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BBC guide beaten by Thai military
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PRESS RELEASE – March 29, 2009
While the Thai Foreign Minister has given public assurances to the international community that repatriation of the Lao-Hmong shall take place on a voluntary basis, the Thai military seems to have its own ideas on how to deal with the situation.
Late Saturday night, soldiers in Huay Nam Khao camp came to the home of Joua Va Yang, a former guide for the BBC. They approached him to “voluntarily” return to Laos but he refused due to a well-founded fear of persecution. Due to his refusal to cooperate he was severely beaten in front of his wife and children then taken to the camp jail. He was later taken to the district hospital to get his head sutured from wounds he received then taken back to the camp jail. He is currently being held along with his wife and children awaiting “voluntary” repatriation to Laos.
This type of brutal intimidation by the Thai military totally contradicts the recent assurances from Thai Foreign Minister Kasit that there is no forced repatriation of the Hmong. It looks like Mr Yang and his family will be held indefinitely inside the camp jail until they “volunteer” to return to Laos. Earlier this month there were at least 5 other Hmong refugees who suffered the same brutal treatment. While incarcerated they were continually harassed, then denied food, water and use of the bathroom.
Meanwhile, it is just a matter of time until the Thai military recruits more “voluntary” returnees from the Lao government’s blacklist. It seems that this bilateral cooperation between the Thai and Lao governments is first targeting those on the Lao government’s blacklist who are in fact the ones with the most well-founded fears of persecution.
With this type of blatant breach of international refugee law it’s hard to tell how many Hmong are really “volunteering” to return. It looks like Mr Yang will face a lifetime in prison for assisting those BBC journalists if deported to Laos, just like those Hmong guides captured back in 2003. The foreign journalists were released after just one month but their Hmong guides remain rotting inside a Vientiane jail.
When will the United States and foreign diplomatic community say enough is enough? When will they hold the Thai Foreign Ministry accountable and exert some real pressure to stop this brutal treatment of the Hmong.
Joe Davy
Hmong Advocate
Chicago
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Thai authorities arrest BBC guide for deportation
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29 March 2009 Press Release: Joe Davy
Around 8:30 pm Saturday night, Thai authorities in Huay Nam Khao camp arrested Joua Va Yang, a former guide for the BBC. Witnesses on the scene claim that authorities had beaten Mr Yang very badly during the arrest.
Back in 2004, Mr Yang led a team of BBC journalists into the jungles of Laos to document the ongoing plight of the Hmong who claim to be hunted by the Lao military due to their past association with the United States Central Intelligence Agency during the Vietnam War.
Currently, the Thai military is believed to be rounding up other Hmong refugee leaders for deportation. Those targeted are on a Lao government blacklist which was given to Thai authorities last month during an official delegation visit to the camp.
Over the past several days, Thai authorities have been very crafty in scaring these blacklisted leaders, encouraging them to escape the camp by posting their arrest warrants at the camp headquarters. The Hmong refugees believe authorities want them to attempt escape from the camp so that they can later justify their forced deportation to Laos.
Despite recent public assurances from the Thai Foreign Minister that there would be no forced repatriations, the Thai military seems to be playing hardball now by targeting those key refugee leaders on the Lao government’s blacklist. These types of scare tactics are a blatant violation of international refugee law.
The United States and foreign diplomatic community need to show some outrage and publicly condemn the Thai government on how these Hmong are being singled out with no protection whatsoever.
Joe Davy
Hmong Advocate
Chicago
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