ILLEGAL MIGRANTSSECURITY CONCERN : Army to put Hmong in camp

ILLEGAL MIGRANTSSECURITY CONCERN : Army to put Hmong in camp.

WASSANA NANUAM

Council for National Security chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin has ordered the Third Army to set up a temporary holding camp for 6,000 Hmong migrants in Phetchabun. The move is an attempt to better regulate the movements of Hmong migrants who have made their way into Thailand illegally from Laos.

They will remain at the new centre pending the government's decision on whether to repatriate them or send them to a third country.

Gen Sonthi, in his capacity as director of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), said illegal migrants could pose a threat to national security if not handled carefully.

''Isoc has to act on this issue because it could undermine our bilateral relations with a neighbouring country,'' he said.

More than 6,000 ethnic Hmong from Laos have settled in Phetchabun's Ban Huay Nam Khao community.

According to Gen Sonthi, the holding centre will enable the authorities to effectively control the migrants.

Third Army commander Maj-Gen Jiradet Khotcharat said NGOs will be asked to look after the living conditions of the Hmong in the camp and help stem a further flow of illegal migrants from Laos.

Bangkok Post
Friday January 12, 2007