By Rachel O'Brien (AFP) – 1 day ago

BANGKOK — The Thai military was ready Sunday to begin forcibly repatriating thousands of ethnic Hmong to communist Laos, despite global protests over a deportation that could "turn ugly", activists said.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that armed forces had been mobilised for the expulsion on Monday from a camp in northern Phetchabun province, where the asylum-seeking Hmong are being held.

"I have heard from local officials that they expect the Hmong will resist deportation attempts. And that can turn ugly," HRW Thailand analyst Sunai Phasuk said.

Major General Thanongsak Apirakyothin, army chief for the north of Thailand, has arrived in Phetchabun to supervise the operation and "said the army was ready and could start 'cleaning up' the camp anytime," he added.

"We have made it abundantly clear that we are prepared to roll up our sleeves and work with partners in Thailand for a solution that is humane and responsible," said Eric P. Schwartz, Assistant Secretary of State for population, refugees and migration.

"Even at this late date we're fully prepared to do that," he told AFP in a telephone interview from the United States.

The first "wave of action" to clear the asylum seekers would happen Sunday night and the deportation would begin on Monday morning, Sunai of HRW said in an earlier email to AFP.

"During that (period), mobile phone (signals) will be jammed to prevent the Hmong from contacting outsiders. More than 100 buses and trucks are put on standby," he said.

The only aid group assisting the Hmong, the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR), was on Sunday refused entry by the army in Khek Noi village, about 12 kilometres from the camp.

"As of this morning their access to the camp was denied but their staff are still waiting," said Tomoo Hozumi, Thailand representative for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which supports COERR.

The group of more than 4,000 Hmong are seeking asylum based on claims that they face persecution from the Laotian regime for fighting alongside US forces during the Vietnam War.

The Thai government has promised Laos, which insists the group will be safe after their return, that they would be sent back by the end of the year.

Thailand on Sunday would not confirm that the deportation would happen on Monday, but reiterated its policy of sending them back to Laos before 2010 "if it is safe for them to be there".

"We cannot take the burden any longer and we have no reason or evidence to believe that the Lao government will not follow its promise (of providing them security)," said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn.

He said the group were "illegal immigrants", but the government has refused to grant the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) access to them to assess whether any are, in fact, political refugees.

The UN, rights groups and diplomats have said the government should allow a proper screening process to ensure no such refugees are forcibly returned.

"This is a grave breach of international human rights standards," one Western diplomat in Bangkok said Sunday.

"It seems difficult to imagine there will be fully fledged international access to the Hmong community on arrival, given the past experiences of repatriation," the diplomat added.

Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN refugee agency, Thursday urged Thailand to call off the returns, saying they would "set a very grave international example".

Thai spokesman Panitan said that the military may allow some media to witness the repatriation, but HRW's Sunai said reporters had not been allowed beyond an army information centre in Khek Noi.

"If this turns ugly, no one will know. There is no one to witness the violence or abuses -- it's very worrying," he said.