Please protect the "Jungle-Hmong” from Laos, Your Royal Highness!

The Society for Threatened Peoples STP (Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker GfbV) appealed on Thursday during a vigil in Göttingen to the Thai Princess Prof. Chulabhorn Mahidol to speak up in her home country for the more than 5,000 Hmong refugees from Laos. "We want to ask your Royal Highness to use your influence and put in a good word for these refugees so that they can be placed in third countries”, said the STP chair, Tilman Zülch. With notices and banners like "Please protect the Lao Hmong, Your Royal Highness”.The human rights activists waited outside the Institute for Chemistry of the University of Göttingen, where the scientist was awarded the Windaus Medal, asking her to protect the threatened minority. Although the Hmong must fear the very worst in Laos Thailand is planning to close the refugee camp in Phetchabun by the end of 2009 and to send all the Hmong back to the neighbouring country ruled by the Communists.

The Hmong, who have had to hide in the forest for decades, are being mercilessly hunted in Laos. The point is that the Hmong fought during the Vietnam war as secret allies of the CIA against the Communists. Now the survivors, their families and even children are being bloodily persecuted. Many of them have now for decades been victims of genocide-like crimes. Tens of thousands fled to Thailand, which seemed to be safe. However thousands of the Hmong have been deported by force in recent years over the Mekong to Laos sometimes under dramatic circumstances. Many refugees would rather die than return voluntarily to the country which is persecuting them.

Thailand does not allow staff of the refugee agency UNHCR to investigate reasons of individual refugees, but regards all refugees as economic migrants. The GfbV Hmong expert in New York Rebecca Sommer states that one third of the Hmong survivors of the persecution are in the Laotian jungle. She has visited the camp on several occasions and warns: "To send the refugees back to Laos would be to sign their death warrants.”

Tilman Zülch can also give further information at politik@gfbv.de