World Hmong People’s Congress (WHPC)
Contact Seng Xiong: (212) 223-5486

HMONG IN CRISIS

September 13, 2007 – The traditional friendship of Vietnam-Lao PDR of 1977 allowed
Vietnam to secretly providing unlimited military support for the Lao government to launch attacks on Hmong resistance forces and civilians in Xaisomboun Special Zone and to support Lao government’s secret agenda of Hmong race extermination.

Lao PDR extend bilateral relations with neighboring Thailand in 1992 with tide to  economic and trades in exchange for cooperation in border security, suppressing anti-Lao movements and to end Hmong sanctuary.
 
The Thai and Lao government cooperation to repatriate Hmong refugees back to Laos without a third party involvement served the purpose of hiding the persecution issue and the Hmong-Lao ongoing conflict situation. “Laotian military personnel, often said, the war ends when the Hmong are completely gone.”

The recent arrests of the 3 Hmong-Americans from Minnesota on August 25, 2007 for unknown reasons and the Rev. Naw-Karl Mua, a Hmong-American pastor, also arrested on June 3, 2003 in which he was accused of a non-existence crime.

The disappearances and where-about of all the 26 Hmong refugees children that were forcibly deported from Thailand to Laos on December 5, 2005 while returning from a nearby Christmas party in Phetchabun, Thailand remain unresolved.  

We urge that both Lao and Thai government lived up to their international obligation and reputation: to end the persecution of the Hmong people, to stop detaining Hmong-Americans and to end the force repatriation of Hmong refugees.

Cases of Lao Government in Denial

On September 7, 2007, Brig-General Buasieng Champaphan, Lao Deputy Chief of Staff and the Co-Chair of the Thai-Lao border Sub-Committee, meeting in Phitsanulok, Thailand with foreign journalists, said, “there is no persecution and denies all allegations about mistreatments of Hmong in Laos.” Instead, blamed on gangs illegal activities that lured Hmong into Thailand as illegal immigrants and repatriation process will not include any third party involvement.”

On September 5, 2007, The Lao PDR spokesperson of the Central Government, Mr. Yong Chanthalangsy, officially denied the arrests and detaining of 3 Hmong-Americans. Although the local Lao authority in Xiengkhouang confirmed the arrests and indicated that they have transferred the 3 Hmong-Americans to the central Lao authority, said, a US Embassy consular staff who attended the case.

On May 18, 2007, Mr. Phomma Khammanichanh, Charge d’ Affairs of the Lao PDR Mission to the United Nations, gave testimonial statement to the United Nations sixth session Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, deny all allegations violations of human rights occurring in Laos, deny to the persecution of the Hmong people, deny the genocide and ethnic cleansing war against the Hmong people, saying, “these allegations are utterly false and groundless.’

On June 1, 2006, spokesperson for the Lao government, Mr. Yong Chanthalangsy, on a news conference in Vientiane, deny all allegations of the April 6, 2006 of the Lao People’s Army had killed 26 unarmed Hmong in Vangvieng, saying, “no such event had taken place at that time or in the area mentioned.”

On February 21, 22, 2005, Mr. Alounkeo Kittikhoun, Lao PDR Ambassador to the United Nations and Mr. Ket Kiettisack, Deputy Minister of Justice and head of Lao government delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination hearing on Laos in the implementation of the Convention of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in its Sixty-six session in Geneva, Switzerland, gave testimonial denying to the Hmong persecution in Laos, war crimes committed by members of the Lao military on five Hmong children and the existence of Xaisomboun Special Zone.

On October 19, 2004, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and on violence against
women received a joint reply from the Lao government and Ministry of Defense that the death of five Hmong children as war crimes committed by members of the Lao security forces are a myth and a fabrication, saying, “the allegations only intended to harm the reputation of the Lao People’s Army.” The Special Rapporteur had asked for an invitation into the crimes area of which allege occurred.” So far, there have been no replies from the Lao government.
 
CASE IN POINT

Although, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is a State party to many important International UN Conventions, Lao PDR has consistently failed to honor its obligations, ignored recommendations and the repeated requests by member of committee experts in the United Nations compliance mechanism in Geneva and New York for cooperation.

Lao PDR as a State Party to

1.    The main international humanitarian law treaties (the Geneva Conventions of
1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977) (1956);

2.   CERD-International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, (1974);

3.   CEDAW-Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination against Women, (1981);

4.    CRC-Convention on the Right of the Child, (1991)

Facts: Lao government is non-compliance to the Conventions of which they are a party to and consistently violates many international human rights instruments of the United Nations.

Conditions to be considered for the Hmong issue in Laos -

a).  Systematic violations of human rights; 

b).  Persistent racial discrimination;

c).  Grave injustice done;

d).  Unresolved Hmong refugees and missing children.
   
CALLS FOR RESOLUTION

World Hmong People’s Congress and its constituents calls for the recognition of a Hmong self-government of Hmong ChaoFa State, independence from Laos, as the only solution to resolve the ongoing Hmong-Lao conflict since 1975.   

We urge the United Nations rights mechanism, international community, members of the press and intellectuals to support the above proposal for Hmong and Lao to truly achieve peace and freedom.

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