An appeal to the world community to support Laos in defense of her national identity, independence and sovereigny

Against the secret military occupation of Laos by Vietnam and massive abuses of human rights

By Bounthanh Thammavong, 3 March, 1997

Abstract:

Following the end of the Vietnam war in Indochina in 1975, Vietnam secretly annexed Laos by armed force. Although western governments were fully aware of this situation, no action was taken because the United States itself had been waging a secret war in Laos until 1975 which was in violation of the agreement signed in Geneva in July 1954 by the United States, France, the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Great Britain, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos and the Kingdom of Cambodia in which it was guaranteed that Laos would remain neutral and independent and that all Vietnamese soldiers would withdraw from Laos.

Vietnam installed a puppet government in Vientiane over which they maintained complete control, enforced by a substantial presence of Vietnamese soldiers, military advisors and secret police. Lao embassies in other countries were controlled by Vietnamese supervisors so that Laos could be given the external appearance of an independent country. Huge numbers of political prisoners have been and regularly continue to be secretly executed. On 15th October 1996 Mr Thongsouk Saysangkhi, a former Vice-Minister in the Vietnamese- installed government, died in a concentration camp as a result of gruesome torture in retribution for calls for political pluralism. Many tens of thousands (possibly hundreds of thousands) of Lao citizens have been secretly murdered under Vietnamese occupation.

Since the opening up of the country to foreign investment in 1988 western countries have conveniently ignored the secret occupation of Laos by Vietnam and the gross violations of human rights, in their scramble to exploit immense riches in almost totally undeveloped natural resources including gold, hydroelectric power, gemstones, oil, timber, and a huge range of minerals.

On 15th October 1996 Mr Thongsouk Saysangkhi on 15th October 1996 died in a concentration camp in the North-East of Laos as a result of the most barbaric torture. He was already in a terrible medical condition as a result of the brutal conditions to which he was subjected in a concentration camp in the North-East of Laos, yet was refused any medical treatment. Finally his hands and legs were tied with rope, and he was left outside in the open day and night, with no food or water. Mr Thongsouk Saysangkhi, formerly Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, had been arrested on 8th October 1990 in Vientiane together with Mr Latsami Khamphoui, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and Mr Feng Sakchittaphong, a Ministry of Justice official. Their arrest followed the circulation in Vientiane of letters criticising the corruption in the political and economic system and calling for the creation of a multi-party political system. It is notable that in 1990 these political prisoners were Ministers and an official in the CURRENT communist Lao government, not in the former Royal Lao government.

Khamthay Siphandone and his government enjoy a very flattering image in the world's media as a benign and well-intentioned government valiently trying to steer their country of poor people slowly but surely towards economic development. Meanwhile he is a multi-millionaire growing fatter every day on the contracts with companies from Australia, Japan, and many other western countries for the rape of natural resources from Laos. Is it any wonder that western governments continue to flatter him and appease him?

Hundreds of thousands of innocent Lao people have been murdered by this barbaric regime - out of a total population of only around 4 million. Most have been arrested and taken away, and have then simply disappeared without trace. A senior Lao government official who recently defected to the USA admitted that around 90 thousand political prisoners had been executed. A current senior Lao government official recently unofficially informed the overseas Lao community that the total figures are in fact considerably higher than this. The Lao government themselves do not exercise real power, but merely carry out the orders from their political masters in Hanoi - it is this that is behind the desperation of Thongsouk, Khamphoui and Feng in calling for political reforms, for which they have paid/are paying such a heavy price. The manner in which they have been treated by the Lao government, accepting orders from Vietnam, is an illustration of the profoundly evil manner in which Laos is secretly controlled by Vietnam.

The evil regime in Vientiane must be CONDEMNED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY for their brutal and barbaric actions against the basic human rights of the Lao people in the manner that the evil regime in Burma is so condemned for similar treatment of their subjects. The biggest difference between these two countries is only in the attitude of the international media and the foreign governments. Western governments would LOVE to invest in Burma, but it is only the result of pressure from the world community (i.e. ordinary people, not governments) that western governments have been forced to reject the barbaric regime in Burma because the abuses of human rights in Burma have always received the limelight. By contrast the gross abuses of human rights in Laos and the ethnic cleansing waged by the Lao government against the Hmong people has never received publicity in the West. Laos is a small country which has always been ignored. Even during the Vietnam war when Laos became the most heavily bombed region in history on the entire planet (in the so- called Secret War), nobody ever heard about Laos or asked about Laos. Laos was sacrificed by the USA as a convenient buffer war zone between Thailand and China/Vietnam.

Like the regime in Burma, the Lao government is also a major trader in opium and heroin and is deeply involved with those who produce it. Yet the CIA publicly claim that the Lao government is not involved with narcotics even though they know perfectly well they are deeply involved with narcotics. Most narcotics groups operating in Laos are connected with government agencies and especially the State company Bolisat Phattana Khet Phoudoi which is owned by the Lao Ministry of Defence and run by General Cheng Sayavong. The CIA have reliable information that General Cheng has been deeply involved in the trade in opium and heroin for many years. Bolisat Phattana Khet Phoudoi (BPKP) is one of the largest companies in Laos with monopolies or near monopolies on many important sectors of the Lao economy. BPKP has for many years ordered local people in Laos, especially in Xieng Khuang Province, to plant poppies to produce opium for BPKP. BPKP also imports huge volumes of opium and heroin from Burma for export to the rest of the world through Thailand. Recently a major manufacturer of heroin with a large factory in the jungles in Oudomsay Province was arrested in Laos on an international warrant under intense pressure from the DEA. He was convicted in a Lao court to just _3 years_ imprisonment, because of his close ties with the government. Many believe he is unlikely to serve even that in reality. When compared with the torture and murder of Mr Thongsouk Saysangkhi for calling for government reforms, a sentence of 3 years for large scale production of heroin over 2 decades is a rather light sentence!

So why is it that the CIA recently published a report claiming that there is no involvement of the Lao government in narcotics at a senior level? BPKP is a state-owned company founded and owned by the Ministry of Defence, and is the official vehicle charged with the implementation of many government policies. General Cheng, its President, was formerly Minister of Defence (in 1976 he ordered the start of ethnic cleansing of the Hmong race) and is one of the Prime Minister's closest friends and colleagues. BPKP is also the main source of finance for Laos's huge army. BPKP has official and complete control over a huge area covering the majority of Khammouan and Bolikhamsay Provinces reporting directly to the Prime Minister himself. Therefore the CIA cannot claim that he is not a senior level of the Lao government.

Western governments, especially the USA and France, know precise details of a great many horrendous and widespread abuses of human rights in Laos, but they stay silent because they consider it more economically and politically expedient for them to do so. Both the USA and France have had very extensive secret service operations and links in Laos ever since the Communists took over. France has maintained an unbroken presence of secret agents in Laos since 1975. Both these countries have no doubts about the true political situation in Laos, yet they continue to lie to the world and reinforce the benign image put on by the Lao government. It is only through public pressure from large numbers of ordinary citizens that western governments can be forced to stand up to their responsibilities to say NO to the evil regime in Laos, and bring a discussion of events in Laos out into the open.

The long suffering Lao people have lived in a climate of FEAR for too long. Seeing the flattering coverage of the Lao government in the international press they complain that western governments are deliberately supporting the Lao government and helping the Lao government to suppress the Lao people. They are right. At the end of the day, the silence of the West and their willingness to invest in Laos help the Lao government continue to suppress the Lao people and prevent the Lao people from ever having any chance to overthrow the oppressive regime from Vietnam and achieve self-determination. Foreign investment does not help the ordinary Lao people in the countryside who form the overwhelming proportion of the Lao population - it just forces up the prices of essential goods faster than the prices of local agricultural production, making the lives of the poor rural people ever more difficult.

The Secret War in Laos has been waged from 1954 to 1997 - first by the Americans and Vietnamese, and later by the Vietnamese and their puppet Lao government against the ordinary Lao people. Please support the Lao people in their quest for freedom from oppression and self-determination by cross-posting this and similar postings widely to other newsgroups on the internet, and by putting pressure on your politicians to SAY NO TO THE EVIL PUPPET REGIME IN LAOS CONTROLLED BY VIETNAM.

The President of the Organisation of Lao Students for Independence and Democracy Mr Bounthanh Thammavong sends this appeal to the world community for an end to the tacit acceptance of the Vietnamese occupation of Laos, a demand for recognition of human rights in Laos, and support for Laos' right to self-determination and independence from Vietnamese oppression.

Organisation of Lao Students for Independence and Democracy
Ul. Mlynska 21/23. 40-096 Katowice. Poland.
Tel. 48-32 1538-851. Telfax. 48-32 1539-529. 1565-307

Date: Mon, 3 Mar 97 09:16:16 CST
From: ysli@hkusua.hku.hk (Kevin Li)
Subject: Laos - World appeal for help!! Torture, Military occupation!!
Organization: HKU

An appeal to the world community to support Laos in defense of her ...