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Missing Sombath Still Dogging Laos

The Diplomat: 17 December 2013

Scrutiny from human rights groups and charges from the ICC likely if officials don’t come clean.

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Image Credit: Twitter @Sumana_Raja

Just over a year ago, community development worker Sombath Somphone was plucked from the streets of Vientiane by police. He has not been heard of since, despite overwhelming evidence linking his disappearance to the government and its dictatorial internal security apparatus.

But even the Laos government has its friends. One spin doctor went so far as to describe Sombath’s disappearance as a “piffling affair,” which somehow seemed like not so much of a big deal when compared with the extraordinary renditions of the United States.

And in rebuffing Human Rights Watch (HRW) the scribe of sorts described the Sombath issue as “like those poor Guantanamo-bound wretches.”

Comparing Sombath’s plight to people like Hambali – the mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings which left more than 200 people dead and who apparently still resides in Gitmo – beggars belief. Continue reading “Missing Sombath Still Dogging Laos”

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Editorial: Sombath case needs pressure

Bangkok Post: 16 December 2013

Sombath Somphone was probably the most effective and best-known NGO representative in Laos. One year and one day ago, on his way home for dinner, Mr Sombath was pulled from his car by several unknown men just outside Vientiane. He was bundled into a police vehicle and driven away. He has not been seen since, and his government has not just ignored the case, it has actively worked to cover it up.

A substantial number of concerned Lao and foreign citizens held a vigil at the Laos embassy on Pracha-Uthit Road yesterday. There was no surprise that diplomats showed no interest. That has been the response from all Vientiane ministries and departments since the evening that Mr Sombath failed to show up for dinner with his wife. The grainy closed-circuit TV video showing the actual abduction has roused no concern of any kind from authorities, even though it was a government CCTV camera.

One of the most puzzling facts about the Sombath case is that the victim posed no known threat to the government, the ruling Marxist party or any official. He was 60 when he was taken. He did not take part in, let alone lead, any political group. Continue reading “Editorial: Sombath case needs pressure”

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Rights groups mark year since disappearance of Lao rights leader

BusinessGhana: 16 December 2013

Human rights groups on Sunday gathered outside the Lao embassy in Bangkok to mark the disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone in Vientiane a year ago.

In the Laotian capital itself, a market fair was planned Sunday by Sombath’s wife, Singaporean Ng Shui Meng, to commemorate her husband’s disappearance, Focus Global South officer Shalmali Guttal said at the Bangkok protest.

Protests are strictly prohibited in communist Laos.

Ng on Sunday issued a letter to Sombath, which was read out in front of the Lao Embassy in Bangkok, where about 20 representatives of the Asia-Europe People’s Forum, Mekong Youth Network and Japan-based civil society organizations had gathered.

“Your leaders, including President Choumaly Sayasone, have promised to make a serious investigation and find the perpetrators who took you,” Ng wrote. Continue reading “Rights groups mark year since disappearance of Lao rights leader”

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Laos: Anniversary of ‘Disappearance' Demands Action

Thomas Reuters Foundaton: 16 December 2013

The Lao government should immediately disclose the fate of prominent social activist Sombath Somphone, who was apprehended at a police checkpoint in Vientiane one year ago, Human Rights Watch said today.

(Bangkok) – The Lao government should immediately disclose the fate of prominent social activist Sombath Somphone, who was apprehended at a police checkpoint in Vientiane one year ago. The official investigation of his enforced disappearance on December 15, 2012 was inadequate, and the government has yet to offer a credible explanation of Sombath’s whereabouts.

“One year since Sombath Somphone ‘disappeared,’ the Lao government clearly hopes the world will just forget about what happened to one of its most prominent citizens,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Foreign donors to the Lao government should make Sombath’s enforced disappearance a priority until he can return home.”

Security camera footage shows police stopping Sombath’s jeep at 6:03 p.m. on December 15, and unidentified men taking him into the Thadeua police post. Shortly after, an unidentified motorcyclist stopped at the police post and drove off with Sombath’s jeep, leaving his own motorcycle by the roadside. A few minutes later, a truck with flashing lights stopped at the police post. Two people got out of the truck, took Sombath into the vehicle, then drove off.  Continue reading “Laos: Anniversary of ‘Disappearance' Demands Action”

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US ‘deeply concerned’ over Laos activist fate

Al Jazeera: 16 December 2013

Sombath Somphone was abducted from police checkpoint a year ago, but Laos’s government is silent on the matter.

Sombath Somphone
The US said diplomats raised Somphone’s abduction case with Lao president following a donor meeting [AP]
The United States has said it is “deeply concerned” that the fate of one of Laos’ most prominent social activists is still unknown, one year after he was abducted from a police checkpoint in Vientiane.

The abduction of Sombath Somphone, 61, at a busy traffic junction in the Laotian capital on December 15 last year was recorded on government surveillance cameras.

Despite calls by foreign governments and rights groups for information on Sambath’s disappearance, the Laos communist-led government has maintained almost complete silence on the matter.

“Laos has taken steps in recent years to become a responsible partner in the community of nations. Sombath’s abduction threatens to undermine those efforts,” the US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement on Sunday.

“We call on the government to take all actions possible to ensure his safe return to his family.” Continue reading “US ‘deeply concerned’ over Laos activist fate”

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Kerry Warns Laos Over Missing Civil Society Leader's Case

Radio Free Asia: 15 December 2013

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A 2005 photo of Sombath Somphone in the Philippines. AFP/Sombath family

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Laos Sunday that the unresolved case of a missing local civil society leader could undermine the authoritarian state’s aspirations of becoming a responsible member of the international community.

Kerry, who is visiting Southeast Asia, said the United States “remains deeply concerned” over the fate of Sombath Somphone, one of the most respected civil society figures in Laos, on the one-year anniversary of his disappearance.

Sombath has been missing since Dec. 15, 2012, when he was stopped in his vehicle at a police checkpoint in the Lao capital Vientiane. He was then transferred into another vehicle, according to surveillance video. No one has seen him since.

Lao officials say they are investigating the case but have offered little information on Sombath’s whereabouts, prompting human rights groups to suspect that he may have been abducted by government-linked groups.

Six international rights groups said in a joint statement last week that Laos’s failure to conduct a “serious” investigation into the disappearance had “heightened concerns” about government involvement in the case. Continue reading “Kerry Warns Laos Over Missing Civil Society Leader's Case”

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Laos activist's disappearance still unsolved

Al Jazeera: 15 December 2013

Security video of activist Sombath Somphone, who disappeared a year ago, suggests government may have been involved.

Al JazeeraIt’s been a year since a prominent community worker disappeared in Communist-ruled Laos. Security video which captured Sombath Somphone’s abduction last year suggests the government may have been involved.

The US and the European Parliament have expressed concerns.

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สิทธิมนุษยชนอาเซียนอยู่ไหน เมื่อคนเห็นต่างจากรัฐถูกอุ้มหาย…

สำนักข่าวอิศรา: 15 ธันวาคม 2013

131256จากวันที่ “สมบัด สมพอน” นักพัฒนาอาวุโสชาวลาว ได้หายตัวไปจากกรุงเวียงจันทร์ เมื่อวันที่ 15 ธันวาคม 2555 ก็ล่วงเวลามา 1 ปีแล้ว ที่เราต่างเชื่อกันว่า เขาเป็นเหยื่ออีกหนึ่งรายที่ถูกบังคับให้หายสาบสูญไปโดยน้ำมือของเจ้า หน้าที่รัฐ เฉกเช่นเดียวกับนายสมชาย นีละไพจิตร นักกฎหมายและทนายความด้านสิทธิมนุษยชน ผู้ถูกบังคับหายไปจากประเทศไทย เมื่อวันที่ 12 มีนาคม 2547 หรือเมื่อ 10 ปีที่แล้วนั้นเอง

การถูกบังคับให้หายตัวไปของผู้ทำคุณประโยชน์ให้กับสังคมทั้ง 2 ราย ถือเป็นการถูกละเมิดสิทธิมนุษยชนจากคนของรัฐ เพียงเพราะพวกเขาทำงานเพื่อประชาชนที่ถูกเอารัดเอาเปรียบ อีกทั้งครอบครัวผู้สูญหายยังต้องเผชิญกับการเพิกเฉยจากรัฐในการติดตามผู้ กระทำความผิดมาลงโทษ ซึ่งขัดต่อหลักปฏิญญาสากลว่าด้วยสิทธิมนุษยชน

พันธมิตรองค์กรภาคประชาสังคมต่าง ๆ มองเห็นปัญหาที่อนาคตจะมีการเปิดการค้าเสรีอาเซียน และตั้งคำถามกับกระบวนการยุติธรรมของไทยและลาวที่ล้วนแต่เป็นสมาชิกสมาคม อาเซียน และไม่ต้องการให้รัฐมุ่งหน้าเพียงการพัฒนาเศรษฐกิจให้ก้าวไกล และปล่อยให้ปัญหาการละเมิดสิทธิมนุษยชนขยายตัวเพิ่มมากขึ้น จึงให้มีการจัดงานเสวนาเพื่อเรียกร้องให้รัฐดำเนินการในกระบวนการยุติธรรม ที่ถูกต้อง Continue reading “สิทธิมนุษยชนอาเซียนอยู่ไหน เมื่อคนเห็นต่างจากรัฐถูกอุ้มหาย…”

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Questions remain over missing Laos leader

Al Jazeera: 15 December 2013

Sombath Somphone disappeared a year ago after police stopped him, but officials remain silent on his fate.

Sombath Somphone
Sombath Somphone received the Ramon Magsaysay award for community leadership in 2005 [AP]
For a year now Ng Shui Meng has been waiting for news of her husband, Sombath Somphone, who was abducted from a police post at a busy traffic junction in the Laotian capital Vientiane last December – and hasn’t been seen since.

The case of 61-year-old Sombath, described as “farmer, scholar, scientist and community developer” by one of the groups he founded, has been taken up by the United States and Europe, but Laos’ Communist-led government has maintained an almost complete silence.

Ng says since the police told her they were investigating the disappearance, she’s heard little more. Continue reading “Questions remain over missing Laos leader”

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Laos human rights chill a year after activist's disappearance

Reuters: 14 December 2013

By Aubrey Belford

Dec 14 (Reuters) – The last sign of Sombath Somphone, the most famous social activist in Laos, is a blurry video taken on a Vientiane street.

The video shows Sombath, 61, being stopped at a police post on Dec. 15 last year. He is seen being led into a pickup truck, which then drives off screen and disappears.

A year on, rights groups and Western governments are calling for Laos to fully investigate Sombath’s disappearance, which Amnesty International says reeks of an official cover-up. The case has become a headache for the Communist country as it seeks international respectability and to open its economy.

The landlocked, impoverished country has experienced economic growth of more than 8 percent in recent years.

It is seeking to become the “battery of Southeast Asia” by exporting electricity from hydropower plants, but it has come under criticism for environmental destruction, land grabs and wasteful resource exploitation.

Now a deep freeze has descended on a tiny civil society that has tried to bring more openness to the tightly controlled state that has little tolerance for dissent. Continue reading “Laos human rights chill a year after activist's disappearance”