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‘Where is Sombath?’: After 10 Years, the Question Remains Hanging

The Diplomat: 15 December 2022  By Sebastian Strangio

Despite a decade of calls from U.N. officials and human rights groups, there is still no word as to the ultimate fate of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone.

Lao civil society activist Sombath Somphone photographed with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, in 2006.

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the disappearance of the Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone. As in most of the past ten years, the occasion has been marked by commemorations and calls for answers about his disappearance – and an emanation of silence from the government in Vientiane.

On the evening of December 15, 2021, Sombath, the leader of Laos’ first and most prominent civil society organization, was stopped at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the capital Vientiane. The 60-year-old was then transferred to another vehicle, according to a grainy police surveillance video that emerged later, and was never seen again. After Sombath’s disappearance, the United States and other Western governments called for an investigation. The Lao government promised to do so but has never done much toward fulfilling it.

To mark the 10th anniversary of Sombath’s disappearance, 66 civil society organizations issued a statement to “renew calls on the Lao government to determine his fate and whereabouts and deliver justice, truth, and reparation to his family.” Continue reading “‘Where is Sombath?’: After 10 Years, the Question Remains Hanging”

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Sombath Somphone: The activist who disappeared at a police checkpoint

BBC News: 15 December 2022

Sombath Somphone has not been since he was stopped at a police checkpoint

By Oliver Slow

Sombath Somphone, a prominent development worker in Laos, was on his way home from work when he disappeared at a police checkpoint on 15 December 2012. His wife, who’s still working to find out what happened to him, believes it was a warning to others.

“It’s been 10 years now and it’s still very fresh in my mind,” Shui Meng Ng tells the BBC.

The drive home that day was supposed to be routine. Her husband met her at the handicraft shop she owned in the capital Vientiane and as usual the couple drove home together in convoy – she was ahead, and he followed behind.

Ms Ng could see her husband behind her for most of the way, but lost him before she reached home. Continue reading “Sombath Somphone: The activist who disappeared at a police checkpoint”

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Dear Sombath…from S.Y. Chin (5)

Dear Sombath,

I am deeply aware that 15 December 2022 marks the tenth year since any of us have heard from you. Your enforced disappearance 10 days before Christmas – a season for peace and joy – deepens the hurt caused by your absence from the development community. During the past decade; our respect for your work, which is driven by your noble principles, innovative ideas and selfless objectives, has grown.

Many of us have read the splendid book, “Silencing of a Laotian Son,” by Dr. Ng Shui Meng and discovered personal aspects of your life we had not known previously. We did not know that your commitment to Laos began early in your youth. You were offered a Green Card which would have allowed you to stay on in Hawaii after your graduation to enjoy the ease of a career in the USA – however, you turned it down and chose to return to serve your country and fellow Laotians. You were the only student to make this choice among your classmates.

As Christmas 2022 approaches followed by the New Year of 2023, we are acutely aware that December has long ceased to be peaceful or joyous for your family and colleagues.

Your name, good work and well-being continue to be discussed within the development community. The past decade has not faded nor silenced this discussion.

S.Y. Chin

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Decade on, wife of missing Laos activist says no closer to finding answers

The Online Citizen:   13 December 2022

In this file photo taken on December 12, 2018, Shui-Meng Ng holds a picture of her missing Laos husband Sombath Somphone, an award-winning environmental campaigner following a press conference in Bangkok (AFP)

BANGKOK, THAILAND — The wife of a missing Laos activist said Tuesday that a decade on she was still no closer to finding answers over his disappearance as more than 60 human rights groups condemned Vientiane’s inaction.

Sombath Somphone, an award-winning campaigner for sustainable development, vanished on 15 December 2012 after police pulled over his vehicle at a checkpoint in the capital.

The case shone a spotlight on the reclusive communist nation’s poor human rights record, but campaigners condemned on Tuesday the lack of significant progress on the case. Continue reading “Decade on, wife of missing Laos activist says no closer to finding answers”

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Ten Years After, Sombath Somphone’s Legacy Lives On

Focus on the Global South:  13 December 2022

Focus on the Global South co-organized with the Asia Europe Peoples’ Forum, Embassy of Netherlands in Thailand, and Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute the Sombath Symposium, which gathered more than 50 activists, artists, academics, members of media, among others both virtually and in-person.

The Sombath Symposium is part of a series of events under the umbrella theme of “We Shall Not Forget” from December 2 to December 15, the day that will mark ten years since Sombath was disappeared. The events seek to commemorate Sombath’s legacy, to demand justice for Sombath and his family, and to call for an end to enforced disappearance and persecution of people and communities who advocate for justice, sustainability, human rights and peace.

The event “Honoring the Legacy of Sombath Somphone,” held December 2 on Lao National Day in Ruan Chula Narumit at Chulalongkorn University—the same venue of the first Sombath Symposium on Humanity and Nature: Traditional, Cultural, and Alternative Perspectives six years ago—saw the coming together of activists, academics, and the human rights and diplomatic community in their continuing struggle for truth and justice for Sombath. Continue reading “Ten Years After, Sombath Somphone’s Legacy Lives On”

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After 10 years, civil society worldwide is still asking: “Where is Sombath?”

FIDH: 13 December 2022

Ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned civil society organizations and individuals, renew calls on the Lao government to determine his fate and whereabouts and deliver justice, truth, and reparation to his family. We deplore the Lao authorities’ repeated failure to act on their human rights obligations to thoroughly investigate Sombath’s disappearance and provide adequate, effective, and prompt reparation for Sombath and his family over the past decade.

Since Sombath, a pioneer in community-based development and youth empowerment, was abducted from a busy street in Vientiane on 15 December 2012, numerous United Nations (UN) member states and human rights monitoring mechanisms have repeatedly expressed their concern over his enforced disappearance and urged the Lao government to conduct a prompt and effective investigation into this grave human rights violation and crime under international law. Continue reading “After 10 years, civil society worldwide is still asking: “Where is Sombath?””

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No progress on human rights, EU told ahead of upcoming dialogue

FIDH-LMHR: 12 July 2022

The European Union (EU) must raise its concerns with the Lao government over the lack of progress in addressing long-standing human rights violations in Laos and urge authorities to comply with the country’s human rights obligations, FIDH and its member organization Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR) said today. The two organizations made the call ahead of the 11th EU-Laos Human Rights Dialogue, which will be held on 13 July 2022 in Brussels.

“The human rights dialogue is one of the few opportunities for the EU to raise its concerns with Vientiane. It must not be another opportunity that allows the government to engage in dishonest statements and avoid any pledges to make concrete and measurable human rights commitments.” Adilur Rahman Khan, FIDH Secretary-General

In conjunction with their call, the two organizations released a briefing paper that provides a summary of human rights developments in Laos since the previous human rights dialogue, which was held remotely on 16 June 2021. The briefing paper documents key developments on the following issues: 1) political prisoners; 2) failure to cooperate with United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms; 3) enforced disappearances; 4) violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief; 5) human rights impacts of infrastructure and investment projects; 6) minimum wage increase; and 7) the COVID-19 response.

“As the 10-year anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone approaches, it is crucial that the EU keeps pressing the Lao government for answers about his fate and whereabouts. The chilling effect of Sombath’s disappearance haunts Lao civil society to this day and, until truth and justice are established, fear and oppression will prevail.” Elise Lyfoung, LMHR President

|Press contacts FIDH: Ms. Eva Canan (French, English) – Tel: +33648059157

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Book Review: Silencing of a Laotian Son

By Kearrin Sims    Asian Studies Review: 21 March 2022

Silencing of a Laotian son: the life, work, and enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone, by Ng Shui Meng, Spirit in Education Movement & International Network of Engaged Buddhists, 2022, US$10.00 (paperback), US$5.00 (eBook)

On 15 December 2012, Sombath Somphone was abducted at a police checkpoint in the Lao capital of Vientiane. The victim of an enforced disappearance, his whereabouts remains unknown.

In Silencing of a Laotian Son, Ng Shui Meng provides a moving memoir of Sombath’s life, work and disappearance. Beginning by detailing the circumstances of his abduction, the book then shifts back to Sombath’s childhood to provide a chronological biography that charts his life experiences across Laos, the United States and Singapore. Later chapters discuss many of the efforts that have been made to locate Sombath since 2012, as well as the unrelenting stonewalling of these efforts by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP). Continue reading “Book Review: Silencing of a Laotian Son”

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Political Dissident From Laos Finds Refuge as Ethnic Hmong Indigenous People Remain at Risk

Civicus: 18 March 2022

Civic space remains ‘closed’ in Laos in ratings published by the CIVICUS Monitor in December 2021. The rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly remained severely restricted, and the state exercised strict control over media and civil society.

In recent months the government has continued to repress its people, both inside the country and outside its borders. An exiled Lao dissident has sought refuge in Canada after he was arrested in Thailand and threatened with deportation. The Hmong community continued to face state-sponsored discrimination, amidst an increased push for foreign investments in the Xaysomboun region. December 2021 marked nine years since human rights defender Sombath Somphone was forcibly disappeared. Continue reading “Political Dissident From Laos Finds Refuge as Ethnic Hmong Indigenous People Remain at Risk”

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Dear Sombath…from Shui Meng (26)

My dearest Sombath, today is 17 February, your birthday. This year is also the Year of the Tiger.  Since you are also born in the Year of the Tiger, it means that you have reached your 6th cycle according to the Lunar calendar, therefore marking your 72nd year on earth.

Reaching the 6th cycle of your life is an especially auspicious occasion. If you are with us today, we would be celebrating this day with all your friends and family. Unfortunately you are not with us.

I know that you do not care much about celebrating birthdays or any other day in the calendar.  But today is special. So I know you will allow us to fuss over you a bit. Unfortunately, you are not with us and we still don’t know where you are. However, regardless of where you are, I together with everyone in the family would be sending you our special wishes and prayers on this auspicious day. We are all praying and wishing that you will remain strong and healthy physically and emotionally, and wherever you are, you will be surrounded by people who would take good care of you. Continue reading “Dear Sombath…from Shui Meng (26)”