IV

104TH CONGRESS

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;
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HCON 129 IH

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 en-
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HCON 129 IH

tering 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
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HCON 129 IH

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

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring),

3 SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

4 It is the sense of the Congress that—

5 (1) Thailand should immediately release the 6

6 Hmong/Lao camp leaders and their remaining fam7 ily members in Thailand so that they may leave

8 Thailand and rejoin their families in the United

9 States and elsewhere;

10 (2) Thailand should immediately open Ban Na

11 Pho repatriation camp and Sikhiu Detention Center

12 and permit all eligible Hmong combat veterans and
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1 refugees there to leave Thailand for resettlement in

2 third countries;

3 (3) the President and the Secretary of State of

4 the United States should use every diplomatic means

5 available to ensure that the maximum allowable

6 Hmong refugees are accepted for admission into the

7 United States in 1995–1996; and

8 (4) the President and the Secretary of State of

9 the United States should use every diplomatic means

10 available to ensure the protection of the safety and

11 human rights of the Hmong refugees in Ban Na

12 Pho refugee repatriation camp, Sikhiu Detention

13 Center, Phanat Nikhom refugee resettlement camp,

14 the Buddist temple of Wat Tham Krabok and else15 where in Thailand.

16 SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL OF RESOLUTION.

17 The Clerk of the House of Representatives should

18 transmit copies of this resolution to the Foreign Minister

19 of Thailand in Bangkok, to the Prime Minister of Thai20 land in Bangkok, to the Embassy of Thailand in the

21 United States, to the President of the United States, to

22 the United States Secretary of State, and to the United

23 Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

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