With due respect to the Lao PDR Government’s policies, regulations, rules and laws, the Lao Government should treat the Hmongs in the jungle as citizens of Laos and stop killing women and children as claimed by the Hmongs from the jungle.

The Lao PDR Government denies the persecutions, but the Hmongs claim that they have been hunted and shot at for the last 33 years by the Lao PDR Military forces. Even though the Lao PDR Government denies there is any fighting in Laos, the Hmongs continue to hide in the jungles due to fear of persecution.

I escaped from the jungles of Laos to Thailand when I was just a little girl. I can understand how much they have suffered. I am Hmong and speak the language.  I went back to Thailand to pre-screen more then 1400 people who claimed to have escaped from the jungles of Laos. I personally talked to them and screened them. I have first hand information on how they were treated by the Lao PDR Government in the past 30 years. They gave me their written statements and provided live testimonies on film.  I believe the people I screened have legitimate claims and are telling the truth. Evidently, women and children as well as men are injured with bullet wounds all over their bodies.

They told me that they have witnessed the Lao PDR military troops kill their parents and relatives. Due to these kinds of military attacks, the children had to hide for their lives.

As you can see, the group of 438 who surrendered on October 12, 2006 to Meaung Meh, Vang Vieng, Laos, 80% of are children and more than half of the remaining 20% are women. Furthermore, the group of 1000 currently in the jungle and was filmed by Aljazeera’s journalist a few weeks ago, are mostly women and children.

The refugees in Thailand have told me that they have wanted to surrender to the Lao PDR Government, but feared persecution. Either they escape to Thailand seeking asylum protection, or stay in the jungle and hope for rescue.  I believe there was fighting going on in closed doors in the past 33 years, which the international communities do not know about.

Recently, the leaders from the Jungle have contacted me and stated that they will not surrender to the Lao PDR Government because they don’t trust the Government. They request that the UN bring them out of the jungle peacefully.

In order to resolve this conflict, the Lao PDR government should allow the leaders and their families to leave Laos - under an ODP (Orderly Departure Program).  If they must be relocated within Laos for safety reason, a monitoring system must be provided to assure they receive adequate treatment.

Due to the lack of trust between the Lao PDR Government and the Hmongs in the Jungle, thousand of Hmong have escaped to Thailand seeking asylum protection.