The Nation / 7 August 1998 Headlines Hmong in monastery to be sent back IN A move aimed at ending a long-standing hitch in Thai- Lao bilateral ties and mounting social problems in Thailand, the National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday decided to clear out over 10,000 Hmong, some believed to be former members of the anti-Vientiane movement, currently living in the Wat Tham Krabok monastery in Saraburi province. NSC secretary-general Gen Boonsak Kamhaeng-ritthirong said all Hmong in the monastery there will be sent back to their hometowns -- either in northern Thailand or Laos -- or resettled in a third country if they have refugee status. Boonsak said those who were unable to return to their home country may obtain illegal migrant worker status. He failed to elaborate on how the NSC would deal with rebel remnants who refused to return to Laos. The NSC chief said the plan has no time frame but added that authorities have been authorised to commence the evacuation as soon as the exact number of Hmong is verified. A census conducted last November by the Interior Ministry showed about 13,000 Hmong at the monastery, 300 of whom were members of the anti-Vientiane resistance movement. Unofficial figures were higher as the monastery has become a lucrative ''job placement agency'' for contractors seeking cheap labour. He said the committee will meet in the next two months to review the plan's progress. Boonsak said the vacated monastery, which is run by former security police officer and Magsaysay laureate Abbot Phra Chamroon Panchant, will be allowed to remain a drug rehabilitation centre but would be given less of the ''extreme'' freedom it had previously enjoyed. The drastic action followed an internal meeting called by Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai on how to handle the Hmong, who have been a bone of contention in bilateral talks between the two governments. Vientiane has persistently asked Thailand to take action against the Wat Tham Krabok Hmong, whom it believes to be remnants of the US-backed right-wing resistance movement headed by exiled Hmong leader Gen Van Pao. ''Now this problem has been decisively dealt with and removed once and for all and I believe that the Lao government is satisfied,'' Chuan said. The government's plan last year to relocate the Van Pao Hmong to a former Vietnamese refugee holding centre in Nakhon Ratchasima's Si Khiu district pending repatriation was aborted due to budget constraints and unsettled negotiations over the fate of those to be repatriated. Laos insisted it would not accept them back and suggested the government grant them Thai citizenship. However, Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said on Thursday that the government recently put forward the proposal to Laos and Vientiane agreed to consider Hmong returnees favourably. According to Surin, a decision from Vientiane is expected when Thai and Lao authorities convene a meeting of the border security sub-committee later this month. Tham Krabok, set up in 1957 as a drug rehabilitation centre, has allegedly been a sanctuary for the right-wing exiles. Money, mostly from the United States, a long-time opponent of the Communist Lao government, was allegedly used to sustain subversive operations inside Laos. Phra Chamroon categorically denied the charge and challenged state powers to take action if his monastery was guilty of harbouring insurgents. Boonsak said the Van Pao Hmong may still be receiving covert support, but only from outside Thailand. ''We no longer care who continues to support them. But what we [are doing] is to ... maintain law and order. Those who have caused social unrest will be dealt with according to Thai law,'' he said. Chuan said on Thursday that legal action will be taken against those at the monastery found to be involved in the drugs trade and responsible for the installation of His Majesty the King's statue without permission. BKK Post / 8 August 1998 JAIL Convicts who escaped caught in Laos Loei Two more convicts who escaped from prison here have been recaptured in Laos, Thai authorities said yesterday. Chaiwat sae Toen, 36, and Kaew Sopameechai, 29, both drug convicts, were arrested in Ken Thao, Sayaboury province of Laos, they said. The two jailbreakers were later handed over to Thai authorities who gave 20,000 baht to Laotian counterparts as rewards. Chaiwat and Kaew were among 11 prisoners who escaped late last month. Four of them remain at large. Chaiwat is believed to have masterminded the jailbreak, according to authorities. The seven who were recaptured claimed they had bribed some wardens to help them escape. However, the accused wardens have already been cleared by a fact-finding panel of the Corrections Department. BKK Post / 8 August 1998 DATELINE BANGKOK Separate good from the bad Top officials in charge of national security have handled the problem of the ethnic Hmong with wisdom. They are able to differentiate between the Hmong at Tham Krabok temple in Saraburi and those at Phob Phra district in Tak. According to Col Anusorn Kocharat of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), there are more than 111,600 Hmong people living in 242 villages in 13 provinces. About 35,000 of them - including those who had served under an anti-communist Laotian general - are living at Tham Krabok temple. The ethic community has been in the news in recent weeks after several Hmong people were arrested on charges of producing and trafficking amphetamines. Drug arrests were reportedly made in Phob Phra district of Tak. Tham Krabok temple, however, is a drug rehabilitation centre run by Magsaysay Award-winning abbot Phra Chamroon Parnchan. At issue here is the problem of amphetamine addiction, which directly affects national security. Certain groups of Hmong people are believed to be involved in the drug trade. Phob Phra, however, is merely a "transit point" for amphetamines. It is not a major source of production. The problem of Hmong people at Tham Krabok temple is more sensitive. The ethnic community comprises Hmong who were born in Thailand and those who came from Laos. The issue is more complex because the Lao-based Hmong once served under Gen Vang Pao, who used to be connected to the US Central Intelligence Agency. To tackle the problem, Thai authorities must separate good Hmong from those who engage in the drug trade. They must separate Hmong born in Thailand from those who migrated from other countries, especially those under Gen Vang Pao. The authorities must take care that their action does not harm those who abide by the law and are honest citizens of the country. - Editorial from Khao Sod