Thailand has caved to pressure from Laos on what to do about the Nong Khai refugees. Last month, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit had said that the 158 people at the detention center could be resettled in other countries, but today the Nation is reporting that he says Thailand will allow Laos to decide what happens to them. Officials in Vientiane have made it quite clear what they want -- to have the refugees back under their control, a situation the refugees are resisting quite strongly -- so much so that some say they'll commit suicide if they're ordered to return.
After years of watching detainees at Guantanamo attempt to kill themselves rather than face continuing rounds of torture, isolation and imprisonment, this suicide threat from the Nong Khai refugees has a very familiar, and unplesant ring to it. The U.N. says they're political refugees, other countries have agreed to take them; they should NOT be returned to Laos.
But what to do?
Thailand is surrounded by troubled Cambodia and Myanmar and the rapidly-politically-decomposing Malaysia. They can't afford to anger the one stable neighbor they have, espeically one that they're so economically intertwined with, especially in the current economic downturn.
The solution? The United Nations needs to show some backbone. They need to stand up to Laos, tell them the Nong Khai refugees aren't going home and then take charge of the group and take care of this situation. TheU.N. is feeding millions in Darfur, patroling the streets of Haiti, and supervising the fledgling government of Timor-Leste; the resources need to take care of 158 people for a few months until they can be resettled in third countries wouldn't even be noticed.
Security Council, are you listening? The U.N. and the U.S. need to take control of these people, get Thailand out of the middle of an argument that it has no part in, and then resettle these former U.S. allies in other countries. They've been languishing in a detention center for two years; babies have been born there. It's time to for this to end.
Almost killed by an M79 grenade
14 years ago
