Thailand will return some 8,000 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos despite their claims that they face persecution in their homeland, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said today. He asserted that most of the refugees did not have legitimate asylum claims, but said an unspecified third country would be asked to monitor their repatriation to assure they were not abused. Members of Laos' Hmong minority served in a CIA-backed guerrilla army that fought against Lao communists in the 1960s and 1970s. The refugees claim that as a result they face political persecution and possible harm in communist Laos. Human rights groups and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also have expressed concern for the Hmong, in large part because the government of Laos does not allow free monitoring of their condition. Surayud said the matter had been discussed with Laos and "we will make sure representatives from a third country are present to prevent human rights abuse as we send them back." Surayud said the country overseeing the repatriations would likely be a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which both Thailand and Laos belong.

AP, San Jose Mercury News
Do you agree that Hmong refugees should be returned to Laos from Thailand, given that the transfer is monitored by a third nation?