CREDIT TO MLY14
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/07...on_30036199.php
EDITORIAL
Laos must make peace with Hmong
Vang Pao's arrest offers Vientiane a chance to peacefully reintegrate the ethnic minority into its society
The interception by United States authorities of a plot by Hmong rebels, including General Vang Pao, to overthrow the Lao government by force probably put the final nail in the coffin of Hmong expatriates' dreams of liberating their people from alleged systematic persecution by the communist regime in Vientiane. Small remnants of anti-communist Hmong guerrilla groups are still believed to be fighting a sporadic jungle war against Vientiane. Laos has alleged that Vang Pao and some Hmong expats in the US had, on several occasions in the past, raised funds to finance raids against Lao government positions from staging areas inside of Thailand, an accusation denied by Bangkok.
The arrest of Vang Pao, a warlord who led a secret army backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to combat Lao and Vietnamese communist insurgents until the end of the Indochina war in the mid 1970s, and eight other California-based Hmong by US authorities on charges of violating the US Neutrality Act, coincided with an improvement in Lao-US relations in recent years.
The US re-established normal trade relations with Laos in 2004 and has since expanded cooperation in economic and social development, including technical assistance and development grants, as well as engaging in a joint campaign against drug trafficking.
After the fall of Laos to the communists in 1975, the Hmong ethnic minority who fought alongside the US-backed royalist regime of the time was abandoned by retreating US forces in 1975. More than 300,000 Laotian refugees, mostly Hmong, fled into Thailand and most of them have since been resettled in third countries.
As court proceedings get underway in California, the prosecution team will produce further evidence to substantiate the charges against the alleged anti-Vientiane plot by Vang Pao and other defendants, including one former US national guard officer.
While the US action that may have pre-empted an alleged coup attempt against a country with which it has friendly ties is to be commended, the international community should not turn a blind eye to the well-documented plight of ethnic Hmong at the hands of the Lao government.
Thailand, which currently hosts some 7,700 ethnic Hmong who claim to have fled persecution in Laos in recent years, should not use the case against Vang Pao as a pretext to unburden itself of the Hmong refugee situation through the forcible repatriation of those now living in a holding centre. Thailand, which is getting impatient with Hmong asylum seekers, has begun the forcible repatriation of ethnic Hmong to Laos.
By cooperating with Laos and sending Hmong asylum seekers back to a country where many of them will face harsh punishment or persecution, Thailand also benefits by improving its economic and trade ties with Vientiane. But the Thai government must be reminded that it is supposed to live up to its obligation to uphold the human rights of ethnic Hmong who have sought shelter on its soil.
The Lao government - which is getting closer to removing the thorn in its side regarding the Hmong question once and for all thanks to the helpful actions of friendly countries like the US and Thailand - should at least let go of old grudges and show magnanimity toward the Hmong, who make up the biggest ethnic minority group in the country. Every attempt should be made by Vientiane to bring the Hmong back into the fold by adopting more reconciliatory gestures, particularly a willingness to respect these people's basic human rights.
Any repatriation of Hmong asylum seekers must be made on a voluntary basis, and returnees should be accorded proper treatment and their basic human rights must be respected. The international community must make sure that the Lao government's promise to respect the ethnic Hmong minority is verified by impartial observers.
More than three decades have passed since the end of the war and both the Lao government and the Hmong should put the painful chapter behind them. Latter generations of innocent Hmong should not be punished for the actions of their ancestors. Laos should learn to be at peace with itself.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/07...on_30036199.php
EDITORIAL
Laos must make peace with Hmong
Vang Pao's arrest offers Vientiane a chance to peacefully reintegrate the ethnic minority into its society
The interception by United States authorities of a plot by Hmong rebels, including General Vang Pao, to overthrow the Lao government by force probably put the final nail in the coffin of Hmong expatriates' dreams of liberating their people from alleged systematic persecution by the communist regime in Vientiane. Small remnants of anti-communist Hmong guerrilla groups are still believed to be fighting a sporadic jungle war against Vientiane. Laos has alleged that Vang Pao and some Hmong expats in the US had, on several occasions in the past, raised funds to finance raids against Lao government positions from staging areas inside of Thailand, an accusation denied by Bangkok.
The arrest of Vang Pao, a warlord who led a secret army backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to combat Lao and Vietnamese communist insurgents until the end of the Indochina war in the mid 1970s, and eight other California-based Hmong by US authorities on charges of violating the US Neutrality Act, coincided with an improvement in Lao-US relations in recent years.
The US re-established normal trade relations with Laos in 2004 and has since expanded cooperation in economic and social development, including technical assistance and development grants, as well as engaging in a joint campaign against drug trafficking.
After the fall of Laos to the communists in 1975, the Hmong ethnic minority who fought alongside the US-backed royalist regime of the time was abandoned by retreating US forces in 1975. More than 300,000 Laotian refugees, mostly Hmong, fled into Thailand and most of them have since been resettled in third countries.
As court proceedings get underway in California, the prosecution team will produce further evidence to substantiate the charges against the alleged anti-Vientiane plot by Vang Pao and other defendants, including one former US national guard officer.
While the US action that may have pre-empted an alleged coup attempt against a country with which it has friendly ties is to be commended, the international community should not turn a blind eye to the well-documented plight of ethnic Hmong at the hands of the Lao government.
Thailand, which currently hosts some 7,700 ethnic Hmong who claim to have fled persecution in Laos in recent years, should not use the case against Vang Pao as a pretext to unburden itself of the Hmong refugee situation through the forcible repatriation of those now living in a holding centre. Thailand, which is getting impatient with Hmong asylum seekers, has begun the forcible repatriation of ethnic Hmong to Laos.
By cooperating with Laos and sending Hmong asylum seekers back to a country where many of them will face harsh punishment or persecution, Thailand also benefits by improving its economic and trade ties with Vientiane. But the Thai government must be reminded that it is supposed to live up to its obligation to uphold the human rights of ethnic Hmong who have sought shelter on its soil.
The Lao government - which is getting closer to removing the thorn in its side regarding the Hmong question once and for all thanks to the helpful actions of friendly countries like the US and Thailand - should at least let go of old grudges and show magnanimity toward the Hmong, who make up the biggest ethnic minority group in the country. Every attempt should be made by Vientiane to bring the Hmong back into the fold by adopting more reconciliatory gestures, particularly a willingness to respect these people's basic human rights.
Any repatriation of Hmong asylum seekers must be made on a voluntary basis, and returnees should be accorded proper treatment and their basic human rights must be respected. The international community must make sure that the Lao government's promise to respect the ethnic Hmong minority is verified by impartial observers.
More than three decades have passed since the end of the war and both the Lao government and the Hmong should put the painful chapter behind them. Latter generations of innocent Hmong should not be punished for the actions of their ancestors. Laos should learn to be at peace with itself.