Brussels, 02/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Union welcomed the turnaround in the situation in Thailand, where the government finally halted its plans to forcibly deport a group of 153 Hmongs to Laos. Most of these people, originally from Laos where they suffer persecution, enjoy refugee status according to UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) procedures, says the German presidency on a press release. The presidency says it considers the deportation “to be a clear violation of the internationally accepted principle of non-refoulement”. The EU calls on the “Royal Thai government to cooperate with UNHCR and those countries willing to accept Hmongs for resettlement in the interests of finding a humanitarian solution to the problem”. It calls on the government to treat Hmong refugees being held in Nong Khai and elsewhere in the country, and those living in the Bay Huay Nam Khao provisional shelter near Petchabun, in accordance with humanitarian principles, the press release continues. (ab)