Speech #1040067516

Certainly some groups opposed to funding repatriation assistance because of the possibility of persecution of the Hmong by the Laotian Government. Unfortunately. our own State Department has done a poor job of laying these fears to rest. The Hmong in the United States and those still in the refugee camps hear from the State Department that there is no need to worry about those who return to Laos at the same time they hear stories of Hmong who have disappeared or been shot. It has been extremely difficult to get satisfactory information or answers to specific circumstances hence this legislative language attempts to ensure certification of the circumstance. a common practice to verify or qualify support that Congress has written into law. certainly we can assume that the Clinton administration will proceed with dispatch and a good faith effort. The Hmong are special because the large majority of them already have refugee status and are eligible for resettlement in the United States or another country. What the United States Government needs to ensure is that the Thai Government and other camp govemments and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is making a proper determination of the Hmong who are requesting resettlement. The Hmong are under considerable pressure from the Thai to repatriate because the Thai want to close the refugee camps and be done with this 20yearold problem. We and certainly the Clinton administration and most in Congress dont want anyone to be forced to repatriate nor do we want to cut off aid for those who choose to return. who do not want to resettle in the United States or elsewhere. Clearly. the situation of Hmong refugees in Thai refugee camps is an ugly and sad one which we would all gladly see resolved. It is crucial that these people be treated fairly. that they not be denied the opportunity to resettle in the United States or elsewhere because they have not previously chosen this option. Many of these people. although they suffered persecution by the Government in Laos. many in fact some would say most. hoped one day to be able to return to their native land. They stayed in the refugee camps. a bad place to live. because they dreamed that one day they would be able to return to life in their country. Now these people are being faced with a choice they must make now and they should be allowed to make the choice for which they are eligible. The United States cannot neglect its obligation to the Hmong people who sacrificed lives and homeland to fight on the side of the United States in the Vietnam war.