BKK Post / 23 August 1998 HILLTRIBES Hmong say they are victims of injustice The Hmong are one of four minority groups blacklisted for drug involvement by the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. The other three are Wa, Aka and Shan. The recent arrest of 126 Hmong tribespeople on rioting charges and accusations that most of the Hmong have been involved in the illicit drug trade have angered innocent tribe villagers who feel they are victims of social injustice. Many Hmong in Tambon Ruamthai Pattana in Tak's Phop Phra district, in Rong Kla and Rom Klao villages in Phitsanulok province and in Tambon Khek Noi in Phetchabun province said angrily that they were framed by police authorities who tried to convince the public into thinking that the entire Hmong population was engaged in the narcotics trade. "In every society, there are good and bad people. It's unfair to make an early conclusion that all Hmong are members of drug rings after police arrested only some tribespeople on narcotics charges," said a Hmong leader. Hmong are one of four minority groups blacklisted for drug nvolvement by the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. The other three are Wa, Aka and Shan. These tribespeople live along the Thai-Burmese border where many illicit drug- producing factories are located. According to an NSB report, 12 million tablets of amphetamines were seized in the North during the past seven months, of which, some one million pills were seized from Hmong suspects. A report from Phop Phra police also stated that 90 percent of drug suspects were Hmongs. Three Hmong-populated provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son are major transit routes for drugs, said the NSB report. A large quantity of drugs are smuggled into the North from Laos and Burma before being distributed to other regions of Thailand. Prachuab Ritnetikul, kamnan of Tambon Khek Noi in Phetchabun province, admitted amphetamine has been rampant in areas under his jurisdiction which are populated by Hmong tribespeople, adding some tribespeople, not the entire Hmong, are members of drug gangs. The strong relationship in the Hmong community has hampered authorities' efforts to root out narcotics in the areas, said the local leader. "News about drug suppression is normally leaked before we start our crackdown on drug members. Hmong who are not involved in the drug trade normally tell their relatives or friends who are drug gang members about our crackdown plans. Now, what we can do is only to tell them about the danger of narcotics and tough measures from authorities against those involved in this illicit activity." said Mr Prachuab. Pol Lt-Col Sukit Thanomsittirak, deputy superintendent of Khao Kho district police, said it was an uphill task to get access to information about narcotics trade from Hmong villagers. "We hardly receive cooperation from Hmong villagers. They normally distort facts about drugs in their community. During the past two years, we had launched crackdown operations in Khao Kho district, but failed. Our suppression plan was leaked before we started the operation," said Pol Lt-Col Sukit. Sources said the Hmong population in the country has now grown to around 180,000-200,000. These tribespeople are mostly residing in Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Tak, Uttaradit, Lampang, Phrae, Kampaeng Phet, Uthai Thani, Mae Hong Son and Saraburi. Many of them were either sympathisers or former members of the now-defunct Communist Party of Thailand. About 20,000-30,000 Hmong migrated from Laos who sought refuge in Chiang Khan and Ban Winai refugee camps. After the two camps were closed 4-5 years ago, these refugees moved to Tak and other northern provinces. Some took refuge at Wat Tham Krabok in Saraburi. In Tambon Khek Noi, there are about 10,000 Hmong villagers, of which 9,000 were granted Thai citizenship and have ID cards. Khek Noi is dubbed the capital of the Hmong community in Thailand. Thousands of Hmong flock to this tambon to celebrate the New Year party every year. Tribespeople lived in harmony. However, everything changed when amphetamine spread to this area in 1985. Many strangers came to Khek Noi and sold illicit drugs to the youths. Since then, more than one hundred youths have become addicted to the drugs. Somboon sae Lee, assistant headmaster of Ban Khek Noi School, said villagers have lived in fear since the drugs spread into Tambon Khek Noi. Violence and crimes take place here almost every day. "Now, there is no peace in our community since amphetamines spread here. Drug addicts carrying guns to threaten villagers have become common phenomenon. My wife and my children didn't want to live here. They repeatedly asked me to move from this narcotics-plagued area. However, I have nowhere to go," said Mr Somboon. According to a police report, about 20-30 percent of Hmong villagers have been involved in the narcotics trade. Large quantities of drugs have been smuggled from across the border. The drugs are hidden in Khek Noi before being sent to dealers in Tak's Phop Phra district, Khlong Lan in Kampaeng Phet and other provinces. The report held Hmong refugees responsible for transporting illicit drugs from the border to other parts of the country. The spread of drugs in Khek Noi has become a serious problem for Hmongs who are not drug addicts. They have called on authorities to help suppress the drugs in their area. "Illicit drugs have posed a threat to us. The government should seriously look into the problem and take drastic action on drug members," said Mr Somboon. Prawes sae Song, a Hmong villager from Ban Rom Klao in Phitsanulok's Chat Trakan district, was angry with accusations that most of the Hmongs were members of a drug ring. "It isn't fair to judge the entire Hmong as drug dealers. Don't make us scapegoats for a crime we don't commit," said Mr Prawes. Meanwhile, a high-level official from the National Security Council said the government has ordered concerned agencies to keep a close watch on blacklisted Hmong who were engaged in the narcotics trade. Intelligence officers and anti-narcotics police have been dispatched to Phayao and Phetchabun where the blacklisted drug gang members reside, added the official. The Nation / 23 August 1998 Politics Thais seek UNHCR aid over Hmongs By Marisa Chimprabha THAILAND is seeking assistance from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in determining the citizenship of hundreds of Hmong living in a controversial Saraburi monastery, partly to smooth relations with Laos, an informed source said Sunday. The UNHCR's Bangkok office is awaiting a decision from its New York headquarters on whether to comply with the Thai request or not, the source said. "The request to the UNHCR is in accordance with Laos' position that the screening of the Hmong in the Thamkrabok monastery should be conducted by the UN agency -- with cooperation from Thai and Laotian authorities," he said. In 1993, the UNHCR rejected a Thai request to implement the registration and screening of Hmong in the monastery. It claimed that many Hmong in the monastery did not have refugee status and had already decided not to join UN- organised programmes to be resettled in a third country. "At that time, many of them refused to reside in Thai camps where the UNHCR organised resettlement programme for them. Instead, they went directly to the monastery. Some escaped from the camps to the monastery after they failed the blood test due to narcotics substance," the source said. However, the UNHCR will reconsider Thailand's latest request for screening because it is aware that its presence could gain Laos' confidence about the process. Laos has repeatedly refused to receive the Hmong from the monastery, claiming that they were not born in Laos and that they are members of an anti-Laos movement disguised as ordinary Hmong. It has also criticised Thailand for allowing the movement to use the territory as a base to attack Laos. "However, Vientiane had informed Bangkok in a meeting that it would leave the door open if the UNHCR steps in to screen the Hmong," the source said. "If the UNHCR conducts the screening, we strongly hope that Vientiane will accept the result of the process and negotiate on how to deal with result." The Interior Ministry last week began registering the Hmong, who numbered 13,725 when registered last year. The registration process is expected to finish on Sept 4. An interior ministry source said the Hmong are being divided into three groups: those who were born in the monastery, those who came from the northern highlands of Thailand and those who were not born in Thailand. "Those who claim that they were born in the monastery have to prove it with the necessary documents, while the second group will have to show their identity card from their provincial authorities," she said. Those who cannot prove that they belong to either group are considered to be from Laos. The government must then decide how to deal with the third group, she said. Meanwhile, a senior government security source said that leaders of the anti-Laos movement no longer live in the monastery as they were given asylum and citizenship by other countries, including the US. Referring to a report that some 200 members of the movement are still the monastery, the same source said that they were only families and relatives of the movement's members. "They are not members of the movement. They are not active and have no activities relating to the movement," he said. If Laos still refuses to receive the Hmong, it is possible that the monastery inhabitants will be allowed to stay in Thailand under the same status as highlands citizens. "If Thailand agrees to allow the Hmong to stay in Thailand as Laos refuses to take them back, Laos should not criticise us of sheltering anti-Vientiane government movement in the future," the source said.