Investors have leased the whole town and its surroundings from the Lao government for 60 years.
"Four years ago," he says, sliding the glass towards me, "the military came and told us the government had sold our land. Anyone who tried to grow rice there again would be arrested.
"They gave each of the villagers around $800 (£488) and told them to get out of here.
AAA Excellent AA very good A sufficient BBB enough BB insufficient B very insufficient CCC default
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Since Lao people have settled in the third world we never heard a Lao leader to do the fighting for democracy.
But they do to fight for to be a leader of Lao Nork people only therefore the international communities ignored this matter. So Lao communist regime has been comfortable to corrupt, bring Vietnamese and hinese to settle in Laos without anyone against it.
Shame! Selfish! Lack of the respond to Lao people who have no voice in the country. Please wake up ! Change mind for the UNITY then we will gain the support from Lao Nai and Lao Nork and International.
Why splitting up Thailand wouldn't work Published on July 15, 2011
Re: How about a two-state solution for Thailand? Letters, July 14.
Horst Bullinger says Thailand should be divided into two nations:
the North and Northeast on one side (for Thaksin Shinawatra to rule); the North and Northeast on one side (for Thaksin Shinawatra to rule); the North and Northeast on one side (for Thaksin Shinawatra to rule); the North and Northeast on one side (for Thaksin Shinawatra to rule);
and the rest as a second country. I don't think Mr Bullinger knows enough of Thailand's geopolitics to suggest that.
Bangkok is a seaport city. It has been a major source of income for Thailand for more than 300 years. It is said that about three-fourths of tax money in Thailand comes from Bangkok and the surrounding provinces.
The North and Northeast are a landlocked country. If separated from Bangkok, the new country will be reduced in terms of economic development on the same line with Laos and Cambodia. More importantly, it will be the most populous country with the least source of income to feed itself, let alone prosper
Sopogy Signs MOU for Concentrated Solar Power Project in Thailand july 19, 2011
Sopogy's proven solar thermal technology with thermal energy storage and localized approach will help Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam achieve clean energy goals and create local jobs.
Sopogy Signs MOU for Concentrated Solar Power Project in Thailand Sopogy, Inc., the world’s leading developer of micro concentrated solar power (MicroCSP) technologies, and MAI Development Co. Ltd., an established Thai conglomerate focusing on manufacturing, construction, real estate, energy and government services, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the development of an six-megawatt solar thermal power plant in Bau Yai, Nakorn Ratchasima Province to provide electricity to the Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand (PEA) in 2012.
In addition, Sopogy has granted MAI Development exclusive distribution rights for MicroCSP systems in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
MAI Development holds 45 power purchase licenses to supply 360 megawatts of electricity produced from concentrated solar energy to the PEA for an estimated value of over $500 Million USD.
"Sopogy's proven solar thermal technology with thermal energy storage and localized approach will help Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam achieve clean energy goals and create local jobs," said Phatthanasret Chayutthanabun, President, MAI Development.
Sopogy's patented Micro Concentrated Solar Power (MicroCSP) technology uses mirrors and optics to intensify the heat energy from the sun creating thermal energy. Thermal energy is the fuel for efficient, renewable power generation, air conditioning, process heat, and desalination. Sopogy’s MicroCSP systems can generate 30% more energy than fixed-mounted photovoltaic panels, and unlike PV, MicroCSP collectors are easily recycled at end of life.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, ... do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ..... In Convention Monday, September 17th, 1787. Present. The States of ...]
Document - UA 443/90 - Laos: Legal concern: Thongsouk Saisangkhi, Latsami Khamphoui, Fang and possibly several others
EXTERNAL (for general distribution)AI Index: ASA 26/02/90
Distr: UA/SC
UA 443/90 Legal Concern2 November 1990
LAOS:Thongsouk Saisangkhi
Latsami Khamphoui
Fang
+ possibly several others
According to foreign press and other reports, on 8 October 1990 Thongsouk Saisangkhi, a recently resigned assistant to the Minister of Science and Technology; Latsami Khamphoui, a former official of vice ministerial rank in the State Planning Commission; Fang, the director of a department in the Ministry of Justice and possibly several others were detained for advocating the institution in Laos of a multi-party political system. Those arrested were reportedly involved with an unofficial "Social Democrat Club", comprising some 40 Laotian officials and intellectuals, who since April 1990 had been criticising the country's one-party system in a series of meetings and letters and were making plans to campaign for a change to a multi-party system.
On 26 August 1990 Thongsouk reportedly submitted a letter of resignation to Chairman of Laos' Council of Ministers Kaysone Phomvihan, in which he described Laos' political system as a "communist monarchy" and a "dynasty of the Politburo" and declared "Laos should change to a multiparty system in order to bring democracy, freedom and prosperity to the people". He reportedly wrote that he had faithfully served the one-party regime since its establishment in 1975 with the hope of bringing progress to the country and giving freedom to its people, but had now concluded it had been "cheating the people".
On 12 January 1990 Latsami reportedly wrote a letter criticising the implementation of government policy, and this letter is believed to have been circulated privately in Vientiane starting in June. He had previously been arrested in early 1984, apparently in part because while an official in charge of planning government agricultural projects he had criticised government decisions both among Laotians and foreign diplomats and United Nations officials. He was later released and reportedly returned to government service for a period.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Laos has been governed exclusively by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) since December 1975, since the overthrow of a coalition government that had been formed in 1973 after a peace agreement that ended almost 15 years of civil and international war in the country. The LPRP was formed in 1955 by Laotian members of the Indochinese Communist Party, and at its last National Congress in 1986 proclaimed its fidelity to Marxism-Leninism and close alliance with Viet Nam. It has ruled the country without a constitution since taking power, and elections for a national legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly, were not conducted until March 1989. No parties other than the LPRP were allowed to contest the elections, and all non-LPRP candidates were vetted by it. Sixty-five of the 79 members elected were LPRP members.
In August 1989 the LPRP Politburo appointed a Constitution Drafting Committee, and in April 1990 the Politburo and the LPRP Secretariat approved a draft which reiterated the party's exclusive role in its Introduction and first article and described Laos as "a popular democratic state under the leadership of the LPRP". The draft was then disseminated so that it could be discussed first among party and government officials and then among the public. The LPRP Secretariat later issued an instruction complaining that "people in many major towns" had dwelled too much on discussing what the constitution had to say about "the organisational structure of the state apparatus". In June LPRP Central Committee member and Constitution Drafting Committee standing member Chaleun Yiapaoheu warned against "the staging of any demonstrations to demand a multi-party system" and that anyone doing so would be arrested, if necessary without a court warrant. He reportedly explained that no other political parties would be allowed "because our multi-ethnic Lao people have remained faithfully under the leadership of the LPRP", and is quoted as saying in July that: "The Party has proved to the people in the past 35 years that it has been the only party that can take care of them" adding that "too many parties invite division". In July Somphavan Inthavong, a prominent member of the Supreme People's Assembly, declared in response to an interview question about the possibility of introducing a multi-party system in Laos that the country was in no position to "think about building rockets to go to the moon" and warned that such systems were characterised by "bloody turmoil".
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Telexes/airmail letters:
- expressing concern at reports that Thongsouk Saisangkhi, Latsami Khamphoui and other alleged members of the "Social Democrat Club" may have been detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly by advocating multiparty democracy at meetings and in letters;
- urging that unless they are going to be charged with recognizably criminal offences and promptly and fairly tried, they be immediately and unconditionally released.
APPEALS TO:
HE Kaysone Phomvihan
Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Office of the Council of Ministers
Vientiane, Laos
HE Gen Khamtai Siphandone
Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers
and Minister of Defence
Ministry of National Defence
Vientiane, Laos
HE Asang Laoly
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
Vientiane, Laos
Telexes to all of the above: 4317 MINAE LS; 4320 MINAE LS
COPIES TO:
HE Sali Vongkhamsao
Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers and
Minister of Economy, Planning and Finance
Ministry of Economy, Planning and Finance
Vientiane, Laos
HE Souli Nanthavong
Minister of Science and Technology
Ministry of Science and Technology
Vientiane, Laos
and to diplomatic representatives of Laos in your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 14 December 1990.
(From left) Mr Thuan Huu, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Mr Ta Minh Chau, Dr Bounpone Bouttanavong, LPRP Publishing and Training Board's Head Mr Cheuang Sombounkhanh, and Prof Dr Bosengkham Vongdara at the Nhan Dan opening ceremony in Vientiane yesterday.
From: "specom2009@comcast.net" To: Laosnetworkroom Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 10:56 AM Subject: Vietnamese newspaper opens office in Laos
Vietnamese newspaper opens office in Laos
(From left) Mr Thuan Huu, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Mr At Minh Chau, Dr Bounpone Bouttanavong, LPRP Publishing and Training Board's Head Mr Cheuang Sombounkhanh, and Prof Dr Bosengkham Vongdara at the Nhan Dan opening ceremony in Vientiane yesterday.
Friday, July 22, 2011 - 20 countries where it does not live Freedom House publishes a ranking of 20 countries where human rights and democracy are violated.
- Military parade to celebrate the secession from Georgia in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia.REUTERS / Kazbegi Basayev - Laos
Hmong refugees in a police truck during an operation of deportation to Laos. REUTERS / Sukree Sukplang
The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) retains the monopoly of political power in Laos, one of the last communist countries in the world. The government, led by President Choummaly Sayasone, control almost every aspect of life of the population, officials have so many opportunities to demand bribes wine. All land belongs to the state, and power often given land to citizens with relations within the government, or in exchange for money.
In 2009, 300 Laotian farmers were arrested for planning to oppose the confiscation of land decided by the government, nine of them were still imprisoned at the end of 2010, and nobody knows where they are TODAY 'hui. Freedom of worship is strictly limited, and the control LPRP clergy and Buddhist temples, local officials imprison Christians, or expelled from their villages for proselytizing. Thousands of people from the mountains were displaced when the government tried to destroy various groups belonging to ethnic Hmong who had taken part in a small-scale rebellion against the government since 1975.
Nor Korea - Libya - Myanmar - Equatorial Guinea - Eritrea - Somalia - Sudan - Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan - Tibet - Syria - Belarus - Chad - China - Côte d'Ivoire - Cuba - Laos - Saudi Arabia - South Ossetia - Western Sahara
We sacrifice to talk and show our ability to join task together in the forum and to speak up as our thought not to copy from other. We have been done our great job to support and protect Lao people non like the regime in the country. We have some friend like Mr Bounthanh to send some text to me to add the idea in as we are doing now and he has double job than us to publish in the Voice of Laotians Overseas. We do our best because we lose Lao land to Vietnam and China bit by bit then Lao entity will be disappeared from the world map like Tibet ( China) , Champ ( Vietnam), Isane and Lanna ( Thailand), Shane ( Burma ). The argument and the opponent idea or pro-comm are normal way of the life but Lao people in the country are double hard than us. They were tortured, were killed like animal, no justice to support them but we can talk, speak up, spread in the net and the media to help them. if we cease the operation who will help them. we work as the charity challenge like the religious mission to help the poor people around the world.
I am very busy too to operate the Lasosnet to contact Lao Nai group and worldwide.
Lao PDR Government has debs in 3 area only around $ 6.50 billion. 1/ Nam theune 2: Laos borrowed fund of $ 920 million and the construction costs $ 1.3 billion and get the aid from many countries. 2/ Fast train: Laos will borrow fund of $ 2.1 Billion from China ( Laos 30% and China 70% costs $ 5.00 billion ) Total $ 7 billion. 3/ Xayabouri dam: Laos will borrow fund of $ 3.5 billion from 4 banks in Thailand .
This financial year, Laos lost $ 200 million of the import and export so Laos will get the financial hardship as well. The 2015 plan to abolish the poverty in Laos will be a dream. Lao people will be the poorest people in the world.
Hope you are doing well in the US. I could not get through you before I left the US. There are so many changes in this small town Boeko over the past five years, both economically and socially. This is the update of my life for the past one week in Laos. I thought of sharing this with you.
Read this when you are more free because it is kind of long.
A few days ago, my distant uncle and I rode a motorbike on a paved road for about 50 kilometres to Ban Kounbong, an Iu-Mienh village up north. It was a beautiful day and my uncle was free so I decided to ask him to come with me. He just came out of the prison a year ago and all his children are in Thailand so I thought it would be good to ask him out so that I can also learn from him about the obstacles he had to overcome while undergoing rehab in the jail. In fact, after interacting with him privately, I could confirm my doubt that people coming out from jail become stronger in their minds and souls.
There are three Iu-Mienh villages within the precinct. In fact, that is the largest Iu-Mienh community in Bokeo. I just wanted to see the Iu-Mienh way of life and capture some pictures so that I could show them to my friends and tell my them about the Iu-Mienh cultural lifestyle when asked. Ever since I left Laos, I always introduced myself as a Laotian. I guess I have to represent my country but I feel that being able to show the ethnicity of me out to the world would be an interesting way as well. Moreover, it is a good chance for me to find out more about my own root.
Being unfamiliar of the road and having not been riding a motorbike for a long time, I only accelerated up to 40 to 50 km/h. It took me about an hour to reach there. There was not much change to this village as compared to ten years ago when I was there. The Iu-Mienh people still live in thatched-roof houses or relatively simple bungalows with soiled ground. The kids are still running around without pants. The elderly still sit in a community circle sewing clothes. The males are still playing Sepratakraw as a daily sport. The scene immediately reminded of my past in the refugee camp in Thailand and my initial relocation to Laos. They are beautiful in their own ways and nostalgic in many aspects. I think you probably know what I mean, uncle, as you also have been through such kind of life before. But, I think we need to progress with the right ethics and mindsets.
As I parked the motorbike and walked around the village, I came across my distant cousin whom I have not met for a few years. His friends and he greeted me with warm smiles. I quickly approached them and chatted with them cordially for a while. I asked them about their daily lifestyles and as I was talking to them, my mind started to raise so many questions. They worked in the farm during the season. But, they just roamed around the village and drank alcohol with friends during the off-season. That was what they told me. But, how come some could afford to build big houses that are so outstanding among the thatched-roofed houses. This figure is my rough estimation that I got after subtracting the necessary expenses. This is only per one working adult, ignoring the expenses he has to incur for his children and aging parents. At the end of the month, he only has USD$32 left. This is definitely not enough to provide the minimum living standard for his/her kids and aging parents. I observe that usually only the husband is the bread-winner of the family. How could some people in the village afford to build extravagant houses? Uncle, I suspect that they must involve in drug traffics in one way or another. This is the only possible way out. I am still discovering and finding out more why some people are so rich. I hope I can get some concrete answer when I talk to relevant people.
Uncle, what really shocked me when I went to the casino built near the notorious Golden Triangle, about 15 minute-ride from your mom’s hometown. The whole town was full of Chinese people. It was like a China town. But, in my opinion, this China town brings more bane and boon to the Laos economy. Inside the casino, majority of the gamblers are ordinary Lao people, both males and females, who are farmers and barely make their ends meet. I think they are hoping that they can make a fortune out of it. People put as high as USD$500 per game. This is probably way more than the average amount our Iu-Mienh people put in the US. I am so worried that in the next couple of years, there will be a lot of social problems such as short selling their land and properties that pass down from generation to generation. The people there do not really have high educations and they definitely may not be able to analyse all these consequences. They live day by day and just want to make money in any short-cut ways possible. By the way uncle, this casino is a very modern and extravagant one. I was pretty impressed by it, too. It is like a palace mushrooming out of nowhere. If you have a chance to come to Laos, you should pay a visit.
What astonished me further was Lao currency was not accepted inside the casino. Only Thai and Yuan currencies are accepted. Deep inside my heart, I was very indignant. Imagine what will happen to the Lao currency if this persists. For sure, just looking at the casino, the demand for Lao currency will decline and the currency will be depreciated and there will definitely be inflationary pressure to the Laos economy. The Lao currency is already weak enough at the current moment. In addition to that, many prostitution houses are set up around the premise. Chinese markets, restaurants, hotels and other intimate services are within a walking distance from each other. The Chinese people behave very recklessly and they smoke indiscriminately. If it is like any other China towns in Portland, Singapore or San Francisco, it would be another story. The Chinese investors claimed that the casino creates jobs for Lao people but I feel that the number of Chinese people who work there definitely outweighs the Lao people. All the table manages are Chinese. When I asked them, why they worked here, they just said they wanted to get out from China and saw the world. Well, this is valid and there is no qualm about it. Isn’t it cheaper to hire Lao people? Or they do not trust the Lao people. I am really not too sure. There must be some political reasons underlying this development. History has taught us that the Chinese are spreading faster than one can imagine, and in the next few years, there will be intermarriage. This is only good if they can together help bring Laos to another level. By the way, I was told by a few people that the previous Prime Minister was forced to resign because he signed such contract with the Chinese investor without consulting the Lao parliamentary team. He was bribed about USD$300 million. I am not sure if this is a rumour or fact.
Because of the casino built in the north and the new bridge being built in the south, land prices in Bokeo are skyrocketing. A piece of land cost USD$10,000 two years ago is now USD$100,000. The price went up approximately 10 times. This is the area I intent to venture into right now if I have the means, but I must say with all my convictions that there will be loads of problems followed suit in the near future. The majority of the property owners are the top-tiers. How about the people who are in the bottom rang of the economy? Does the government care for them? It is true that Laos is moving towards the social capitalism as claimed by an article that I came across a year ago but the economic disparity is widening right now. Is there any measure being put in place to curb social and economic problems in the near future? Maybe, you can take this as a food for thought, uncle.
Uncle, I am so glad that there is a voting system in Laos for the election in choosing a local representative in the central parliament in Vientiane. The news reported that the event went on smoothly. But, when I was there voting on behalf of my coarse and ungrateful uncle (he is already 21 years old and still behaves unrolling. He is a son of my grandpa’s fifth wife. I have been helping him and giving him advice but I am a bit tired of him now. I can write a few pages of how he betrays my trust), there was no order at all. There are so many gaps that can introduce questions to the validity and quality of the voting process. The voting process so messy and the voters simply crossed out two names of the candidates without really thinking through who are the most suitable candidates. Police officers standing there to ensure orderly manner did not really bother. I approached a few of them and asked them to get two strings to tie around the chairs forming lines for people to queue so that the whole process could be facilitated smoothly but they waved me off. What an attitude! I did this because I felt that one had to take initiative. Well, apparently, my comment was not being appreciated. When I was in another Iu-Mienh village to the south, Ban Xaychalern, I was told that many people voted for candidate number one for he allowed the people there to cut down trees to claim for their own farming land and continue with the subsistence farming lifestyle. If what I was told is true, is it ethical? Is it right for the environment? Personally, I feel that no matter how the voting results turn out to be like, the government already has some desirable candidates in their mind. Maybe, the voting system is organised just to deceive the international stage. But, uncle, in your opinion, how can a good politician convince people to vote for him by just looking at the short-term benefits they can get?
A reckless and powerful kid just turned me down, uncle. The Mayer of Bokeo is a friend of my god father in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. I, therefore, decided to pay him a visit. I did not manage to meet up with him. I only saw his wife and his son. As I talked to them, they treated me like a small fly. You could see and sense from the eye contact and the attitude they put up. Later, the mom said that she was going to send her son to Singapore to study English by the end of this year. They started to ask me so many questions and I did my best to answer. But, I could not feel any sense of sincerity and connection throughout the whole conversation. Since the son was not from Bokeo and he just came here to visit his parents. He has not friends over here. He went to study in China and he is now 22 years-old. He barely knew English. So, I offered to bring him out the next day so that I can share more about my experiences in Singapore with him and bring him around this small town and probably teach him some simple English phrases. Both agreed. I went back home to look through all the learning materials I could find in my computer and did some research on schools that his agency might post him to so that he could at least find out before hand if the school is a good one or not. When I called him the next day at 10a.m, he did not pick up his phone. I called him a few times but could not get through him. I went to his house but his mom said he was still sleeping. I was waiting there talking to his mom for about an hour but he was still sleeping. His mom already informed him that I was waiting for him at the living room. After an hour of waiting to no avail, I decided to leave. I could sense that his mom was just there trying to engage me in some small conversations but no depth in her words that any Mayer’s wife would have. Before I left, she asked me to come to the house again at 4pm. I was a bit upset by the attitude so I just left a message and asked him to call me back. But, he did not call nor reply to the text. So, on my side, I do not really care either and let not to affect me. Over the years, I can get along well with both highly and lowly educated, rich and poor, but it comes to lethargic and arrogant people, I tend to turn off very fast. I am still working on this.
Last night, I went to Wungview Resorst to get some drinks with two cousins. This is a good way to socialise and relax once a while. To me, it really does not matter if you drink it or not, as long as you can control yourself and know your limit, it is good to go. For me, I decided to go there just to see how the Lao teenagers have turned out to be over the past few years, and in fact, I could learn a lot from it. Uncle, for the first time, I saw people fighting in a club. The teenager gangsters started to fight. One guy threw a Beer Lao bottle on another guy’s head. You probably have seen how big the Beer Lao bottle is. Blood was oozing out. Everyone dashed out of the club to seek for a safe refuge. There was no police at all. The legal system here needs a lot of improvement. Legally, only 18 and above can enter a club. But, when I was there, they did not even check our IDs, and some kids as young as 14 were present in the club, too. I wish the security guards here could do a good job like the ones in the US where they checked Ids thoroughly before allowing people to go in.
Uncle, this is way too long an update of what happened in my life in Laos for just one week. I just finished eating with some cousins. I cooked and invited them over to my house Have not done this in a while. As I was cleaning the vegetables this afternoon, I was so inspired to write. I have started writing since this afternoon but only managed to finish now. I will go down to Vientiane next Thursday and cannot wait to embark on what I really want to do for this summer. Take good care, uncle. You are always in my thought though we live in a different part of the globe. k. Just one phrase for thought, time is not in the equation of success. It all depends on how you manage it! Also, uncle, if you are free, grab this book called Screw it, let’s do it, by Richard Branson. Just finished it and there are many lessons that we can apply in our daily and business life.
. ปี 2515 ได้เขียนบทกลอน “ชัยชนะสมรภูมิลามเซิน” ซึ่งหมายถึงการสู้รบครั้งใหญ่ในแขวงสะหวันนะเขต-คำม่วน ปีต่อมาเขียนบทกลอนอีกชิ้นหนึ่งชื่อ “พลิกแผ่นดิน ปลิ้นแผ่นฟ้า อยากเห็นหน้าให้แลหลัง” (Look everywhere, look back at the past to predict the future) บทกลอนชิ้นนี้ ทำให้ผู้ประพันธ์ได้รับรางวัลซีไรต์ในอีก 18 ปีต่อมา พิธีมอบรางวัลจัดขึ้นในกรุงเทพฯ
Conservative German MPs help Thaksin enter Germany again By Siam Voices Jul 24, 2011 8:00AM UTC
By Saksith Saiyasombut
The Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper reports that former fugitive prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is allowed to enter Germany again. Some excerpts from the newspaper:
Thaksin Shinawatra can enter Germany again. The entry ban against Thaksin, in effect since 2006, has been already revoked on July 15 by the order of Foreign Minister Guido Westerwellse, as this paper understands. The ministerial order has been forwarded to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which will direct all subsidiary authorities, including the federal police [which also patrols the borders of Germany], to implement the ruling immediately. (…)
The decision by Berlin, which isn’t publicly known in Thailand yet, might further put a strain on the relations of both countries. (…)
The reason for the revoking of the entry ban by Germany is the “changed [political] situation in Thailand” according to government circles in Berlin.
“Thaksin darf nach Deutschland”, Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung, July 22, 2011 – translation by me; note: article is behind a paywall
Even though there has been an entry ban for him since 2006, Thaksin was still able to sneak into Germany in late 2008 and even got a residency permit in Bad Godesberg, near the former Western German capital Bonn (which also happened to be the place of residency of the then-ambassador of Thailand) – with help of some very suspicious German friends, including a former spy, a former local police chief, a lawyer and with recommendation letters of conservative German MPs. Both state and federal authorities were unaware about Thaksin’s sojourn to Germany, even to the point blaming their own foreign intelligence agency to have helped him. When this incident came to light, the permit was immediately revoked in May 2009. This was the subject of my first ever blog post, where you can read more details about this case.
The question is now why Thaksin’s entry ban has really been revoked after all? The Süddeutsche Zeitung has reported in June about increased attempts of German MPs, all apparently members of the Christian-conservative Christlich Soziale Union (the Bavarian sister-party to the nationwide governing CDU), to convince Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (member of the center-right Freie Demokratische Partei, which is a government coalition partner) to allow Thaksin to enter the country again:
The phantom [Thaksin] also keeps the Foreign Ministry and the Chancellor’s Office busy. In the past few months, several conservative politicians have campaigned behind the scenes so that Thaksin can travel hassle-free to Germany again. In a comparatively diplomatic way, former Minister of Economics Michael Glos (CSU) has asked Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle if the entry ban for Thaksin still exists.
His colleague on the hand, MP Hans-Peter Uhl (CSU), is already starting to get on many diplomat’s nerves with his pro-Thaksin initiatives. Several conservative politicians are campaigning in Berlin for a policy change towards Thailand, in which Thaksin should become a stronger figure again. (…)
“Thailands Ex-Premier Thaksin: Dubioser Besucher“, Süddeutsche Zeitung, June 22, 2011, translation by me
The article goes on to hint at possible visits by Thaksin in the very recent past (thanks to his new citizenship of Montenegro and his Nicaraguan diplomatic passport) to meet somebody, who also visits Germany pretty often.
This reported revoking of the entry ban for Thaksin couldn’t come at a worse time for Thai-German bilateral relationships, thanks to the impounded Royal Thai Air Force plane-saga (see previous coverage here and here), which by the way is apparently far from over. While most likely the Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will fume with anger over the reports and insist that the bilateral relations will take a huge hit, more focus has to be put on the conservative German MPs.
Thailand has never prominently popped up on the radar of German foreign policy (if at all) ever since the current administration took over in 2009 (critics say that the foreign minister has not much interest in anything) – the more interesting it is to see the MPs pushing for change. The questions remain though: why do they want a pro-Thaksin policy towards Thailand? What are they hoping to gain from this? Were they that influential on the Foreign Ministry? And why are these conservative MPs of a Bavarian-affiliate governing party?
One has to keep an eye on another prominent Thai’s activities, who will come to Germany more often in the very near future.
Saksith Saiyasombut is a Thai blogger and journalist currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He can be followed on Twitter @Saksith and now also on his public Facebook page here.
From: bounkhong Laosnetwork To: Laos Network Room Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 8:17 PM Subject: Lao PDR Army trains to fight Aids ( HIV ) - ສະຫະລັດຈັດການຝຶກອົບຮົມ ຕໍ່ຕ້ານເອດສ໌ແກ່ກອງທັບລາວ
Companies, People, Ideas Bungle In The Jungle Ron Gluckman, 07.27.11, 06:00 PM EDT Forbes Asia Magazine dated August 08, 2011 The idea was a Chinese economic colony in the Lao wilderness, and that was okay with Laos. Then the gamblers, hookers and gangsters took over, and that was not okay with China.
The pink buildings were meant to serve as hotels and office space in Boten. Shops and housing in front were razed to make way for a new marketplace.
Across Asia, once-backward regions have surged in the boom that's lifted millions out of poverty--monuments to the Asian economic miracle. But there have been grand schemes that went spectacularly wrong. Few compare with Golden Boten City, a project that promised a beehive of economic activity in northern Laos by the Chinese border, but today sits lonely and desolate.
Route 3 in the Lao highlands cuts through rubber plantations and forests, a vast carpet of greenery interrupted only by tiny villages--groups of shacks on stilts and tribal people in bright blue, red and black garments. Then suddenly there's a clearing--and the surreal sight of a dozen enormous buildings erupting from the plateau in blistering shades of pink, orange and yellow.
At Boten's peak thousands of people each day poured across the border from China's Yunnan Province, thanks to unprecedented visa-free access. As gaming halls proliferated, rows of shops sprouted--a ramshackle market serving Sin City. A dozen lingerie shops catered to battalions of Chinese prostitutes, with the finest choice of stiletto heels in Laos. Pharmacies stocked sex potions alongside racks of X-rated DVDs and containers of bile from black bears fresh from a hilltop factory and used in traditional Chinese medicine. Next door to the factory was a massive pink entertainment hall that boasted transvestite shows. The ladyboys hailed from Thailand but everything else came from China: the beer, the police and practically all the dealers, even the currency that made it all possible. Hotel signs were in Chinese, and Boten's clocks didn't run at Laos' sleepy pace, but were set an hour ahead to China time. Boten was completely a Chinese colony. This is Golden Boten City, a "Paradise for Freedom and Development," as the investment brochures called it. In 2003 a developer leased the 21-squarekilometer site from Laos for 99 years, and buildings started going up the next year. The plan called for a trade zone in what was expected to be a key growth corridor, with road and rail links from southern China to ports as far away as Bangkok and Singapore. Drawings depict a golf course, a resort and apartment blocks along picturesque lakes and lagoons. Instead, Boten quickly became a Gold Rush-style boomtown and, like many such towns, renowned for gambling, crime and bustling brothels.
Then, just as fast as gamblers from China turned this remote site into the Macau of the jungle, Golden Boten City melted down. Stories in the Chinese media talked about hostages held over gambling debts. Residents told FORBES ASIA of bodies dumped in the river. China cut off electricity and telecom service to the enclave and started requiring visas. "We heard reports of killings, of people disappearing," an official of Golden Boten City Ltd., the developer, told FORBES ASIA during a visit in May. (The developer said it didn't run the casinos; that was done by several little-known operators from abroad.) "We don't disagree that there have been problems here, but we are working to correct them."
Days later the last casinos shut down. The shops closed for a lack of customers, leaving behind a huge supply of stiletto heels along with a giant picture of American actor George Clooney gazing forlornly from an unopened luxury goods emporium, one of a half-dozen grandiose structures that had been completed but now stand unused. The bears were still packed in cages, milked of bile, but the ladyboys returned to Thailand, and Boten was left a ghost town.
The man behind Golden Boten City is Huang Minxuan, 56, who had been involved in a casino in Myanmar before it was shut down in a crackdown by Beijing on just-over-the-border gambling. (Gambling is banned in China outside of Macau.) Originally from Fujian Province, he operated a business in Yunnan for some years before registering a slew of companies in Hong Kong in 1997 and 1998--all long dissolved--and gaining Hong Kong citizenship; he's still the honorary chairman of the Fujian Chamber of Commerce in Yunnan.
Huang says between $200 million and $300 million was spent on Boten, but he doesn't say where it came from or how much of it was his money. Chinese media reports indicate that he served as the executive director of a Hong Kong company that pumped $36 million into the project when it began, but no record of the company can be found. The second-in-command, George Huang, 55, a Taiwanese national who worked with Huang Minxuan at the Myanmar casino, has said small investments came from Thailand, Singapore, the U.K., Russia and Ukraine. George could not be contacted; he is believed to have left for a job in Thailand after Boten collapsed.
Casinos began sprouting in Myanmar along the Chinese border in the 1990s, and eventually up to a hundred were operating. Most were modest in scale, sometimes featuring a hotel, but all followed the same formula: deploy fleets of boats to ferry gamblers along the Mekong River, mainly from China but also Thailand. But in Boten, the Huangs had grander designs. Laos had been eyeing the Myanmar tourist traffic and started touting its special economic zones to investors. "I was talked into the idea," says Huang Minxuan.
The fate of this Boten casino in the so called special econonic zone will catch up one day in the future with the one in Don Xao under construction now, for sure.
If this is what the neokeo regime's propaganda of xalad xongxay ສຫລາດສ່ອງໄສ is all about, then may Bouddha save the people of Laos!
The Environmental Investigation Agency says the multi-million-dollar trade is causing the rapid disappearance of some of the region's last tropical forest. An international lobbying group has accused the Vietnamese army of involvement in the illegal export of timber from neighbouring Laos.
A Vietnamese military-owned company named in the report said it acted in full compliance with the laws of Laos.
The timber is processed in Vietnam into furniture with much exported to Europe.
The new EIA report comes at a time when the European Union is drafting new legislation to try to tighten regulation of the timber trade.
'Full compliance' Working undercover, the EIA said it had discovered that laws banning the export of raw timber from Laos were being routinely and openly flouted.
Most of the logs are being sent over the border to feed Vietnam's booming wood processing industry and to make furniture, much of which ends up in Europe and the US.
The lobbying group traced logs from virgin tropical forest in Laos to a Vietnamese company owned by the military.
Speaking to the BBC, the cited company rejected the accusations made against it, saying it was in full compliance with the laws of Laos.
But the EIA says the trade is illegal and the only beneficiaries are corrupt government officials and well-connected businessmen.
Some of the wood comes from areas being cleared to build hydroelectric dams - part of an ambitious Laotian project to become a major supplier of electricity to the wider Mekong region.
Despite an export ban, Vietnamese companies are smuggling logs from the once rich forests of Laos to feed a billion-dollar wood industry that turns timber into furniture for export to the Europe and the United States, an environmental group said Thursday.
The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency alleged that the Vietnamese military was heavily involved in bribing Lao officials and then trafficking the timber on a massive scale to wood processing factories in neighboring Vietnam. This was denied by the government and military.
Laos, with some of the last intact tropical forests in the region, in 1999 slapped a ban on the export of raw timber and says it is expanding its forest cover. But there are widespread reports of rampant logging, often associated with the country's mushrooming dam projects and agricultural plantations.
"Vietnam is almost annexing areas of Laos to feed its own industries. The only winners in Laos are corrupt government officials and well-connected businessmen," Julian Newman, an EIA staffer, said at a news conference. The group focuses on environmental crime worldwide.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga denied the allegations.
"There is no smuggling of timber from Laos by the Vietnamese military," she said. "Vietnam pays special attention to environmental protection, strictly forbids smuggling and illegal exploitation of timber."
She said all "smuggling and illegal exploitation of timber will be strictly dealt with in accordance with Vietnamese law. The governments of Vietnam and Laos have been and will be coordinating to prevent all smuggling activities including timber smuggling."
Hanoi has acknowledged in the past that its forestry industry is unsustainable and it is currently negotiating with the European Community to certify its exported wood products as having originated from legal sources.
Vietnam, which exports some $4 billion worth of wood products, banned domestic logging in 1997.
In an undercover operation in 2010 and 2011, the group said it tracked logs in Laos obtained by three Vietnamese enterprises as they made their way across the porous border to factories in Vietnam. It estimates the enterprises yearly smuggle some 8.8 million cubic feet (250,000 cubic meters) of wood worth some $80 million.
One of the three was identified as the Vietnamese Company of Economic Cooperation, or COECCO, an enterprise run by the Vietnamese army and headquartered in the city of Vinh. The company has been in the logging business in Laos for two decades, EIA said.
But officials for the company in Vietnam said it had a license from the Lao government to import logs, obtaining them in exchange for roads and irrigation projects it has built in the country.
The company announced on its website last month the opening of bids for more than 1.2 million cubic feet (34,000 cubic meters) of logged limber imported from Laos. The officials declined to give their names, citing policy.
The Lao government, as part of its 2020 forestry strategy, says that it will "strictly implement the export ban on logs and sawn timber." The ban is covered in a 1999 law and a number of subsequent government orders.
Commenting on the military company's imports, Newman said it may have engineered a "one-off deal" because of its close ties with powerful Lao officials.
International aid agencies in Laos frequently complain that provincial power brokers often make their own business deals with foreign companies, sometimes in contravention to central government laws and regulations.
Video shot by EIA showed trucks hauling piles of logs from Laos into Vietnam and featured both Lao and Vietnamese businessmen talking about bribing Lao government officials to allow the illegal exports. EIA says its investigators posed as potential buyers.
Laos' export ban is also routinely flouted by companies supplying the wood industries of neighboring Thailand and China, EIA said.
EIA first exposed the illegal cross-border trade in 2008 and said that little has changed on the ground since, although the Vietnamese government is moving toward some kind of control.
"By the time the deals (with EU and others) are signed, there won't be any forests left in Laos. Vietnam needs to get its act together and move quickly," Newman said.
Local losers in Lao casino capitalism By Beaumont Smith
KHANTABOULY, Laos - The girl looked no older than 14, a pale and an unconvincing sex goddess peering out from a mobile phone screen, her hair thin and straight. Trying to be sexy, she fondled a pubescent breast. Her knickers had holes, a touching but tawdry detail. Her phone number was displayed on the bottom of the screen. You could call her, the message said, and she would come to you. Child exploitation, Lao style.
The sale represents a business opportunity for Khemsath, a local motorcycle driver. "Sure, you can get sexy [girls] downloaded into your mobile phone." He went away on his motor bike and returned
a half hour later with stock. "Easy to get in the markets," he said with an uneasy laugh. He was clearly embarrassed as he revealed images of kids having groping sex on his iPod.
If a draft report by United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), World Vision, Child Frontiers and Save the Children has it right, many of the customers for these images are from neighboring China and Thailand. The fear is that with the clampdown on tourism-driven pedophile rackets in neighboring countries that Lao children might be the next target for globe-trotting sex predators.
This comes at a time when a large number of families in Laos are being relocated or impoverished by rapid state-led development, including for so-called special economic zones (SEZs). The report, yet to be translated by the Lao government, reveals a seamy side to Laos' economic development and raises many questions about the nature and pace of change in a nation that has casinos but poor health care, a rocketing Gini coefficient and a drive towards rampant consumerism despite low wages.
Anthropologist Jim Chamberlain and his research colleagues were among the first to raise issues about the downside to development in Laos in a UNICEF-sponsored report entitled "Broken Promises Shattered Dreams". The 2005 study of child trafficking indicated that children, mainly girls, were trafficked across Laos' porous borders into Thailand, China and even into Myanmar.
The children often came from resettled or relocated villages, according to the report. Modernization and the effects of mass media were at that stage major drivers of the trend. The more recent multi-agency study can be taken as an indicator that little if anything has changed since the Chamberlain report. Indeed, a host of new social problems is emerging alongside new trends in development, including the advent of casinos dressed up as SEZs.
Santavasy, a social worker who worked on the earlier study, concurred. "The reason [girls get involved] include less job opportunities with decent pay, imbalance between social development and economic development," she said. "If the numbers are getting bigger it could mean we are getting better at finding the victims and repatriating them back to Laos, or it could mean more human trafficking of Lao youth into Thailand."
Casinos, recent research shows, are particular magnets for crime. The casino in Boten, situated along the Chinese border, greeted the outgoing head of the Swiss Development Agency Martin Sommer with a belligerent Russian thug backed by rooftop snipers when he visited in 2010, according to people familiar with the situation. Adverse publicity apparently caused the casinos at Boten to close a few months ago - at least temporarily.
But Lao's central and southern casinos, which cater mainly Thai gamblers and are protected by senior Lao politicians, are still doing brisk trades alongside rising crime ranging from child prostitution to drug abuse to robbery.
"I moved to Vientiane as I don't feel safe in Savannakhet [province] any more," said Bounma, a university graduate currently based in Vientiane. "Savannakhet has so many gangs now that they can't keep the criminals in jail. They can't afford the food for so many prisoners, so they are out in a few days."
Bounma recounted how one of her friends became a drug addict while working at Savannakhet's Savan Vegas casino. She then turned to sex work to pay her gambling debts and feed her drug habit. "She thought that because she worked there she knew the secrets, but she lost like everyone else," Bounma said. "Many pretty girls go to the casino to sleep with men then gamble the money. But then they are not clean any more, so [they] look for work in Thailand because they can't marry here. They cannot go home."
The United Nations' Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has documented rising drug addiction rates in Laos, though its research has not linked the trend directly to the rise of casinos. Yet much of the drug abuse, locals say, is taking place in the vicinity of the gambling havens.
Khetdavanh, a high school teacher living on the edge of Khantabouly in Savannakhet, noted that children are being drawn into the facilities by bright lights and excitement. "Parents don't take care of the children. They gamble at the casino or are busy earning money…so the children are [abandoned]," she said. "The dropout rate is very high and half of my students are addicted to drugs. Many sell them openly in class. I have no authority."
She said methamphetamine dealing has become particularly rampant and that the local police look the other way. "Last week many motorbikes stopped me sleeping. They were going around the police station calling out insults. I recognized some as my ex-students who had become dealers. The police were too scared to come out," Khetdavanh said. "So far this year over 100 people [have been] killed in gang fights and drug arguments."
Casino-related lawlessness extends beyond drug abuse. "My friend became a [croupier] at Savan Vegas. Some of the men threatened her when they kept losing. One man followed her home in his car yelling at her," said Bounma. "Two nights later they found her body in a drain. You cannot imagine what she looked like."
"It's a big problem for women here as the foreigners who come don't care about us. My neighbor's daughters were dragged into a car as they passed outside the casino. They were both raped. When the women came back they said they had lost their souls," she said.
The Savan Vegas casino, whose ownership is attributed to an investment group in Macau, has consistently insisted in public statements and research interviews that it does not allow underage prostitution or drug abuse at its facilities. Requests to contact the casino's management for this article were not returned.
Sohmadhy, a US-trained youth worker in Savannakhet, believes the casinos are targeting Lao youth. "Schools are the pick up places for pimps working for men with big stomachs [metaphor for wealthy]. The idea of working in mobile entertainment places is very attractive, so they go," she said. "A few months ago a Lao official went to the casino and saw a Lao girl pole dancing. She was almost naked - I think he was shocked as this is not our culture. He wanted to close the place, but they [management] agreed to stop the dancing."
Gambling debts are another ill. Khammly, a local small business man, said that his brother was forced to forfeit his car as collateral for gambling debts he accrued at one casino. Officially Lao are prohibited from entering casinos, but the ban is easily circumvented. On-line Lao chat rooms are full of stories about car parks full of "debt cars'. "They say that Lao [are] not allowed but it's easy to get inside. He lost many times, big money. He had a Lexus. He was told to leave it outside."
Despite rising concerns that casino-led development and modernization has given rise to more problems than it has solved, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) continues to support the tax-free SEZs where Boten's and Savannakhet's casinos have flourished at a heavy social cost. Earlier this year the ADB announced plans for a new SEZ in remote Huaphan province, which borders on Vietnam. Social workers expect more casinos and social ills to follow.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2011 07:42:23 -0700 To: blacksaphire@hotmail.fr From: notification+zrdoircdpfvz@facebookmail.com Subject: Nouveaux messages de Norman Sylaphone
Norman Sylaphone
DEAR MR BLACK SAPHIRE: YOU ARE A SPECIAL MAN FOR ME AND FOR ALL LAO NOK PEOPLE IN OVERSEAS, WHO ARE LOOKING AND FIGHTING FOR CHANGE LAOS INTO FREEDOM AND FREE DEMOCRACY, LIKE IN THAILAND AND IN USA..THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND YOUR GENEROSITY IN PUSHING LAO PEOPLE IN GENERAL TO WAKING UP, SEE THE ENNEMIES INVASION LAOS AND OCCUPIED LATER...LAO LEADERS IN OLD REGIME ARE NOT ACTIVE IN POLITICS AND CANNOT IDENTIFY, FRIENDS OR ENNEMIES...THAT IS WHY, THEY LOST POWERS AND FLED TO DIE IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES...NOW, THE LAO NEW GENERATION ELSEWHERE,ARE WAKING UP AND LOOKING THE WAYS TO FIGHT FOR CHANGE, BUT NEEDS TIME TO ORGANIZE, PLANNINGN AND TAKE ACTION WHEN THE TIME IS COMING..WE HAVE EMPTY HANDS AND MANY LAO PEOPLE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE ARE BLIND AND SLEEPING, ALSO WATCHING THE VIETNAMESE EXPLOITING LOG WOODS AND TRANSPORTING MINERAL RESOURCES TO VIETNAM...LAO LEADERS ARE SELFISH, GREEDY, CORRUPTED, FASCIST, TOTALIST, REGIONIST, BETRAYED THEIR OWN HOMELAND, ARRESTED AND KILLING THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS AGAINST THEIR REGIME OF DICTATORSHIP...FROM 1975 UP TO THE PRESENT TIME......THEY ARE ANIMALS, UNHUMAN AND LICKING/KISSING VIETNAM ASS DAY BY DAY, RICHER AND WEALTHY FROM FATHERS TO SONS..LEAVE LAOS AND THE PEOPLE BEHIND IN POVERTY...WE DO LEARN THE LESSONS FROM THAI PEOPLE/RED SHIRTS MOSTLY, HOW TO ORGANIZE AND HOW TO FIGHT FOR CHANGE PEACEFULLY...IT WILL TAKE TIMES, MAY BE LONG YEARS TO WAIT FOR CHANGE. PLEASE HELP US TO PROMOTE AND TO ENCOURAGE LAO OVERSEAS TO WAKE UP, STAND UP IN WORLD STAGE AND FIGHT FOR CHANGE LAOS IN NEW DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS FOR THE PROSPERITY LAO PEOPLE AND THE LAOS NATION..ANY COMMENTS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW...SORRY TO WRITE IN ENGLISH...CANNOT TYPE IN LAO OR THAI...LAOVANGMAI
Historique des conversations Norman Sylaphone 14 juillet 19:31
DEAR MR. BLACK SAPPHIRE: PLEASE WRITING IN LAO BETTER THAN THAI IF YOU ARE LAO NATIONALIST..AGAIN, TALKING AND EXPRESSING IS EASY TO DO FOR MANY FREEDOM FIGHTERS IN OVERSEAS....TELL ME WHAT GROUP ARE YOU BELONG.. AND WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY IN ACTION IN THE PAST..? I TOLD MANY LAO NOK, ASSEMBLE IN SMALL GROUP OF TEN WITH TOP POLITICAL ACTIVISTS, OPEN DISCUSSION IN PRIVATE ROOM, MEETING WEEKLY, SET UP PLAN AND STRATEGY TO FIGHT AND TO PROMOTE THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS, ETC...REMEMBER, THIS GROUP OR THE OTHER GROUP OF TEN OR LESS OR MORE HAS TO JOIN AND HAVING THE SAME STRATEGY AND IMPORTANT IS TO SACRIFICE WITH MONEY AND ALSO LIFE WHEN TIME NEEDED...IF NOT, NOTHING HAPPENED AND CHANGE..NOW, WHAT I SEE, ALL FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE HIDING AT HOME AND NOT DISCLOSED THEMSELVES AND LACK OF TRUST EACH OTHER.....RIGHT....?......................ANY COMMENTS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.. LAOVANGMAI Black Saphire 14 juillet 22:56
Dear Mr Black Saphire: Thanks for your reply..You are good person to talk with...I know that you want to help lao people and Laos country away from the dictatorial regime and the neighbors expansionists needed to take over lao indirectly day by day...but lao leaders in Spp lao are now betrayed and lao people in general ( outsiders and minsiders ) are still sleeping and scared to fight for change...Cannot compare with thai people or vietnam people, they are active, brave , agressive and having ambition to change or fight for news ideas all the time..Look at the past history, Vietnam became colony before Cambodia and Laos, then fighting to be satellite of communism than Laos and cambodia. Now vietnam is running after USA but still keeping dictatorial regime..Cambodia has multi-parti system to run the country but controlling by hun sen, puppet of vietnam.Thai Siam in the past or Thailand now, they always said, they never became under any foreigh colony at all, but they worked for somebody/USA during vietnam war for money and smart to profit all benefits from the war...Lao people in general are not dump, but need peace and soft from traditions and culture aspirations...You talked asked them to change and fight for change indirectly, telling them the past history from Lao Lanexang era until Laos today...Laos territory became smaller and smaller because of neighbor expansionism and lao people in general are lasy to fight for change, Lao SPP lao leaders are greedy,corrupted, selfish and regionalism by heritage..However, It is hard to change the mentality of lao people who are easy people who are looking to survive day by day..Lucky for lao overseas who have better life, self sufficient, looking for fun and closed their eyes to look back home and support for change..May be you are the only one who can help and change Laos in many ways based to your philosophy and your doctrines..Hoe to hear from you and for Any comments, please let me know.. Laovangmai Norman Sylaphone 15 juillet 08:18
DEAR M. BLACK SAPHIRE: MAY BE WE CAN TALK TOGETHER ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID ALL THE TIMES ABOUT LAOS...I DO NOT KNOW IF YOU CAN DISCLOSE YOURSELF AND GIVE ME YOUR SKYPE NAME, AND A/C, ETC...AND THEN WE CAN CHALLENGE FOR MANYTHINGS FREELY, TALKING WITH SKYPE A/C IS FREE...HOPE YOU KNOW THAT, E-MAIL IS NOT SOMETIMES PRODUCTIVE IF YOU ARE REALLY WANTY TO SHARE THE ISSUES...ETC.. LAOVANGMAI Black Saphire 15 juillet 10:55
I am a Hmong-Laotian born raise and love the country of Laos as much as everyone of you. I read many comments in this groups, most of you are accussing the Hmong take away your land to make Hmong Country but I see no one can open your mouth and say anything about the LPDR selling your country of Laos's all kind of minerals, gold, woods to foreign countries such as Vietnam, China, and many other nations, I see no one talk about them. Is it okay with you Lao people? The Hmong are the true proctetors of the Land against foreigners invasion Laos. For example, Pa Chai Vue revolted and foght against the French Taxation in 1918-1920; the Hmong rescused the Kings many times because Lao people will kill them. During the Vietnam War in laos, Hmong in both sideand ( those who pro LPDR and those pro-American) were fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with their Laotians patriots.
After 1975, the LPDR were continue hunting and killing those people who pro- CIA (American Side) these groups are notonly the Hmong People. There are almost all of our Laotians Multi-Ethnic groups. They see that Vietnam take away the Southern Part of Laos and the Chinese take away the Nothern part of Laos. Leave the Hmong and other ethnic who disagree with the LPDR ill government (Ditactor communist regime) have no place to run but hiding themselves in the So-Called "Special Zones" around the Phou Bia mountain. They were not the one who called the Hmong Country but it was the LPDR called the "Hmong Chao Fa Country". The LPDR make a big blaming on the Hmong so (LPDR) Laos and Vietnam can sign their 25 years Military Cooperation to eliminated all the Hmong in Laos in 1977 and extend another 15 years of Laos-Vietnam Military Collaboration in 2002 and still up-today.
Now, there are more than two millions Vietnamese and Chinese people live and working as construction, tree plantation workers, farmers and trade or do business in Laos without visa or other word come and no date to return. In Laos today, our laotians people are forcing to move out of their villages because LPDR sell or lease our Laotions Lands to Vietnam and China and other foreingners people for 99 years. What do you Lao people have to say about this? This the real Vietnamese Western Province, Isn't it? Why not the Hmong can claims thei our land? Laos is not belong to Laopeople any more!!! Now Laos is a part of Vietnam!!! Did you see Ho Chi Minh Status in Laos? Vietnam Central Government office is build in the Southern of Laos?
LPDR make many Dams around the country and took all the money then put into their leaders pockets, then let our Laotian multi-ethnic have no voices about them. If someone say anything, then not to long that person disappear or die. I see no one in this group make any complaint about these crisis. Lao people only complaint about our people but never able to open their mouth complaint about foreigners invasion Laos!!!
Let stop for now, if you are a real Lao patriot, we must working together to fight for the Corruption of the LPDR governmnet and ask the LPDR leaders to step down and call for a reform the country into a Democratic System Country.
Best Regards,
Charlie Chang A true Hmong-Laotian
__________________ Anonymous
Date: 13h, 39m ago
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Dear Dr. Touyer Moua, Souriya Phommaseng, Bounliane Rajphoumy, Bounkhong Arounsavath, Sary Tatpaporn, Seng Chiddalay, and all:
You might all be correct in some ways about the ideas of Hmong making a part of Laos into a Hmong country, but those who had such ideas have all been passed away. Such ideas have all passed and become history now. I believe wholeheartedly that the Hmong younger generations are good and wonderful people who love Laos and multi-ethnic Laotians. Thus, let's love one another and move forward together in peace and harmony to save our beloved Laos for our future generations, hopefully forever. Otherwise, Laos won't be the Hmong country, but the country of other powers.
This coming September 03, 2011 all multi-ethnic Laotians will join hands in a wonderful celebration of 55 years of Lao songs composition of Master Chansome Sengsirivanh in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. All kind of leaders, especially the popular Lao song composers from all over the world will attend this rare celebration.
I am invited to give a remark in this great celebration on behalf of all of Lao Iu Mien or Lao Yao. I accepted the invitation and will talk about Acharn Sor Sengsirivanh inspirational efforts and his two top popular songs, "Kert Ben Xaai Xaai Xaat Seua Torng Wai Laai = Born To Be a Male Must Leave a Striped Trail and Bor Leuam Wiangjan = Not Forgeting Vientiane" which have been deeply planted in my heart since my child hood. The reason they have been in the bottom of my heart for such so long is because they are reminding and keeping us not to forget Vientiane, the Capital of Laos, but remember to do some things for keeping her on the surface of the earth forever.
Believe me, no one loves Laos and Laotians as much as the multi-ethnic Laotians. I am so proud to be born in Laos that flew me over the oceans to the U.S, the land of freedom and opportunity. I am so happy in the U.S, but my heart always long to do some things for maintianing the good relationship between the U.S and Lao PDR. This way, Laos will have the U.S to be her friend for protection and advancements into the long lasting future.
In summary, Let's all remember the two popular songs for reminding us to remember to teach our younger generations to love one another and join hands in taking harmonious actions for preserving Laos on the surface of the earth forever. Thank you very much.
Seng Fo Chao Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
__________________ Anonymous
Date: 1s ago
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Dear Friends of all Laotian ethnic backgrounds:
I am a Laotian of Hmong ethnic background. I am originally from Xieng Khouang province. Some of you may know me, but many of you have never met me. In June 1972, after my education in France where I had received my Ph.D. in social science at the Sorbonne, University of Paris, I returned to Laos where I worked, from July 1972 to March 1974, as Director of the Human Resources Department in the Ministry of Planning of the Royal Lao Government. After the Vientiane Peace Accords of February 1973, I was appointed by His Majesty King Sisavang Vatthana as a member of the National Political Consultative Council of the late Kingdom of Laos from April 1974 to May 1975 when, like hundreds of thousands of Laotians of all ethnic backgrounds, I was forced by the international military and political circumstances in Southeast Asia to leave my county to take the road of exile. Today I am a US citizen and a retired faculty member of the University of Minnesota, U.S.A.
Throughout my life, I have tried to study the contemporary history of Laos and I have more or less closely followed the social and political evolution of our Laotian people of multi-ethnic groups since World War II up to now. There were NO such Hmong leaders who had attempted to create a “Hmong nation” within the nation of Laos. However, I have to admit that, today, there are some unconscious and frustrated ethnic Hmong who dream of building a “Hmong Nation” as well as there were some ethnic discrimination minded Lao people who did not admit that the “Meo”, the “Kha”, the “Yao”, etc… were part of the Laotian Nation. The unjust arrest of the Khmou notables by the provincial authorities of Luang Prabang in 1948 is an example, followed by the “Affairs of Tougeu Lyfoung” who was forced to temporarily resign his office of Director General of the Ministry of Justice by a fanatic group of Lao government officials who wrote, on October 29, 1964, that “The Meo have no right to work as officials of the Ministry of Justice. They are foreigners. Living in the mountains, they are too ignorant to work with the Lao. To be worthy of the name, Laos must be ruled and governed by the Lao”. In my doctoral thesis: “Les Difficultes du developpement eonomique et social des populations Hmong du Laos” (University of Paris in April 1972), which was published in a book entitled “Hmong at the Turning Point” in Minneapolis, MN, in 1993, I have called all the Laotian ethnic groups to work together for national unity and solidarity and for social and economic progress, because they are born and called to live in the same community of destiny: nation of Laos.
Therefore, considering the geopolitical evolution of the world, I urge all of you who are all Laotians from diverse ethnic backgrounds and, today, scattered all over the world, to crystallize all our efforts and energies, resources and knowledge into an international force to work together toward National Reconciliation, Peace and Development for our multi-ethnic Laotian people living inside and outside the country of Laos. (Please read my 2 attached speeches in French and in English).