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Restraining Leviathan

The Inquirer: 02 September 2013

By Walden Bello

The state is a Janus-faced creature.  On the one hand, there is its “soft face.”  This is the set of institutions that provide representation and justice. Then there is the “hard face” of the state, the most important institutions of which are the executive, the internal security forces, and the armed forces.

This “deep state” is a highly contradictory institutional complex. On the one hand, it provides security and order.  On the other, it poses the greatest threat to the human, political, and civil rights of citizens.  For it is so easy to cross the very thin line separating the provision of public order and the violation of the rights of citizens in the name of order.

This is why it is important to hem in and envelop the security institutions with laws and rules that severely limit or prevent the use of force against citizens.   This is the reason laws like Republic Act 10353, the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012, are extremely important, for they restrain the constant institutional temptation of Leviathan to cross the line between the legitimate provision of public security and the illegitimate use of the power of the deep state to repress citizens.   Republic Act 10353 was one of the historic triad of human rights bills passed by the 15th Congress.  The other two were the Marcos Compensation Bill and the Bill on the Rights of Internally Displaced People.  (Unfortunately, the last was vetoed by President Aquino on very specious grounds.) Continue reading “Restraining Leviathan”

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Justice Elusive for Asia's Victims of Enforced Disappearances

Radio Free Asia: 02 September 2013

A European parliamentary delegation at a press conference in Bangkok on Lao activist Sombath Somphone's disappearance, Aug. 28, 2013.
A European parliamentary delegation at a press conference in Bangkok on Lao activist Sombath Somphone’s disappearance, Aug. 28, 2013.

Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s designated successor the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, has been missing for nearly two decades.

In Thailand, Somchai Neelapaijit, the chairman of the Thai Muslim Lawyers Association, disappeared nine years ago while providing legal assistance to Muslims accused of involvement in violence against security forces in the country’s troubled south.

More recently, a prominent Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, who has been critical of the government’s policies for the poor, vanished after being stopped at a police checkpoint.

In all three cases, governments are believed to be behind the disappearances.

Enforced disappearances—the detention of persons by the state, usually the military or police, followed by a refusal to reveal their fate or whereabouts—has become a major human rights concern in Asia. Continue reading “Justice Elusive for Asia's Victims of Enforced Disappearances”

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EU against Vientiane's reticence over Sombath Somphone's disappearance

Asia News: 02 September 2013

Since 15 December, there have been no news about the 61-year-old Laotian activist. CCTV camera shows police officers stopping and taking him away in a pickup. The government denies this version of events, a claim a group of MEPs describes as “ridiculous lies.” Fears are growing about the fate of the 2005 Asian Nobel winner.

2706-LaosPrisonnierVientiane (AsiaNews/Agencies) – There is growing international pressure on the Laotian government, accused of involvement in the disappearance of 61-year-old Laotian activist Sombath Somphone, whose fate remains unknown since the evening of 15 December 2012.

A group of parliamentarians from the European Union has accused Laotian Communist leaders of telling “ridiculous lies” in relation to the issue. The case however has raised awareness about human rights violations in Laos, an isolated country that is rarely mentioned in world mainstream media, at a time when the authorities have tightened controls on media and on the activities of members of civil society.

Nearly nine months since his disappearance, nothing is known about Sombath Somphone’s fate. Despite their best efforts, human rights groups and three separate EU delegations have failed to get more out of Vientiane.

As in previous occasions, the latest attempt elicited a terse response from the Asian country’s Communist leaders who, after noting the lack of progress in finding him, simply turned down an offer for technical help in the search. Continue reading “EU against Vientiane's reticence over Sombath Somphone's disappearance”

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The World Wants to Know: Where is Sombath?

The Irrawady: 31 August 2013

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

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Still of CCTV footage apparently showing Laotian civil society leader Sombath Somphone about to be detained by unknown men approaching in a white car. (Photo: Youtube)

BANGKOK — At a recent reception in Vientiane, a Western diplomat approached a senior Laotian government official with a query about Sombath Somphone, a respected civil society leader who was grabbed off the streets of the capital on a December evening and has not been seen since. The question elicited a rebuff.

“It is the standard official reaction,” a foreign guest at the reception recalled. “They get into denial mode even though there is CCTV footage of Sombath being forced into a vehicle near a police post in Vientiane.”

A similar wall of silence and denial was erected days later, when a delegation from the European Parliament landed in the Southeast Asian nation on a fact-finding mission over the whereabouts of the soft-spoken 61-year-old. “The Foreign Ministry [officials] presented ridiculous lies that the man abducted wasn’t Sombath,” said the visibly irate Danish lawmaker and head of the delegation, Soren Bo Sondergarrd, speaking to journalists in Bangkok on Wednesday. “They are unwilling to get deeper into this case.”

Sondergarrd’s delegation was the third made by foreign lawmakers, both from Europe and from Southeast Asia, since January this year. And a fourth from Europe is expected on Oct. 28—an indication of the increasing pressure the notoriously secretive communist government is under from the international community. Continue reading “The World Wants to Know: Where is Sombath?”

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Letter from Shui Meng on the International Day of the Disappeared

Today (August 30) is the International Day of the Disappeared. Shui Meng has shared the following letter with friends and colleagues to call attention to this terrible practice.

A number of groups and media organisations are doing research on the number and nature of Enforced Disappearances in Laos. If you have any verifiable, documented evidence, please share it.

Dear All,

August 30 marks the International Day of the Disappeared. In many Asian countries, there are activities marking the day to show solidarity with the victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Although Laos is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Enforced Disappearances, and many other human rights conventions and protocols, and despite receiving substantial assistance from development partners for awareness and capacity building on HR issues, there is little awareness or even recognition that Enforced Disappearance is an HR issue in Laos.

In fact, in HR terms Enforced Disappearance is considered the “Mother of HR Violations” because a disappeared person is a “non-person,” and until the person’s whereabouts and proof of life or otherwise are known, the family is left in limbo; left waiting without any possibility of “closure”; left hanging between hope and despair. Nobody, except those who have experienced such violations, can even describe the agony and trauma they face every minute of the day, and outsiders can never understand those feelings and emotions.

I write this not because I am venting my feelings, but to urge you all, as development practitioners and HR advocates, to do more about raising awareness of the issue of disappearances in the HR context of Laos.

There are many cases of disappearances in Laos, more than are admitted, because the family members of the victims are too afraid to speak or reach out for help. Recently, I wanted to reach out regarding one case which was reported to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, but was told that the family wants it to remain confidential. Such is the scale of fear, and that is why the perpetrators in Laos can continue to act with impunity and know that they will face little or no consequences.

I have spent my entire working life working on development in Laos and elsewhere to improve the lives and rights of the poor and disenfranchised, and I have been very proud of our mission. So, I urge you all, my development colleagues, to take a firmer and more forthright stand on the issue of disappearances with your Lao partners at the national and at the local levels. I at least have a voice, please be the voice and conscience of those Lao people who are voiceless and afraid.

Yours sincerely, Shui Meng

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Plight of Sombath Somphone Back in Focus

The Diplomat: 30 August 2013

By  Luke Hunt

The inability of the Laos government to offer a credible explanation for the disappearance of prominent activist Sombath Somphone has again drawn unwanted headlines, with demands for donor nations to think twice before committing taxpayers dollars to the one-party Communist state.

The latest swipe comes from Amnesty International, which is raising Somphone’s plight on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance. Somphone was last seen in police custody on December 15, but the authorities insist they have no knowledge of his whereabouts.

“The human rights group calls also on other countries to do more to demand that the civil society leader, a victim of enforced disappearance, is found and returned safely to his family,” Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, said.

Much to the embarrassment of officials in Vientiane, who have been preoccupied with organizing billions of dollars for the financing of ambitious infrastructure projects, Somphone’s disappearance was caught on CCTV, leading to repeated calls for the Laos government to act. Continue reading “Plight of Sombath Somphone Back in Focus”

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Eight Months On, E.U. Lawmakers Talk Tough Over Disappeared Laos Activist

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Protesters demand the return of Laotian activist Sombath Somphone in front of the Laotian embassy in Bangkok on Dec. 25, 2012

Time: 30 August 2013

The video is admittedly grainy, but what it shows is undeniable — well, at least to everyone except the Laotian government. Prominent Laotian civil-society leader Sombath Somphone was last seen on Dec. 15, 2012, driving in his jeep in the capital, Vientiane. CCTV footage (below) shows him being stopped at a police checkpoint and then driven away in a different vehicle while flanked by security personnel. Eight months on, European parliamentarians have accused the communist-run state of telling them “ridiculous lies” regarding the 62-year-old’s disappearance.

Though hopes for his welfare are rapidly fading, the cause of Sombath refuses to follow suit. An official European Parliament delegation is due to travel to Vientiane on Oct. 28, and his disappearance will likely remain at the top of the agenda after an advance party that visited this week found their inquiries fell on deaf ears. “The Laos regime is still in a state of denial,” Soren Bo Sondergaard, a Danish member of the European Parliament, told reporters on Wednesday, adding that he wants to “send a signal to the regime that this case will not go away.” Sombath’s wife was apparently told by the chief investigating officer last week that her husband’s case has officially been closed, only for that to be hastily countered by superiors when further accusations of complicity began to fly. Continue reading “Eight Months On, E.U. Lawmakers Talk Tough Over Disappeared Laos Activist”

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Sandheden om Sombath må frem

Politiken: 30 August 2013

FN-dagen for ofrene for påtvungne forsvindinger må bruges til at intensivere arbejdet for Sombath Somphone i Laos.

Dagen i dag – den 30. august – har FN udpeget til årlig mindedag for ofrene for påtvungne forsvindinger. Selvom der de senere år er sket store fremskridt i Latinamerika, så kan dette fænomen desværre ikke tilskrives historien.

Tværtimod sker det fortsat mange steder i verden, at personer som led i interne konflikter bortføres uden af de efterladte får noget at vide om, hvad der er sket. Mod politiske modstandere, fagligt aktive m.v. bruges ufrivillige forsvindinger som et redskab til at sprede frygt og terror. Det rammer ikke alene den nære familie og venner, men påvirker dermed samfundet som helhed.

I den forløbne uge har jeg været i Laos for at søge nyt i en konkret bortførelsessag vedrørende Sombath Somphone.

Sombath er en kendt og respekteret civilsamfundsleder, ikke bare i Laos men i hele Sydøstasien. I 2005 modtog han bl.a. “Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership”, som kan sammenlignes med en regional Nobel-pris. Så sent som i efteråret 2012 var han en af hovedkræfterne bag det meget vellykkede “Asia Europe People’s Forum” (AEPF), som fandt sted i Laos’ hovedstad Vientiane forud for det officielle euro-asiatiske topmøde, ASEM9. Continue reading “Sandheden om Sombath må frem”

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Amnesty International Public Statement

29 August 2013

Laos: Return Sombath Somphone

Amnesty_InternationalAhead of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on 30 August, Amnesty International calls once more on the Lao government to ensure the safe return of Sombath Somphone. The human rights group calls also on other countries to do more to demand that the civil society leader, a victim of enforced disappearance, is found and returned safely to his family.

Sombath’s disappearance is examined in detail in Amnesty International’s report “Caught on Camera”. He was taken away on the evening of 15 December 2012 in the presence of security personnel at a police post in the Lao capital Vientiane, and has not been heard from since. His disappearance was recorded on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that his family was able to copy. The Lao authorities’ likely involvement in Sombath’s disappearance has been compounded by the police’s failure to conduct thorough investigations, which suggests a cover-up. Other countries’ offers of external assistance, including to analyze the original CCTV footage, have been rejected.

Amnesty International has made a series of recommendations to help ensure Sombath’s safe return. But over two months since the human rights group issued its report on his case, it appears that no progress has been made in achieving a positive resolution. Continue reading “Amnesty International Public Statement”

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ตามหาชาวลาว

ข่าวสมบัด สมพอนในรายการข่าวสามมิติ โทรทัศน์ช่อง 3 (กรุณาดูที่ข่าวสุดท้ายในช่วงนาทีที่ 5:10)

News about Sombath on the Thai Channel 3 “Three Dimensional” program. (Please watch from the 5:10 minute mark.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAoieoUEcgk&feature=player_embedded#t=311