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Amnesty International Report 2016/17: Laos

Amnesty International: February 2017

The rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly remained severely restricted. State control of media and civil society was tightened as Laos hosted international meetings. Repression of human rights defenders continued. Two prisoners of conscience were released in March after being held for almost 17 years.

There was no progress in the investigation into the enforced disappearance in 2012 of a
society member. The death penalty remained mandatory for serious drug offences. Continue reading “Amnesty International Report 2016/17: Laos”

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Dear Sombath…from Shui Meng (12)

My dearest Sombath,

Today, February 17, is your birthday.  If you have not been disappeared, we should be celebrating your 65th birthday today, and you should be enjoying this day surrounded by your family and friends.  Even though I don’t know where you are, I still want to send you all my love and prayers for a very happy birthday.

At this time of our life, you and I should be enjoying a quieter and more restful life together.  I remembered so well what you told me shortly before you were snatched away that fateful night of 15 December 2012, more than 4 years ago.  You told me that you really looked forward to your retirement and to spending more time working in the garden growing our own vegetables and fruit.  You also told me that what you really want to do is to spend time reading and writing.  You said that you needed time to organize your notes, your photos, and the bits and pieces of writing here and there you have started, but never quite had time to finish.  I remembered how I had laughed and said “Yes, you should do that before the termites make a feast of your lifework!”

Indeed, after your abduction, we tried to retrieve all the notebooks, and pieces of paper you have left in the PADETC office and at home, and we found that the termites did destroy quite a few of your files and papers.  But there are still many files and folders that are quite intact.

Dearest Sombath, we have kept what we could save from the termites and they all still awaiting your return. You have spent so many years working so closely with so many Lao communities, and you have gained so much knowledge and perspectives on so many aspects of development that I am sure you will have a lot to share on issues ranging from sustainable development, appropriate education, indigenous wisdom, and engaged buddhism.  Your insights and vision would most certainly benefit many people in Laos, in and outside the development community.  You will especially have a lot to share with the young people of Laos, who you truly love and care so much about.  You have always involved the young people of Laos in all aspects of your work, as you feel that their engagement and their creativity and ideas are so necessary for the shaping of the country’s development.  Sombath, so many young Lao people continue to remember you and wish that you will come back soon.

Sombath, I hope that wherever you are, you will continue to use your wisdom and knowledge to benefit those around you.  Knowing you, I truly believe that you will know how to survive and how to make the best of your situation. You have a great natural ability to work with people around you, and you are always able to bring out the best in people no matter who they are.

So, my love, on this day, I wish you “Happy Birthday” and I pray that you are healthy and happy. I also pray that you will come back soon so that we can celebrate your next birthday together.

Love you always, Shui Meng

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EU must demand release ofdissidents, resolution of enforced disappearances

FIDH: 13 February 2017

The European Union (EU) must demand the Lao government release all political prisoners and make real progress towards solving all cases of enforced disappearances, FIDH and its member organization Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR) said today.

FIDH and LMHR made the call ahead of the 7th EU-Laos human rights dialogue, which is scheduled to be held in Vientiane on 16-17 February 2017. In conjunction with their call, the two organizations released a briefing paper that provides an update on the human rights situation in Laos since the previous dialogue, held in November 2015.

“After many fruitless rounds of human rights dialogues, the EU can no longer tolerate the Lao government’s deceptive tactics and its failure to uphold its human rights obligations. The EU must make it clear that the release of all dissidents and the transparent and thorough investigation of all cases of enforced disappearances, including Sombath Somphone’s, are conditions for the continuation of constructive bilateral relations,” said FIDH President Dimitris Christopoulos.

In a break with previous years, in November 2016, the EU failed to raise the issue of the enforced disappearance of prominent Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone in its statement released on the occasion of the annual round table meeting between the Lao government and development partners. In addition, Sombath’s name was not mentioned in the joint statement issued at the conclusion of the 6th dialogue on 6 November 2015. His case was vaguely referred to as “the disappearance.”

“The EU’s failure to even mention Sombath Somphone’s name in its interaction with the Lao government plays into Vientiane’s strategy of seeking to relegate Sombath’s case to oblivion. If the human rights dialogue is not accompanied by any strong message it will remain a hopeless exercise,” said LMHR President Vanida Thephsouvanh.

In their joint briefing paper, FIDH and LMHR make specific recommendations to the EU to demand Laos show tangible progress with regard to: the right to freedom of opinion and expression; arbitrary detentions; enforced disappearances; the death penalty; and electoral reform.

Since its first human rights dialogue with the EU in 2005, Laos has consistently ranked near the bottom of many international indexes and rankings compiled by independent organizations that measure respect for democratic principles and key civil and political rights.

Press contacts:

  • FIDH: Mr. Andrea Giorgetta (English) – Tel: +66886117722 (Bangkok)
  • FIDH: Ms. Audrey Couprie (French, English) – Tel: +33143551412 (Paris)
  • LMHR: Ms. Vanida Thephsouvanh (French, English, Lao) – Tel: +33160065706 (Paris)
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Sombath’s response on receiving the Magsaysay Award

Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation: Manila, 31 August 2005

Sombath-MagsaysayThe honorable Chief Justice Hilario Davide, trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, distinguished guests, fellow awardees, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

It is a great honor for me today to be here receiving the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, and I would like to sincerely thank the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation and its board of judges for conferring on me this important award.
This award is not just for me or for my staff in PADETC. This award is also for our young Lao volunteers and youth leaders, who have demonstrated to us, the adults, that they have the capacity, and indeed the right, to claim the space to determine their own and their community’s development pathway. I believe that it is their passion and their hopes and dreams for a better future which are recognized and celebrated through this prestigious award today.

Continue reading “Sombath’s response on receiving the Magsaysay Award”

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Dear Sombath…from Shui Meng (11)

My dearest Sombath,

Today is the last day of 2017.  For four years now I have been waiting desperately for news of your whereabouts and your safe return.  This time of the year should be a time for family gatherings to send off the old year and welcome the new.  But for you and I, there is only longing and waiting.

For you, wherever you are, I hope and pray that you are well and in good health physically, emotionally and spiritually.  I can only hope that your innate kindness, sincerity, and good humour can win you friends wherever you are and whoever you are with.  I hope they will treat you well and will be won over by your humility, your wisdom, and your deep spirituality.  I hope they will find your wide-ranging knowledge and skills useful to them and that they can benefit from your advice and service.  I hope and hope that they will somehow find it in their hearts to see the kind of person you are, and they will one day set you free to come back to us. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Shui Meng (11)”

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See Who’s Asia’s No. 2 Police State After North Korea, And It’s Not China

Forbes: 27 December 2016

We know about North Korea as Asia’s most hardcore police state. The government enslaves and kills people who dispute the policies of leader Kim Jong-un.

Laos looks free and happy by contrast. Travelers can walk across the quiet, uncluttered capital Vientiane’s commercial-tourist district in an hour if that. A string of cafes near the riverside make French coffee. Slow-moving, smiling vendors are more likely to miscount change in your favor than cheat. The warm orange hues of Buddhist monks and temples radiate from streetsides. Westerners can get visas on arrival at the Vientiane airport. The idea of a police state would seldom occur to the interloper in Laos, though it’s a one-party Communist country.

Now try being a Laotian citizen with gripes about how things are run. Authorities in the country with a population of 7 million make some of Asia’s most chilling grabs of dissenters. Laos is better known for “disappearances” compared to putting people on trial after detention periods as practiced in communist China and Vietnam. And you never know when you might say something that disappears you, a deterrent to speaking out. Continue reading “See Who’s Asia’s No. 2 Police State After North Korea, And It’s Not China”

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Missing activists’ wives call for justice

Bangkok Post: 20 December 2016

Human rights activists whose husbands are still missing years after they mysteriously vanished have urged the government to pass a law on preventing enforced disappearances, to address human rights violations.

Prominent human rights campaigner Angkhana Neelapaijit urged Thai authorities to enact the Torture and Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Suppression bill as quickly as possible, regardless of the fact that no missing persons case has been resolved.

Continue reading “Missing activists’ wives call for justice”

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Wife of Lao Activist Calls on Government to ‘Come Clean’ on Husband’s Fate

Voice of America: 21 December 2016

The wife of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone is calling for judicial reforms in Laos and for the government clarify the fate of her husband, saying she will “never give up” in seeking the truth behind his disappearance.

Shui-Meng Ng, made the appeal as rights activists marked the fourth year since his enforced disappearance from a police checkpoint in the Laos capital of Vientiane in December 2012.

“The message to the [Laos] government is ‘come clean’ — tell us the truth and my message to the Laos government is — ‘I will never give up’,” Shui-Meng told reporters in Thailand. Continue reading “Wife of Lao Activist Calls on Government to ‘Come Clean’ on Husband’s Fate”

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NGOs urge search for Lao activist Sombath Somphone

Bangkok Post: 15 December 2015

Human rights groups have renewed calls for a full investigation into the disappearance of a well-known community organiser four years ago at a police checkpoint in Vientiane.

More than 130 rights organisations from around the world issued a statement on Thursday calling on the Lao government to provide information about the fate of Sombath Somphone and 10 other activists who were detained or simply disappeared over the past decade.

Laos is a secretive one-party state whose Communist leaders have quashed political dissent since taking power in 1975.

Sombath went missing in the evening of Dec 15, 2012 on the busy streets of Vientiane. He was last seen getting into a police vehicle on that night.

Lao authorities have not re-examined the case despite a newly discovered security camera video of Sombath’s car on the day he disappeared and US pressure during a visit by President Barack Obama to the country in September.

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Wives of missing Thai, Lao activists seek action over disappearances

Thomson Reuters Foundation: 20 December 2016

(L-R) Rights activists Shui Meng Ng, Angkhana Neelapaijit, Pinnipa Preuksapan and Angkhana’s daughter Pratubjit Neelapaijit at a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, December 19, 2017. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Alisa Tang

By Alisa Tang

BANGKOK, Dec 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The wives of three prominent Southeast Asian human rights campaigners who went missing after being detained by the authorities have united to urge Laos and Thailand to end impunity over forced disappearances.

All three women have become vocal critics of forced disappearances in a region where activists highlighting abuses over human, labour and land rights routinely face threats and violence. Some are gunned down, harassed through lawsuits, or simply “disappeared”.

“The biggest struggle is to get answers,” said Shui Meng Ng, whose husband Sombath Somphone, a Lao activist campaigning for rural development, went missing in December 2012.

The internationally acclaimed activist was last seen at a police checkpoint in the Lao capital Vientiane. Continue reading “Wives of missing Thai, Lao activists seek action over disappearances”