thai military relationship and the annual Cobra Gold exercises," Smith stated. http://centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org
Smith concluded: "Senator Leahy and others are calling for the potential review of funding for U.S.-Thailand military
relations as General Anupong and Prime Minister Abhisit order the Thai Army to forcibly repatriate defenseless Lao Hmong
political refugees at Huay Nam Khao in Petchabun Province back to the communist regime in Laos, where the refugees fled
persecution. Moreover, Abhisit and Anupong have ignored repeated appeals by Members of Congress and the international
community to His Majesty, Bhumibol Adulayadej, the King of Thailand, to grant asylum to the Hmong refugees until they
can be resettled abroad."
"Many refugees will suffer and die in Laos," said Vaughn Vang of the Lao Human Rights Council.
ENDS