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October 10, 2015December 30, 2015

“People don’t dare speak out”

“This is the biggest catchment for fresh water fish in the world and that demands a strategy for fish,” one source said, adding that Lao staff were aware of the issues but were silenced by fears of upsetting the government.

Sources said the disappearance of agriculturalist Sombath Somphone, an advocate of rural reform and farming practices, almost three years ago had a chilling effect on bureaucrats who must toe the government line on dam construction.

“They are nasty and people don’t dare speak out,” an MRC source said.

The Laos government has fended off a barrage of international criticism over Sombath – who was last seen on CCTV being bundled into a police car – and for having little if any regard for its legal obligations to human rights.

During a recent trip to Laos, one senior bureaucrat told this journalist that anyone publicly opposed to the government’s massive infrastructure plans – aimed at developing hydropower and turning Laos into a net exporter of electricity – “can simply disappear like Sombath Somphone.”

From “Why the Mekong River Commission May Be In Peril,” in The Diplomat, 10 October 2015

October 5, 2015December 30, 2015

The EU, Enforced Disappearance and Lao Civil Society

New opportunities await the new EU leaders to raise Sombath’s case and those of other enforced disappearance victims worldwide…

…we need to see strengthened EU and member state commitment to prevent and respond to enforced disappearances under the action plan on human rights. Until Sombath is safely returned, pervasive impunity will impact not only his family but all of Laos’ civil society.

From “Making the disappeared visible: The EU and the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone,” in New Europe, 31 August 2014.

The first objective of the 1.8 million Euro project European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights currently being prepared is:

Support to Human Rights and Human Rights Defenders in situations where they are most at risk.

Will this important effort include significant action on enforced disappearance or Sombath Somphone?

October 3, 2015December 30, 2015

Laos in the Spotlight Again Over Human Rights

The Diplomat: 02 October 2015

Sombath Somphone, seen here with Desmond Tutu in 2006. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Violations are again an issue in the Southeast Asian state.

By Luke Hunt

Human rights violations are again an issue in Laos – and a thorn in the side of a government more concerned with centrally-planned economic policies – following the death 61-year-old Tiang Kwentianthong.

Tiang was originally arrested for praying for a sick woman without government approval. Reports say he was denied medicine for diabetes. He was jailed nine months ago, released in March after his condition had deteriorated substantially, and died on September 17.

His death comes almost three years after the disappearance of well-known agriculturalist and rural reformer Sombath Somphone, who has not been seen since December 15, 2012. CCTV footage obtained by his relatives showed him being bundled into a police car.

His wife and relatives recently marked 1,000 days since he went missing, calling on authorities to make a genuine effort to find him. Vientiane has resisted international pressure and offers of forensic help in the search for Sombath. Continue reading “Laos in the Spotlight Again Over Human Rights”

September 21, 2015October 2, 2015

Verschwunden

Neues Deutschland: 18 September 2015

Personalie: Der laotische Bürgerrechtler Sombath Somphoneame ist seit 1000 Tagen verschwunden.

Sombath-Bamboo — Der laotische Bürgerrechtler Sombath Somphoneame ist seit 1000 Tagen verschwunden. Foto: privat

Seit nunmehr 1000 Tagen ist der laotische Bürgerrechtler Sombath Somphone verschwunden. »Die Regierung tut nichts zur Aufklärung dieses Verbrechens, das mitten in Vientiane geschehen ist und von einer Videoüberwachungsanlage aufgezeichnet wurde«, sagt seine Ehefrau Shui Meng Ng. Wie die Aufzeichnungen zeigen, war der Bürgerrechtler am 15. Dezember 2012 in Vientiane von Polizisten angehalten und fortgebracht worden. Seitdem fehlt von dem Träger des Ramon-Magsaysay-Preises – Asiens Äquivalent zum Nobelpreis – jede Spur. Die kommunistische Regierung verweigert sowohl gegenüber Somphones Gattin als auch gegenüber der UNO, der EU und internationalen Menschenrechtsorganisationen jegliche Auskunft über das Schicksal des Vertreters eines aufgeklärten Buddhismus.

Somphone wurde als ältestes von acht Geschwistern einer armen Bauernfamilie geboren. Dank eines Stipendiums studierte der heute 63-Jährige in den USA Landwirtschaft. Nach der Gründung der Demokratischen Volksrepublik Laos 1975 kehrte Somphone in seine Heimat zurück. In seinem mit dem Segen von Partei und Regierung gegründeten Participatory Development Training Center machte er junge Menschen und Regierungsangestellte der unteren Verwaltungsebene mit der Entwicklung von Landwirtschaftsprojekten vertraut. Das Netzwerk zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen aus Europa und Asien (AEPF) pries ihn als eine der »einflussreichsten Stimmen für eine nachhaltige, am Menschen orientierte, gerechte wirtschaftliche und soziale Entwicklung in Laos«.

Das war im Oktober 2012 auf der Tagung des AEPF in Vientiane. Zwei Monate später wurde Somphone entführt. Auch Friedensnobelpreisträger Desmond Tutu bat Premier Thongsing Thammavong 2013 um Aufklärung. Sein Brief blieb unbeantwortet. In Laos ist es 1000 Tage nach dem Verschwinden von Somphone so, als habe er nie existiert. Laut Shui Meng Ng übten die Behörden »massiven Druck auf jeden aus, der den Namen meines Mannes auch nur erwähnt«. Es herrsche ein Klima der Angst.

September 16, 2015December 30, 2015

Laos kidnap probe mired in suspicion

Bangkok Post: 15 September 2015

Activist Sombath now missing for 1,000 days

SB & Shuimeng — In this file photo, Lao civil rights activist Sombath Somphone and his wife Shui-Meng are pictured during a 2005 holiday in Bali. The 2012 kidnapping of Mr Sombath, the country’s leading civil rights activist, has revealed the one-party communist Laos, one of the five such regimes in the world, as one of Asia’s most repressive societies. AP

One thousand days after civil society leader Sombath Somphone was abducted at a police checkpoint in Vientiane, Lao authorities say they still have no clues about what may have happened to him.

“It’s been 1,000 days of waiting, 1,000 days of anxiety — and 1,000 days of nothing,” Shui Meng Ng, Mr Sombath’s wife, told a panel held to mark the milestone.

Mr Sombath, a renowned community activist, was last seen on Dec 15, 2012, when he was stopped at a police checkpoint in Laos’ capital city. While his apparent abduction was caught on CCTV camera footage, the probe into the case has stalled.

The video footage shows Mr Sombath being stopped at the police checkpoint and several men forcing him into another vehicle and driving away.

Four days after the activist went missing, a statement from the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged Mr Sombath was stopped at the checkpoint and his jeep was later driven away by another individual. Continue reading “Laos kidnap probe mired in suspicion”

September 13, 2015December 29, 2015

ONG instan a Laos a investigar “seriamente” la desaparición de un activista

W Radio: 11 Septiembre 2015

Bangkok, 11 sep (EFE).- Un grupo de organizaciones defensoras de los derechos humanos instaron al gobierno de Laos a investigar “de manera seria” la desaparición del activista local Sombath Somphone, cuando hoy se cumplen los 1.000 de su desaparición.

“En Laos ha crecido un miedo entre la sociedad civil de tan solo pronunciar el nombre de Sombath, su desaparición o hasta su trabajo (…) Si esto le pasó ha él, un reconocido activista pro derechos humanos, le puede pasar a cualquiera”, señaló Shui Meng Ng, mujer del activista, en un acto en el Club de Corresponsales de Bangkok.

El 15 de diciembre de 2012, Sombath conducía por una de las avenidas más transitadas de la capital laosiana cuando la Policía le dio el alto.

En las últimas imágenes registradas del activista, captadas por cámaras de seguridad en la zona, se aprecia como Sombath baja del vehículo para hablar con las autoridades fuera de escena.

Acto seguido un desconocido se lleva el vehículo del activista y un grupo de personas monta de manera precipitada en otro coche, aunque los investigadores dicen no poder determinar si Sombath está entre ellas. Continue reading “ONG instan a Laos a investigar “seriamente” la desaparición de un activista”

September 4, 2015December 29, 2015

Civil groups urge end to forced disappearance in ASEAN

Jakarta Post: 03 September 2015

As ASEAN moves toward a single economic community, civil society groups have urged regional governments not to tolerate human rights violations and to address past abuses, including cases of forced disappearance.

In its efforts to become a democratic region, ASEAN still faces unresolved cases of involuntary disappearances. According to the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), some 800 cases of forced disappearances in ASEAN member countries have been reported to the UN.

The Philippines has the most cases filed at 625, followed by Indonesia with 163, Thailand with 71, Laos and Myanmar with two each and Cambodia with one case.

“The figures represent the tip of the iceberg vis-a-vis the actual number of cases, since families and witnesses are fearful of reprisals from state authorities,” AFAD said in a recent statement. Continue reading “Civil groups urge end to forced disappearance in ASEAN”

September 3, 2015December 16, 2016

광주인권상 수상자 ‘솜바스 솜폰’ 구출 서명 8천700명 동참

Yonhap News Agency: 31 August 2015

5·18 기념재단 “유엔·라오스 정부 등에 서명부 전달, 재조사·구출 촉구할 것”

(광주=연합뉴스) 장아름 기자 = 2015 광주인권상 특별상 수상자이자 3년째 실종 상태인 라오스의 농업과학자 솜바스 솜폰(Sombath Somphone) 구출 서명운동에 8천700명이 동참했다.

5·18 기념재단은 지난 5월 16일부터 지난 10일까지 70여일간 서명운동을 한 결과 총 8천700여명이 참여했으며 서명부를 유엔과 라오스 정부, 우리 정부, 주한 라오스 대사관 등 국제사회 주요기관에 전달할 예정이라고 31일 밝혔다.

서명운동은 솜폰이 수상자로 확정된 지난 5월 광주인권상 심사위원회에서 발의됐으며 광주기독교단협의회, 천주교광주대교구, 5·18 3단체(유족회, 부상자회, 구속부상자회) 등의 협조로 광주 곳곳에서 진행됐다.

서명에 참여한 주요 인사로는 윤장현 광주시장 인재근·박혜자·강기정·장병완·권은희 국회의원 등이 있으며 종교계·시민사회·문화예술계 인사들도 동참했다.

미국의 팀 샤록 기자, 조지 카치아피카스 교수, 바실 페르난도 아시아인권위원회 위원장, 아시아 인권상 수상자인 라티파 아눔 실레가르 변호사, 빈민운동가 와르와 하피즈, 야스다 마사시 JR서일본노조 집행위원장 등 광주를 찾았던 외국 인사들도 서명에 참여했다. Continue reading “광주인권상 수상자 ‘솜바스 솜폰’ 구출 서명 8천700명 동참”

September 1, 2015December 29, 2015

Rights Groups, Wife of Missing Lao Activist Renew Calls for Progress in Case

Radio Free Asia: 31 August 2015

SB-Magsaysay-08 — A 2005 photo of Sombath Somphone in the Philippines. AFP/Sombath Family

Human rights groups and the wife of a prominent civil rights leader who disappeared nearly three years ago have called on the Lao government to adequately investigate the incident and provide information about the case’s progress.

Sombath Somphone went missing on Dec. 15, 2012, when police stopped him in his vehicle at a checkpoint in the capital Vientiane. He was transferred to another vehicle, according to police surveillance video, and has not been heard from since.

Although authorities have denied any responsibility, Sombath’s abduction is widely acknowledged to be an enforced disappearance.

On Sunday — the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances — Sombath’s wife, Ng Shui-Meng, urged Lao authorities to inform her of their progress in the investigation.

“The authorities always say they are investigating, but always without clear answers,” she told RFA’s Lao Service. “I appeal to the government to have pity on my suffering and honestly give me the investigation results.”

She added that governments and state agencies should not commit enforced disappearances.

“It is a crime and a violation of a person’s rights,” she said. Continue reading “Rights Groups, Wife of Missing Lao Activist Renew Calls for Progress in Case”

August 30, 2015August 30, 2015

Bound by tragedy, 2 women comforted by UN chief’s remark vs enforced disappearance

InterAksyon: 30 August 2015

Shui Meng & Edita Burgos — Edita Burgos and Shui Meng, wife of missing Ramon Magsaysay laureate and Laotian activist Sombath Somphone, find kinship in tragedy. They draw solace from UN SecGen Ban Ki-Moon’s strong condemnation of enforced disappearance, calling it like rain after a long drought.

MANILA – A Filipino mother and a Laotian wife, who have found solace in each other’s company since an encounter in an international forum on desaparecidos, are these days drawing comfort from the United Nations chief’s statement on the International Day of the Disappeared.

For Edita T. Burgos, widow of the world press freedom icon Jose G. Burgos Jr. and mother of missing farmer-activist Jonas, the past eight years since her son was seized while eating lunch at a mall – by men believed to be military agents – have been very difficult.

Shui Meng, wife of Ramon Magsaysay laureate Sombath Somphone, is in town to show her solidarity with other victims of enforced disappearances. She is a guest of the Asian Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (AFAD), where she and Mrs. Burgos met a few months ago.

Sombath is said to have been abducted by Lao government agents, as seen in a video posted on youtube. He remains missing and Shui Meng is pleading with his captors to release him. She expressed hope that the same tragic fate will not befall their family and loved ones. Continue reading “Bound by tragedy, 2 women comforted by UN chief’s remark vs enforced disappearance”