Origins will decide fate of Hmong THE Interior Ministry has completed registration of thousands of Hmong hilltribe people in a drug treatment monastery in Saraburi province and will proceed with determining their countries of origin, Interior Deputy Permanent Secretary Damri Wattanasingha said yesterday. About 13,000 ethnic Hmong in the Thamkrabok monastery, set up in 1963, were registered and photographed in the Interior Ministry's attempt to organise and monitor the activities of the Hmong within the monastery, Damri said. "The next step is to identify the places of origin of the 13,000, whether they were born in Thailand or in Laos. Those who are not Thai citizens will be deported," he said. He added, however, that the process will take a long time. After the process is complete, the ministry will submit the results to the government, which will consider what to do with the monastery and the Hmong there. Damri was referring to the Thamkrabok monastery, which is referred to by security officials as a "lawless and liberated state", as it has housed an undetermined number of Hmong of unknown origins. The monastery has issued its own identity cards and house registration documents to the Hmong living within its bounds. The presence of the ethnic group is considered a national security threat, as the monastery, which is located in the heart of Saraburi province, is less than an hour from Bangkok. The Thamkrabok issue has become increasingly controversial and sensitive as the Lao government has repeatedly asked Thailand about the presence of the Laotians in the monastery. The chief monk is Phra Chamroon Panchan, a Magsaysay Award winner. Laos claims there is still an anti-Lao government movement operating along the border and suspects the monastery is a hideout for members of the movement. The case became more sensitive and affected bilateral ties when Laotian security forces killed three men who they alleged were members of the anti-government movement. Found on the three were identity cards issued by the monastery. In 1993, the National Security Council issued an alert that the Hmong in the monastery could be a threat to national security. Laotian President Nouhak Phoumsavan asked former prime minister Banharn Silapa-archa during an official visit last year to suppress the anti-government movement, whose members were active along the Thai-Lao border. The monastery, which was set up as a drug treatment centre, became a haven for unskilled labourers. Hmong who went to receive drug treatment at the monastery usually brought along their families. Because the Hmong refuse to practice family planning due to their religious beliefs, there has been a huge increase in the population within the monastery. Saraburi governor Amnuay Yodphet said, "We are protecting the Hmong in the monastery on a humanitarian basis. We have provided many types of assistance to them, including public health, education to their children, and safety." The governor said that some Hmong residing in the monastery were illegal immigrants. "There are two kinds of Hmong in the monastery. The first are those who have a certificate from Thai border authorities stating they came here to receive drug treatment. The others are those who illegally entered Thailand," he said. Only Hmong who are documented are eligible to work in Thailand, Amnuay said, adding that Saraburi police arrest non-documented Hmong every month. The Hmong in the monastery are reportedly a major source of labour for Saraburi and nearby provinces. Thai officials have tried many times to document the Hmong living in the monastery, but due to frequent changes of government and overlapping authorities were unsuccessful. Damri said, "Government agencies could not fully investigate the monastery as it is located on a plot of land and is privately owned." According to an intelligence report, the monastery was erected on 32 rai belonging to Khunying Aree Chualsap and later became part of the Thamkrabok Foundation, whose chairman is retired ACM Chakorn Thatanond. There have been reports that some Hmong residing in the monastery escaped from a refugee camp in Loei province which housed Laotians fleeing suppression by the Lao government. Damri and Amnuay yesterday accompanied Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasan to tour the monastery. The minister, who was scheduled to tour the grounds by foot, opted for a car, saying he did not want to bother the residents. Prachuab is scheduled to make an official visit to Laos next week. His visit yesterday, he said, was to help him prepare for his visit as Laos will likely raise the subject of its nationals residing in Thailand. Prachuab said he believed a number of Hmong in the monastery came from Laos. However, he said Laos did not doubt Thailand's position concerning the presence of the Hmong in the country. He said the Thai government allowed the Hmong in for humanitarian reasons and that it would protect and provide assistance to them. However, screening is urgently needed to determine their country of origin. (The Nation, 11 January 1997) Lao communists hold strong, one independent wins BANGKOK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Laos' communist party consolidated its grip on power in recent elections with just one independent candidate garnering a seat in the 99-member National Assembly, diplomats said on Monday. Election results published in state-run newspapers showed that only one of four approved non-party members won a seat in the December 21 poll -- the fourth election in 22 years. Members of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), which has ruled the tiny impoverished nation since taking power in 1975 after abolishing an absolute monarchy, won the other 98 seats. Only four of the 159 candidates vying for the National Assembly seats were non-party members, and the LPRP rejected six others who had sought to run. "The result of the election has proved that the party is taking total control in all aspects of the state agencies," a Vientiane-based diplomat told Reuters. He said the early results showed that there were two independent candidates who won. But a recount in one province saw an independent candidate lose out to an army officer. The LPRP led the communist army to wrest power from the pro-western government in 1975 and has run the nation of 4.6 million people under a communist-style leadership ever since. The new elected National Assembly, expanded from the previous 85 members, is expected to hold its first session in February or early March, diplomats said. In the previous government there were four non-party members.