Interview with Ng Shui Meng recorded at Amnesty International Australia‘s office on 27 February 2014
Action in front of the Lao embassy in Tokyo
政府批判の許されないラオスで社会活動家が失踪〜大使館前で人権NGOが抗議のアピール
Independent Web Journal: 13 December 2013
(Please click on link above for article in Japanese, as well as a video.)
In response to a call from Japanese rights groups, Human Rights Watch and the Amnesty International Japan, around 20 citizens gathered in front of the Laos Embassy in Tokyo on Friday, December 13, 2013. They called out “Return Sombath!” and read out a letter addressed to Lao’s Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, urging his government’s prompt, transparent, and thorough investigation on the abduction and disappearance of Sombath Somphone. The action was to anticipate the Japan-ASEAN Summit held in Tokyo on December 13-15, to which the Lao government had also been invited. Despite the prior notice of the action and bell rings at the door, there was no response from the embassy side. Hence, the letter was put in their mail box.
The same groups also sent a letter to Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, asking him to urge the Lao government to take an immediate action on the matter.
Sombath Somphone – One Year After
7pm Wednesday Dec 11, 2013
Members Free, Non-Members: 350 Baht
Sombath Somphone, perhaps the Lao PDR’s most prominent community development activist and founder of the Participatory Development Training Center (PADETC) was last seen on the evening of Dec 15, 2013 on a road in Vientiane. According to footage from a CCTV camera, he was stopped in his own vehicle by police, left it, and minutes later got into another vehicle and was driven off into the darkness.
Since then, a veil of silence has descended on the disappearance of the man who in 2005 was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. The Lao government which has denied any involvement in his disappearance, has come under pressure for a credible explanation – which has not been forthcoming. 100 days after Sombath disappeared, US Secretary of State John Kerry in a statement said “Regrettably, the continuing, unexplained disappearance of Mr. Sombath, a widely respected and inspiring Lao citizen who has worked for the greater benefit of all of his countrymen, raises questions about the Lao government’s commitment to the rule of law and to engage responsibly with the world.”
To mark one year since he disappeared and to ensure that the incident is not forgotten, the FCCT is pleased to host Sombath’s wife Ng Shui Meng who will speak about her husband’s life and work.
And to join Ng Shui Meng to speak about human security, transparency, accountability and state power, the FCCT is pleased to host:
Pablo Solón, Executive Director of Focus on the Global South. Mr Solon was the Plurinational State of Bolivia’s Ambassador to the UN and chief negotiator for climate change from 2009 to 2011. His brother (Jose Carlos Trujillo Oroza) was one of the forced disappeared in Bolivia in 1972 during the dictatorship of Banzer. His mother (Gladys Oroza de Solon) was co-founder of the Bolivian Association and Latin American Federation of the forced disappeared.
Evelyn Balais-Serrano, Executive Director of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA). Ms. Balais-Serrano has over 40 years of experience in development, human rights and international justice work. Among other initiatives, she helped set up through the Task Force Detainees- Philippines (TFDP), a rehabilitation center for released political prisoners and torture victims and the filing of a class suit in Hawaii against President Marcos after 14 years of martial rule. She also helped establish the Human Rights Commission of the International Federation of Social Workers, where she served as Commissioner for Asia-Pacific for many years. Before returning to FORUM-ASIA in 2013, she spent 10 years as Coordinator for Asia-Pacific with the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), a global network of civil society organizations advocating for a fair, independent and effective ICC.
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand
Penthouse, Maneeya Center Building
518/5 Ploenchit Road (connected to the BTS Skytrain Chitlom station)
Patumwan, Bangkok 10330
Tel.: 02-652-0580
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site: http://www.fccthai.com
พูดสันติภาพ/Peace Talk ครั้งที่ 2
เสนอ
พูดสันติภาพ/Peace Talk ครั้งที่ 2
ตอน สันติภาพ เสรีภาพ แตกต่าง เหมือนกัน?
โดย
นิ้วกลม (สราวุฒิ เฮ้งสวัสดิ์)
นักเขียนเจ้าของผลงานล่าสุด “ความฝันที่มั่นสุดท้าย”
และ
โตมร ศุขปรีชา
บรรณาธิการนิตยสาร GM
กับหนังสือว่าด้วยความแตกต่างทางเพศสุดฮอต Genderism
พร้อมกับร่วมเขียนโปสการ์ดส่งกำลังใจให้กับหนุ่มสาวลาวบนเส้นทางสันติภาพ
ณ ร้านหนังสือ Bookmoby ชั้น 4 หอศิลปะวัฒนธรรมแห่งกรุงเทพมหานคร
วันที่ 17 กันยายน 2556
ตั้งแต่เวลา 15.30 น. ถึง 19.00 น.
โครงการ “มองไปไกลกว่าสมบัด สมพอน (Sombath Somphone and Beyond Project) ตั้งขึ้นหลังการหายตัวไปของนักพัฒนาอาวุโสชาวลาว สมบัด สมพอน เมื่อวันที่ 15 ธันวาคม 2555 หลังจากทำการรณรงค์อย่างต่อเนื่องเพื่อการค้นหาสมบัด และในประเด็นสันติภาพในภูมิภาคแม่น้ำโขงและอาเซียนตลอดระยะเวลาที่ผ่านมา เราระลึกถึงการหายตัวของสมบัด สมพอนอีกครั้งหนึ่งในวันหายตัวครบรอบ 9 เดือนด้วยกิจกรรม “พูดสันติภาพ” ครั้งที่ 2 นี้
ข้อมูลเพิ่มเติมติดต่อ : พชร สูงเด่น 089-983-4806
หรือ ศิริพร ฉายเพ็ชร 087-5081265
www.sombath.org
facebook.com/SombathSomphoneBeyondProject
Email: [email protected]
Invites you to join
Peace Talk #2 “Peace, Freedom: Different (Yet) the Same?”
Tuesday 17 September 2013
Bookmoby Reader Café, 4th floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), Siam Square
From 3.30pm until 7pm
Guest Speakers include ‘Roundfinger’ or Sarawut Heangsawad, author of “Dreams, the Last Stronghold”
Tomorn Sukpreecha, Editor of GM Magazine and author of “Genderism”
Postcards will also be written to encourage and send peace to Laos people
For more information, please contact Pachara Sungden (089-983-4806) or Siriphorn Chaipetch (087-5081265)
PRESS BRIEFING: 3rd Parliamentary Delegation to the Lao PDR
PRESS BRIEFING: Findings of the 3rd Parliamentary Delegation to the Lao PDR on the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone
Sombath Somphone, a widely-respected leader in education and sustainable development in the Lao PDR, and recipient of the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, disappeared on the evening of December 15th, 2012 in the Lao capital Vientiane (see https://www.sombath.org ). CCTV footage which became available 2 days later showed Sombath being stopped by traffic police, his car driven away by an unknown person, and then Sombath being taken in a pickup by 2-3 other unidentified persons. The Lao Government has claimed no knowledge about the abduction or his whereabouts and made public assurances that they are investigating the matter. However, more than eight months after his disappearance, no meaningful information has been made available by Lao authorities to Sombath’s family and friends about the progress and results of the investigation.
Since January 2013, Sombath’s family and friends, and regional human rights organisations have organised delegations of parliamentarians and civil society networks to go to Vientiane and meet with senior government officials and members of the Lao National Assembly to express their deep concern about the disappearance of Sombath, and discuss possible actions to find Sombath and return him safely to his family. The third such will be in Vientiane from August 25-27. On August 28, The delegation will present a report of their discussions and conclusions from their visit at a press briefing at the FCCT on from 10.30 am – 12 noon.
Date: 28 August 2013
Venue: Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), The Penthouse, Maneeya Centre, 518/5 Ploenchit Road (connected to Chitlom Skytrain station: http://fccthai.com/location.html)
Continue reading “PRESS BRIEFING: 3rd Parliamentary Delegation to the Lao PDR”
พูดสันติภาพ ครั้งที่ 1 / Peace Talk No. 1
กรุณาชมวีดีโอบันทึกการเสนอที่นี่ / Please see a recording of the presentation here:
เสนอ
/ Presents
พูดสันติภาพ ครั้งที่ 1 / Peace Talk No. 1
พบกับ: ประทับจิต นีละไพจิตร / With: Pratabjit Neelapaijit
ประเด็น: “ทางเลือก- สู่สันติภาพ” / Topic: “Choices for Peace”
วันที่ 15 กรกฏาคม 2556 / 15 July 2013
เวลา: 15.00-17.00น. / 15:00 – 17:00 pm
ที่: ห้องประชุมสุจิตรา ชั้น 4 ตึกมูลนิธิอาสาสมัครเพื่อสังคม / Thai Volunteer Service 4th floor meeting room
409 ซอยรัชดาภิเษก 14 ห้วยขวาง (เดิน 7 นาทีจากทางออกที่ 1 สถานีรถไฟฟ้าใต้ดินห้วยขวาง) / 409 Soi Rachadapisek 14, Huaykwang (7 minute walk from exit #1 of Huaykwang BTS station) Bangkok, Thailand Continue reading “พูดสันติภาพ ครั้งที่ 1 / Peace Talk No. 1”
Sombath Somphone and Beyond: Video and Panel Discussion
Thai and Cambodian youth working with the Sombath Somphone and Beyond Project have made this video capturing activities during Songkran or New Year in April.
Video of the panel discussion held in Trang Province, Thailand as part of these activities can be seen here.
Public seminar in Tokyo
The Institute of Asian Cultures, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan is hosting a public seminar “What is Politically Enforced Disappearance?: Development and Human Rights Issues in Recent Abduction Cases of Thailand and Lao PDR” on May 25. The case of Sombath will be presented alongside that of Somchai Neelepaijit in Thailand. Details are available at the Sophia University Website or in this flyer.
A press release from Mekong Watch on this seminar can be seen here.
A Song for Sombath
Please watch this powerful performance of Nasaan Si Sombath? (Where is Sombath?).
The song is Awit Ng Naghahanap (Song of Searching) by Noel Cabangon. The interpretive dance by SAD.
The event was organised by Focus on the Global South, Asian Federation Against Enforced Disappearance (AFAD), Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) in Manila on 12th April
Click on the image to watch the video on YouTube
Please share this link widely : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNh5Lnusgl8
Solidarity Event for Sombath Somphone in Manila
The Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) working group for ASEAN released a message during an event held in front of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on April 12th. The statement calls on the leaders of ASEAN to put enforced disappearances on the agenda of their upcoming summit:
On April 24 and 25, these ASEAN leaders will gather in Brunei under the theme of “Our People, Our Future Together.” But how can we invest our future in an ASEAN where peoples’ basic rights are continuously ignored and violated, a community where people are abducted and forced to disappear? We cannot be part of this. If ASEAN wants us to be part of this community then they should put the interests of the people above everything else. They should respect and uphold basic human rights.
The entire statement can be read here. A related letter from the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs can be read here. A video of the event can be seen here.
The event was organized by Focus on the Global South, Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), and Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearances (FIND).