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[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 129 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 129

  Expressing the sense of Congress that Thailand should release the 6 
 Hmong/Lao refugee camp leaders arrested for refusing to repatriate to 
 Laos in 1994 and that Thailand should allow resettlement of eligible 
  Hmong refugees in Thai refugee facilities at Ban Na Pho, Sikhiu and 
                             Phanat Nikhom.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

            December 27 (legislative day, December 22), 1995

  Mr. Dornan submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
  Expressing the sense of Congress that Thailand should release the 6 
 Hmong/Lao refugee camp leaders arrested for refusing to repatriate to 
 Laos in 1994 and that Thailand should allow resettlement of eligible 
  Hmong refugees in Thai refugee facilities at Ban Na Pho, Sikhiu and 
                             Phanat Nikhom.

Whereas Hmong and Lao combat veterans under the command of Major General Vang 
        Pao, Commander of Military Region II of the Royal Lao Army, fought with 
        courage and valor to protect their homeland and the national security 
        interests of the United States and Thailand from invading North 
        Vietnamese Communist forces during the Vietnam war;
Whereas Hmong forces saved downed American and Thai pilots and guarded top 
        secret United States intelligence facilities in Laos that allowed the 
        United States to conduct all-weather and night bombing of North Vietnam;
Whereas the Hmong were targeted with genocide and ethnic cleansing in 1975 and 
        thereafter when the North Vietnamese military and Communist Pathet Lao 
        guerrillas consolidated their control over Laos and established the Lao 
        Peoples Democratic Republic, a one-party Communist regime;
Whereas for over 2 decades, Thailand, in cooperation with the United States and 
        the international community, has generously provided sanctuary and 
        assistance to many of the Hmong asylum seekers and refugees fleeing 
        Laos;
Whereas Hmong refugees repatriated to Laos from Thailand in recent years have 
        disappeared or have been murdered (in Laos), including the disappearance 
        of Hmong clan leader Vue Mai following his voluntary repatriation and 
        the murders of Gnia Chuc Her and Kou Her by Pathet Lao forces;
Whereas Thailand has taken steps to close the Hmong refugee camps within its 
        borders, but has pledged officially not to force Hmong refugees or 
        asylum seekers back to the Communist government in Laos;
Whereas returning to Laos remains an undesirable option for many Hmong/Lao 
        refugees because its economic and social policies violate the basic 
        human rights of its people and restrict freedom of speech, freedom of 
        assembly, freedom of religion and other basic human liberties, and 
        prohibits independent human rights organizations from entering the 
        country and monitoring returned Hmong refugees;
Whereas former Chairman Lee Hamilton and current Chairman Ben Gilman sent a 
        House Foreign Affairs Committee staff delegation to Thailand in August 
        1994, to report on the status of Hmong refugees in Thailand;
Whereas despite significant United States funding for Hmong refugee care and 
        transfer, the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee staff 
        delegation was denied entry to Ban Na Pho repatriation camp to 
        investigate and report on the status of refugees;
Whereas 6 Hmong/Lao refugee camp leaders from Ban Na Pho, Blia Thai Xiong (BV-
        3834), Vang Bee (BN 4259), Xay Hua Yang (BV-871), Fai Yee Xiong (ST-
        991), Kham Pham (NP-15439), and Tong Xee Yang (BV8677), were arrested 
        and imprisoned on September 22, 1994, by Thai Ministry of the Interior 
        (MOI) and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) 
        officials after the 6 sent out of the camp to Congressmen Hamilton and 
        Gilman a petition signed by thousands of their fellow Hmong refugees 
        declaring opposition to forced repatriation and communicating their 
        desire to resettle in a non-Communist third country;
Whereas the 6 refugee camp leaders were moved following their arrest from Ban Na 
        Pho refugee repatriation camp to the Suan Phlu Detention Center in 
        Bangkok where the conditions were reported to be deplorable by various 
        human rights organizations;
Whereas Ruprecht von Arnim, UNHCR Representative in Thailand, responded in a 
        December 7, 1994, letter to Congressmen Gilman, Leach, and Gunderson 
        that the 6 prisoners were ``in good health and are receiving 
        preferential treatment, including English classes. They are only 
        complaining of boredom;'';
Whereas on December 31, 1994, a fact-finding mission to Thailand, which included 
        congressional staff and representatives of the Lao Veterans of America, 
        visited the 6 Hmong camp leaders in Suan Phlu in Bangkok, Thailand, 
        where they found poor, cramped conditions in which the 6 slept on the 
        concrete floor with many other people and found largely untrue the 
        stated assertions of Ruprecht von Arnim; and
Whereas the 6 Hmong/Lao leaders were moved from Suan Phlu to another detention 
        center at Sikhiu where they are still under arrest and imprisoned with 
        their families: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) Thailand should immediately release the 6 Hmong/Lao 
        camp leaders and their remaining family members in Thailand so 
        that they may leave Thailand and rejoin their families in the 
        United States and elsewhere;
            (2) Thailand should immediately open Ban Na Pho 
        repatriation camp and Sikhiu Detention Center and permit all 
        eligible Hmong combat veterans and refugees there to leave 
        Thailand for resettlement in third countries;
            (3) the President and the Secretary of State of the United 
        States should use every diplomatic means available to ensure 
        that the maximum allowable Hmong refugees are accepted for 
        admission into the United States in 1995-1996; and
            (4) the President and the Secretary of State of the United 
        States should use every diplomatic means available to ensure 
        the protection of the safety and human rights of the Hmong 
        refugees in Ban Na Pho refugee repatriation camp, Sikhiu 
        Detention Center, Phanat Nikhom refugee resettlement camp, the 
        Buddist temple of Wat Tham Krabok and elsewhere in Thailand.

SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL OF RESOLUTION.

    The Clerk of the House of Representatives should transmit copies of 
this resolution to the Foreign Minister of Thailand in Bangkok, to the 
Prime Minister of Thailand in Bangkok, to the Embassy of Thailand in 
the United States, to the President of the United States, to the United 
States Secretary of State, and to the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees.
                                 <all>
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