European Delegation: The clock is ticking for Laos with the case of Sombath Somphone

Press Statement by the European Delegation, 9th March 2013

A European Delegation was in the Lao Capital, Vientiane from the 6^th to 9^th of March 2013 to express their grave concern that Sombath Somphone, highly respected member of Lao civil society, has still not returned safely to his family. Sombath disappeared on the 15^th December 2012, taken away in a truck by unknown persons after being stopped by police in Vientiane. Nobody has seen or heard from him since.

The Delegation formally presented to the Lao National Assembly and the Vice Foreign Minister of the Lao PDR the European Parliament Resolution on ‘Laos: the case of Sombath Somphone’, unanimously adopted on 6^th February 2013.

Dutch Senator and Delegation leader Tuur Elzinga stressed that the delegation strongly felt that it was within the capacities of the Lao Government to ensure Sombath’s safe return to his family and that it is therefore essential that appropriate actions are prioritised.

He also stressed that for every day that passes without Sombath’s safe return to his family, the credibility of Laos weakens.

The 8^th of March 2012 is the 83^rd day since Sombath’s disappearance and for many organisations a 100 days is a time for reflection and taking stock on progress. If no positive result has been achieved a new phase of international activity will inevitably be entered as the European Parliament resolution formally calls on the EU to include Laos and the case of Sombath Somphone in its priorities for forthcoming sessions of the UN Human Rights Council. The year 2012 started a positive year for Laos’ credibility, both nationally and internationally, hosting the ASEM9 Summit and entering the WTO. Unfortunately this credibility is now at stake.

Senator Elzinga: ‘If Lao officials think the issue of Sombath’s disappearance will go away, they are wrong. It will be the first item on any agenda in bi-lateral, multi-lateral and international discussions with and about Laos, until Sombath is safely returned to his family’.

The full report of the delegation is available here.

Background:

The Delegation met with

Representative of the Government of the Lao PDR, the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Alounkeo Kittikhoun
The Vice President of The National Assembly of the Lao PDR, Mr.Somphanh Phengkhammy and members of the National Assembly including Mr. Onsy Saensouk, Vice Chair of National Assembly Committee for Security and National Defence , Mr. Kisinh Sinphanngam Vice Chair and the National Assembly Law Committee and Mr. Khongsy Sisengdeuane, Deputy Permanent Secretary.
The Chargé d’Affaires, Head, of the European Delegation in Laos and Ambassadors from European Union member states in Laos
Representatives from Lao development organisations
Representatives from International NGOs based in Laos
Ng Shui-Meng, the wife of Sombath Somphone

Note for press:

Tuur Elzinga, Senator (for the Socialist Party) in the Dutch Parliament and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Elzinga was accompanied by Andy Rutherford, a representative of the International Organising Committee of the Asia Europe People’s Forum (AEPF), who had worked closely with Sombath in the preparations for and organising of the AEPF9 that took place in Vientiane between 16th and 19th October 2012 in the weeks before ASEM9.

Photo shows Senator Tuur Elzinga formally presenting the unanimously agreed Resolution of the 6^th February 2013 of the European Parliament on ‘Laos: the case of Sombath Somphone’ to the Lao National Assembly. Vientiane, Laos Thursday 7^th March 2013

The Resolution of the European Parliament is available here.

March 8, 2013July 28, 2015

Sombath, le disparu de Vientiane

Le Monde: 08.03.2013

Par Bruno Philip (Lettre d’Asie)

Depuis bientôt trois mois, Sombath Somphone, 62 ans, personnalité éminente de la société civile du Laos, militant écologiste et de la cause du développement durable, figure mondialement reconnue par ses pairs comme incarnant la voix déterminée des paysans les plus pauvres de son pays, a disparu. Le 15 décembre 2012, il a pris sa voiture et s’est évaporé.

Les dernières images que l’on a peut-être de lui sont celles, floues, de caméras de surveillance filmant un homme qui pourrait être Sombath à un poste de police où il venait de s’arrêter pour montrer ses papiers lors d’un contrôle sur une grande avenue de Vientiane, la capitale du Laos.

Toujours selon les images des caméras, il serait descendu de sa Jeep avant que, quelques minutes plus tard, un homme en civil monte dans sa voiture et démarre. Une dizaine de minutes après, le film montre un autre personnage prenant le volant d’un camion blanc. Un passager – peut-être Sombath – se place alors sur le siège passager et le véhicule démarre.

Les amis du disparu de Vientiane redoutent qu’il s’agisse d’un enlèvement organisé sinon par le pouvoir, tout au moins par des gens proches du pouvoir. Ou par des “éléments incontrôlés” de “services”. A l’appui de cette thèse, les prises de position écologiques de Sombath, activiste pétri de convictions bouddhistes et prompt à critiquer les dérives capitalistes d’un régime “socialiste” : les leaders laotiens sont les héritiers du mouvement Pathet Lao anti-américain et anti-impérialiste qui avait fini par s’emparer du contrôle du pays à la fin de la guerre du Vietnam. Depuis 1975, le Parti populaire révolutionnaire lao (PPRL) s’est maintenu au pouvoir et a évolué “à la chinoise” en un système mêlant ouverture à l’économie de marché et strict contrôle politique.

Mais qui, cependant, aurait eu intérêt à décider de se débarrasser de cette personnalité dont la disparition ne peut que donner à la République démocratique et populaire du Laos une réputation douteuse ? Sombath a tout de même reçu en 2005 l’équivalent asiatique du prix Nobel, le Ramon Magsaysay Award qui récompensa son travail auprès des paysans et le succès de son Centre d’entraînement au développement participatif, une ONG aidant les fermiers au niveau local.

Qui aurait eu intérêt à se lancer dans une telle aventure quelques semaines après la tenue, en novembre, à Vientiane, du sommet Asie Europe (ASEM), pour lequel chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement de nombre de pays européens et asiatiques, François Hollande en tête, avaient fait le déplacement ?

L’événement avait placé pour quelques jours le Laos sous les projecteurs, et fait connaître au monde l’émergence socio-économique modeste mais sûre de ce petit pays enclavé et pauvre en train de secouer sa séculaire torpeur. Fin 2012, le Laos a même intégré l’Organisation mondiale du commerce.

Difficile de trouver des réponses satisfaisantes et précises à la question de savoir qui pourrait être précisément responsable… “Je n’ai aucune idée de ce qui a pu se passer”, nous a confié récemment au téléphone depuis Vientiane l’épouse de Sombath, Ng Shui Meng, une Singapourienne qu’il avait rencontrée dans les années 1970 à Hawaï, où il faisait des études de sciences de l’éducation et d’ingénieur agronome.

Les autorités nient toute implication dans cette disparition. Elles assurent que la police met tout en oeuvre pour retrouver Sombath. Récemment, le quotidien officiel anglophone The Vientiane Times a publié un communiqué émanant du directeur adjoint de la police, le colonel Phengsavanh Thipphavongxay, qui détaille les circonstances de la disparition de Sombath. S’appuyant sur les images des caméras de surveillance, le colonel indique que rien ne permet de “vérifier” si l’un des hommes filmés est bien le disparu. Il réitère aussi la thèse officielle selon laquelle Sombath aurait pu être la victime ou l’objet d’un règlement de comptes personnel.

Avant le sommet de l’ASEM, Sombath Somphone avait présenté un rapport critique du système de développement choisi par les autorités de son pays. Remarquant que le Laos avait expérimenté tour à tour, depuis près de quarante ans, un modèle de type soviétique, avant d’évoluer vers plus de libertés économiques de type capitaliste, il affirmait dans ce rapport : “Ces deux types de modèle ont connu certains succès mais ils ont aussi échoué à satisfaire les attentes d’une majorité de la population laotienne, surtout en termes d’amélioration du bien-être des gens et des conditions de vie des Laotiens des zones rurales, qui forment la majorité de la population.”

A ce propos, Shui Meng, son épouse, avoue rester perplexe : “Je ne peux répondre ni positivement ni négativement à la question de savoir si sa disparition est liée à ses prises de position. Mais j’ai quand même du mal à imaginer qu’elles puissent en être la raison. Ça serait complètement disproportionné ! En plus, il a souvent travaillé en bonne intelligence avec des gens du gouvernement. Certains d’entre eux m’ont même fait parvenir des témoignages de leurs sympathies…”

A Vientiane, on sait que les éléments les plus modernes et les plus ouverts du système semblent bien embarrassés par les mystères de l'”affaire Sombath”. Il reste à espérer que, quelles que soient les raisons de sa disparition et les responsables de son enlèvement présumé, une solution soit trouvée rapidement pour qu’il réintègre dès que possible la communauté des hommes libres.

[email protected]

March 4, 2013July 28, 2015

Lao Gov't Issues Report on Activist's Disappearance

VIENTIANE, March 4 (Xinhua) — The Lao Ministry of Public Security held a press conference last Friday to provide information on the disappearance and suspected abduction of Lao activist Sombath Somphone in Laos’ capital of Vientiane on December 15, 2012.

At the conference, the Deputy Director-General of the Lao Police Department Phengsavanh Thiphavongxay provided a lengthy briefing on the findings of the committee investigating the case so far.

Broadly speaking, the briefing confirmed that the police had made no further progress in identifying the whereabouts of the missing activist. “Up to this point in time, no individuals or organisations have provided any information about Sombath Somphone and the Jeep.” Thiphavongxay confirmed.

Sombath Somphone was the head of the Participatory Development Training Center (PADETC) who provide training in community-based development. After he failed to return to his home in Vientiane on the night of December 15, 2012, his family contacted the local authorities. Since then, many international groups and governments have expressed concern about the case and the potential for some police or government complicity in his disappearance. Continue reading “Lao Gov't Issues Report on Activist's Disappearance”

March 1, 2013July 28, 2015

Pressure mounts on Laos over missing activist

The Diplomat/McClatchy-Tribune New Service: 22 February 2013

Laos is facing mounting international pressure over the disappearance of civil-rights worker Sombath Somphone last December. Some have called for Asean to intervene, with high-level diplomatic efforts underway by the United States and Australia.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr raised the issue with his Lao counterpart and Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong during a visit last week, telling them that Sombath had many friends in Australia who admire his work and who are worried about his disappearance.

Carr chose his words carefully, saying he did not want to distress Sombath’s wife, Singaporean Ng Shui Meng, who has campaigned for her husband’s “release”. He said he had gained assurances from the Lao leader that the relevant departments would continue to pursue the issue, and added that Australia would also continue to take an active interest in the case.

Carr was speaking to reporters in Bangkok after his visit, following an appeal by Daniel Baer, deputy assistant secretary of state for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, to Laos for more information on the missing 62-year-old, who campaigned tirelessly for sustainable development.

Lao officials maintain that Sombath may have been the victim of a personal dispute and say they have no knowledge of his whereabouts. Observers remain sceptical, given that he was last seen in police custody. Further, there is CCTV footage that shows him being taken from a police post by two unknown people after he was pulled over while driving home from work.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating to not have more visibility into the progress of the investigation,” Baer told Agence France-Presse by telephone after talks with the Lao vice foreign minister.

“I was assured that they are investigating – that’s what the vice minister told me – but I made sure that he understood that not having more information is not helpful.”

New York-based Human Rights Watch has also urged Asean to intervene, which is unlikely given the regional grouping’s insistence that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of member countries.

“The Lao government’s long silence about Sombath Somphone’s whereabouts increase our concerns for his safety,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

“The authorities seem more focused on deflecting international criticism than genuinely investigating Sombath’s disappearance,” Adams added in a letter to the Asean rights commission.

Adams is right. Laos is on a borrowing binge, with billions of dollars being invested in the country by Chinese, Thai and Malaysian investors for the construction of roads, dams and power stations. The government hopes these infrastructure projects will lift the dirt-poor communist country out of poverty.

However, the poor human rights record, fanatical grip on freedom of the press and entrenched corruption of the one-party state are images the country has long struggled to dispel. The disappearance of Sombath only adds to the negative perceptions.

Sombath’s disappearance came barely a month after Asean signed off on its rights declaration, after years of debate. While Asean leaders described the declaration as a landmark moment, critics said it was insufficient and actually gives countries the right to ignore rights rather than protect them. The ongoing situation in Laos unfortunately seems to support this view.

February 25, 2013July 28, 2015

Editorial: Asean Must Bring Silence in Sombath Abduction to an End

The Nation: 25 February 2013

Group’s claims to being a people-oriented community are at stake

The disappearance of Sombath Somphone in police custody last December continues to haunt Laos, once considered the “heavenly land” in continental Southeast Asia. With regional and international pressure increasing by the day, it is amazing to watch the old guard in Vientiane playing things out. For decades, Laos has escaped international scrutiny because it is a small and landlocked country without any strategic imperative. However, with the rise of China, Laos has become an important strategic outpost. As such, the country has brought attention to itself.

Laos joined Asean in 1997 without much fanfare. It delayed its membership for two years for fear that it would upset ties with China. Since joining the grouping, it has maintained a low profile all along, fearing controversy. However, with its ongoing mega-dam construction projects, it has been hard for Laos to remain silent on these issues, especially as they relate to the environment and villagers’ relocation. For instance, the construction of Xayaboury Dam has already caused havoc within the communist hierarchy – who are only used to affirmative answers – because of the myriad negative views against the dam.

Now, in a globalised world, Laos has to contemplate which route it wants to pursue. The recent reforms in Myanmar have already shaken the Laotian establishment. Myanmar’s political reforms were progressive in comparison with the pace of reforms in Laos since 1984. The country can no longer hide in obscurity and hope to get away with – if the worst fears of some are realised – the murder of one of its most famous sons.

When Asean was drafting its charter and terms of reference for human rights, the Laotian delegates were the most conservative and persistent in ensuring that the grouping would not move too fast. However, with the dramatic reforms in Myanmar, Asean as a whole has to think hard about how it can reform to provide further dynamics for political and social transformation. Much has been said about economic cooperation.

The time has come for Asean to speak up. Secretary General Le Luong Minh needs to display his leadership. During the weeks since he has assumed the position, he has spoken widely on the South China Sea and regional integration. How can Asean become one community when its leaders continue to turn a blind eye to assaults on the human dignity of their own citizens?

The notion that Asean can be a people-oriented community will be a farce as long as none of the Asean leaders speaks out on human-rights violations.

The disappearance of Sombath reveals the true nature of an archaic, inward-looking group of communist leaders who are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the dynamic changes within the region. Asean must take up the case of Sombath; its credibility is at stake. The Laotian government must be held accountable for his disappearance and can not longer remain mute. In the absence of cooperation from Vientiane, Asean should join hands with the international community to ensure that justice is done in this landlocked country that for too long has been far beyond the watchful eyes of the world.

February 21, 2013July 28, 2015

Asean Urged to Step in over Missing Activist

The Nation: 21 February 2013

Asean and its human rights body were urged to intervene in the disappearance of Lao social activist Sombath Somphone amid the failure of the authorities in Vientiane to trace his whereabouts.

File photo : Sombath

The Lao government’s long silence about Sombath’s whereabouts are increasing our concerns for his safety,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“The authorities seem more focused on deflecting international criticism than genuinely investigating Sombath’s disappearance,” he said

There is strong evidence of the role of Laotian authorities into the disappearance of Sombath, a prominent 60-year-old social activist who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2005, more than two months ago, Human Rights Watch said.

He was last seen by his wife, Ng Shui Meng, on December 15 as they were driving separately back from his office to their home for dinner. Shiu Meng lost sight of Sombath’s jeep at around 6pm near the police post on Thadeua Road in Vientiane, and he never arrived home.

Security camera footage from the Municipality Police Station, obtained by Shui Meng, shows that Sombath’s jeep was stopped by police at the Thadeua police post at 6:03pm.

Sombath was then taken into the police post.

Later, a motorcyclist stopped at the police post and drove off with Sombath’s jeep, leaving his own motorcycle by the roadside. Another truck with flashing lights then came and stopped at the police post.

Two people got out of the truck took Sombath into the vehicle, and then drove off. “It’s been incredibly frustrating to not have more visibility into the progress of the investigation,” Daniel Baer, deputy assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, told AFP by telephone from Vientiane after talks with the Lao vice foreign minister.

“I was assured that they are investigating – that’s what the vice minister told me – but I made sure that he understood that not having more information is not helpful,” Baer said, expressing disappointment that he was unable to meet any officials from the ministry of public security.

The campaigner won the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership for his work in poverty reduction and sustainable development in a country that remains one of Southeast Asia’s poorest nations.

The secretive one-party communist state – which exerts total control over the media and does not tolerate criticism – has in recent years gradually given local civil society groups more room to operate.

But Sombath’s disappearance has sent jitters through the activist network.

“There’s no question that it’s had a chilling effect,” Baer said.

“For as long as the case remains unresolved and Sombath doesn’t come home to his wife, the international community as well as many people here who know and love him will continue to ask questions,” he added.

February 19, 2013July 29, 2015

US Presses Laos over Missing Activist

Agence France-Presse, February 19, 2013

A US rights envoy on Monday appealed to Laos for more information on a prominent activist missing for two months, saying the case was having a “chilling effect” on civil society groups.

Sombath Somphone, the 62-year-old founder of a non-governmental organisation campaigning for sustainable development, disappeared in Vientiane while driving home on December 15.

CCTV images showed him being taken away from a police post by two unidentified individuals.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating to not have more visibility into the progress of the investigation,” Daniel Baer, deputy assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, told AFP by telephone from Vientiane after talks with the Lao vice foreign minister.

“I was assured that they are investigating — that’s what the vice minister told me — but I made sure that he understood that not having more information is not helpful,” Baer said, expressing disappointment that he was unable to meet any officials from the ministry of public security.

The Lao authorities have previously suggested Sombath might have been abducted over a personal dispute but said they had no information about his whereabouts.

The secretive one-party communist state — which exerts total control over the media and does not tolerate criticism — has in recent years gradually given local civil society groups more room to operate.

But Sombath’s disappearance has sent jitters through the activist network.

“There’s no question that it’s had a chilling effect,” Baer said.

February 13, 2013July 28, 2015

Asean Rights Body Must Show It Is Relevant

The Nation: 13 February 2013

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), whose second set of commissioners were recently sworn in, should address the disappearance of Laotian social activist Sombath Somphone to show it is a relevant organisation with the teeth to promote and protect the basic rights of people in this region.

Magsaysay Award-winner Sombath went missing on December 15 while driving back home from his office in Vientiane. Closed-circuit TV footage shows him being stopped by police at a checkpoint before being led away by a group of unknown men in a pickup truck.

A week after the disappearance, Laotian authorities issued a statement that failed to explain the situation or to commit themselves to any action, and which only showed their intention to distance themselves from the case.

In mid-January, Laotian Ambassador to Geneva Yong Chanthalangsay told the United Nations Human Rights Council there was no new information, and repeated speculation that a personal or business conflict may have been behind Sombath’s abduction.

That’s the only action the authorities in Vientiane have taken so far. They have shown no further intention to investigate the case. The incident appears to be in danger of fading from public attention.

Authorities around the world, including officials from the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, have expressed concern over Sombath’s disappearance and have appealed to the government in Vientiane to pursue a transparent investigation and to do everything in its power to ensure his safe return.

Lawmakers from some Asean countries visited Vientiane last month but returned without a clear answer about his fate. Continue reading “Asean Rights Body Must Show It Is Relevant”

February 10, 2013July 28, 2015

Chinese media cover the case of Sombath

The China Southern Weekly has published a long article about the disappearance of Sombath Somphone, including reference to this website. Based in Guangzhou, the outspoken Southern Weekly has faced its own difficulties in recent weeks (see here).

Introduction: “An effort to locate one woman’s missing husband has brought the Lao government unexpected international pressure, as the future of the country’s national image has been bound to Sombath Somphone’s disappearance and prospects for safe return. Analysts have even interpreted Sombath’s mysterious disappearance as a sign of the direction of political developments in the country. These international concerns are without doubt not good news a country which entered the WTO only two months ago.”

The entire article (in English and Chinese) can be downloaded here.

February 2, 2013July 28, 2015

EU steps up pressure

EU steps up pressure on Laos over activist’s disappearance

Straits Times, 01 Feb 2013

BANGKOK – The European Union has piled more pressure on Laos with a strong expression of concern over the disappearance in December last year of prominent Magsaysay Award winner Sombath Somphone.

In a one-hour meeting on Friday morning in Vientiane, senior European diplomats raised the issue with Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith. “They also spoke for other like-minded countries – the United States, Switzerland, Japan and Singapore,” said a diplomatic source familiar with the meeting, known in diplomatic jargon as a démarche.

The 62-year-old Mr Sombath, who is married to a Singaporean national, is one of Laos’ most prominent civil society figures. His Participatory Development Training Centre was active in education, health and food security issues. He won the Magsaysay Award – Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize – for Community Service in 2005. He is no firebrand, however; instead, he is known for his mild manner and his nuanced approach to sensitive issues.

He vanished on the evening of Dec 15. CCTV footage of the incident showed him pulling over in his jeep at a busy intersection in Vientiane and getting out to speak with police. Minutes later, a man on a motorbike pulled up and drove away in his jeep. Next, a big car with hazard lights flashing pulled up and Mr Sombath got in. He has not been heard from since.