Laos Attacks Against Civilians: Congress Hears About Forced Repatriation in Thailand, Ethnic Cleansing of Hmong
The humanitarian and refugee crisis in Laos, with the large-scale military operations and horrific war crimes against humanity that are now being committed by the LPDR military and LPDR officials, against unarmed Laotian and Hmong civilians and villagers, has emerged as a Bosnia and Darfur-like situation, according to Philip Smth, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis at events held in the US Congress and Capitol Hill this week.
(PressZoom) - A US Congressional Forum on Laos and Capitol Hill policy events were concluded in Washington, DC this week. Members of Congress and their staff as well as Lao and Hmong leaders and US and international policymakers offered new information and evidence about the serious human rights situation in the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic ( LPDR ) and refugee crisis in Thailand, which continues to deteriorate rapidly.
“Laos is using food as a weapon against its own people and is pursuing the Hmong people with its military in the jungles of Laos according to our March 2007 Amnesty International report and other reports and news stories, including the recent New York Times piece on December 17,2007 , “ stated T. Kumar, Advocacy Director and Asia specialists for Amnesty International in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kumar served as one of the keynote speakers at the Congressional Forum event on Laos.
"The humanitarian and refugee crisis in Laos, with the large-scale military operations and horrific war crimes against humanity thar are now being committed by the LPDR military and LPDR officials, against unarmed Laotian and Hmong civilians and villagers, has emerged as a Bosnia and Darfur-like situation ," stated Philip Smth, Executive Director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis. "This is something that the Bush Administration and Secretary Rice should no longer ignore, especially in light of the letter by U.S. Senators Russ Feingold, Herb Kohl, Norm Coleman, Amy Klobuchar and Diane Feinstein to U.S. Secretary of State Condi Rice," Smith concluded.
A US Senate letter signed by five Senators to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was released and discussed regarding these matters. The letter was signed by Senators Russ Feingold ( D-WI ), Norm Coleman ( R-CA ), Herb Kohl ( D-WI ), Amy Klobuchar ( D-MN ) and Dianne Feinstein ( D-CA.
“The U.S. Senate letter is an important first step in urging the State Department and the Bush Administration to address the killing and mass starvation of Hmong and Laotian civilians in the Lao jungle by the Lao ( LPDR ) Government; Indeed, a a recent Congress briefing on Laos, T. Kumar, of Amnesty International reported that only two Asian countries use food as a weapon against their own people--Laos and North Korea,” stated Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt, Southeast Asian historian and scholar, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee for her human rights work on Laos and the Hmong people, and acclaimed author of the award-winning book “Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans and the Secret Wars for Laos,” ( Indiana University Press ). She was a key note speaker at the Congressional Forum on Laos and Capitol Hill policy events.
The Bush Administration and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as well as the were urged by participants and Members of Congress to act in a timely manner to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe and halt forced repatriation of Laotian and Hmong refugees and asylum seekers. Participants in the Capitol Hill events called for a stop to ongoing military attacks and ethnic cleansing operations by the Lao government directed at unarmed civilians.
Highlighting the national events was a US Congressional Forum on Laos and policy briefing which was held on Capitol Hill to discuss recent developments in the LPDR and Thailand regarding the current human rights, refugee and humanitarian crisis facing thousands of Lao and Hmong refugees. The event was held from on January 31, 2008, in 122 Cannon, US House of Representatives.
The event was cosponsored by Members of Congress and US Senate in cooperation with the Center for Public Policy Analysis, the Lao Veterans of America, the Lao Human Rights Council, Lao Hmong American Students Association, the United League for Democracy in Laos, Southeast Lao Hmong Association for Justice and other Lao and Hmong human rights, non-profit and community-based organizations.
The following are excerpts of the statement from Vaughn Vang, Director of the Lao Human Rights Council presented at the U.S. Congressional Forum on Laos and Capitol Hill policy events:
“The Lao Human Rights Council has received first hand and creditable information from Lao Hmong groups in hiding in Laos-- that from December 2007 to January 2008—that there were 189 people killed by Vietnamese military and Lao Government military attacks and 145 people have disappeared. The whereabouts of these people are unknown. 75 people are wounded and there are no medical supplies to treat these wounded civilians.
At night, in one area, there are two helicopters launching missiles and chemical agents into the remote areas of the jungle where Hmong civilians in hiding are located.
These are strategies to not only kill off the Hmong in hiding but also to kill vegetation and animals so that any remaining Hmong in the jungle will die of starvation.
Several thousand land mines have been set up in the areas in which Hmong have been reported to be hiding. The hope is that when the Hmong in hiding come out to find food, the majority of the Hmong will be killed by LPDR planted land mines.
Primarily, the two LPDR military attack helicopters use missiles and chemical weapons during the night while the Lao PDR and Vietnamese ground troops use artillery to attack during the day. These attacks have left the Hmong without a place to live in peace or hide.
A top Laotian military officer, who wishes for his name to be anonymous, has reported that the Lao PDR government has requested more Vietnamese military assistance. Currently, many battalions of Vietnamese troops are stationed in Laos and cooperate with Lao PDR military forces to commit war crimes against the unarmed Hmong groups hiding in the Lao jungle. In a few months, all Hmong groups hiding in the jungles of Laos will be exterminated, in accordance with the Lao PDR government’s ethnic cleansing policy against Hmong opposed to the regime, including thousands of unarmed civilians and villagers.
Additionally, the Hmong refugees in Ban Huay Nam Khao ( White Water ), Petchabun, Thailand are faced with possible forced repatriation to Laos. Thai officials are demanding Hmong refugees sign a document stating that they entered Thailand illegally, therefore labeling them as illegal immigrants. These refugees are very concerned that the Thai government would use this document as a tool to deport them back to Laos.
We urge the Thai government to immediately halt the forced repatriation of 8,000 Hmong refugees who have escaped into Thailand from persecution, genocide, human rights abuse, and death that were brought upon them by the Lao PDR government. We are very concerned that if these Hmong refugees are repatriated back to Laos, they would face persecution and inhuman torture and death.
These Hmong civilians, women and children, are crying and begging the United States, United Nations, Amnesty International, and the world community to save their lives. They have only known a life of running from death. They do not wish to die in the cruel and brutal hands of the Lao PDR communist regime and its ruthless military forces..
Without any intervention from the United States, United Nations, Amnesty International and the world community, the Hmong hiding in the remote areas of Laos and the Hmong refugees in Thailand will be killed by the Lao PDR government regime within the next few months.”
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