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RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHVN #0288/01 0960632
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 060632Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1091
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0152
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1000
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0093
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0236
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE 0202
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0119
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 0081
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0595
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0156

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 VIENTIANE 000288 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS (BESTIC) 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/ANE 
DEPARTMENT FOR IO/UNP 
DEPARTMENT FOR DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2017 
TAGS: KJUS LA PGOV PHUM PINR PREF PREL TH
SUBJECT: VIENTIANE DIPLOMATS DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES 
INCLUDING 26 HMONG CHILDREN, NONG KHAI DETAINEES, AND 
RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS 
 
REF: A. VIENTIANE 0205 
 
     ¶B. VIENTIANE 0110 
     ¶C. BANGKOK 0816 
     ¶D. BANGKOK 0596 
     ¶E. VIENTIANE 0085 
     ¶F. 2006 VIENTIANE 1205 
     ¶G. 2006 VIENTIANE 1141 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR PATRICIA M. HASLACH FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND ( 
D) 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Representatives of "like-minded" countries 
and international organizations in Vientiane, including the 
United States, EU, France, Australia, UNICEF, UNDP, and 
others, met to review recent events on the human rights 
front, including the recent visit by EU Parliamentarians to 
Laos.  Other topics included the status of the detained 26 
Hmong children, the stalemate over the 152 ( 3) Hmong 
refugees being held in Nong Khai, the 9th Sweden-Laos human 
rights workshop, and some recent prison releases.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Vientiane-based representatives of "like-minded" 
countries and international organizations, including the 
United States, EU, France, Sweden, Poland, Australia, UNICEF 
and UNDP, met at the German Ambassador's residence March 30 
for a stocktaking of recent developments on the human rights 
front.  The group discussed the recent visit to Laos by EU 
Parliamentarians, reviewed the status of the detained 26 
Hmong children, reviewed the ongoing stalemate over the 152 
( 3) Hmong refugees being held in Nong Khai, Thailand, and 
took note of reports of some recent releases of political 
prisoners.  The Swedish Political Chief reported on the 9th 
Sweden-Laos human rights workshop which included a visit to 
the prison in Pakse Laos. 
 
The 26 Hmong Children 
--------------------- 
¶3. (C) Those attending the meeting agreed that the official 
declaration in early March that the Government of Laos (GOL) 
had "identified" the 21 girls out of the 26 Hmong children 
and one adult "missing" since December 2005 and the GOL's 
promise to reunite the girls with their parents, currently in 
the Petchabun holding camp in Thailand, were major and 
positive developments (ref A).  Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
(MFA) officials told EU country representatives that the 
families of the 21 girls will be coming to Laos from the 
Petchabun to reunite with the girls.  However, concern was 
expressed over the fate of the 5 boys, especially since two 
are no longer minors -- having reached age 18 in the sixteen 
months since originally detained.  There was also concern 
about the status of the one female adult. 
 
¶4. (C) Comment: We have continued to refer to these 26 as 
"children" although that is changing with the passage of time 
since the group was detained in late 2005.  We tend to use 
age 18 as the threshold for adulthood; the Lao tend to use 
age 16.  Of the five boys, two are already at least 18; 
another is 16.  Because of greater GOL suspicion about the 
boys, their reaching adulthood may result in greater 
difficulties about their being released.  For the 21 girls, 
however, there is no indication reaching adulthood is an 
issue.  One of the girls is at least 18, four are 17, and 
three are 16.  End comment. 
 
¶5. (C) The German Ambassador reported that, unprompted, Lao 
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith 
had told the German Foreign Minister, at the ASEAN-EU 
meetings in Nuremberg, Germany, March 14-15, "we know human 
rights concerns are high on the agenda; we are in the process 
of resolving the case of the Hmong children."  Thongloun 
repeated the same line to the Italian and Luxembourg FMs. 
The Italian FM pressed the Lao to also "find" the 5 boys and 
not to take adverse action against the 152 Hmong (now with 
 
VIENTIANE 00000288  002 OF 006 
 
 
three babies = 152  3) being held in Nong Khai.  Thongloun 
responded that the fate of this group is a bilateral issue 
being negotiated by the GOL with the Thai Government (despite 
the fact that all in this group have UNHCR status as refugees 
and third-country resettlement referrals -- refs C and D). 
 
¶6. (C) The Lao Prime Minister also told the new Czech 
Ambassador to Laos (based in Bangkok), who presented his 
credentials to the Lao President this week, that "all" the 
children had been identified.  At a separate diplomatic 
event, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 
representative told the Ambassador that GOL drug chief 
Minister Soubanh, during a trip to Vienna, had similarly told 
 UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa that "all" the 
children had been located.  However, the French Ambassador, 
who is the best informed of Vientiane-based Ambassadors on 
this issue, confirmed reports we have heard that the boys are 
still being held in Phongsali prison and that their release 
will be more complicated than that of the girls. 
 
¶7. (C) All of this appears to confirm what MFA Spokesman Yong 
Chanthalangsy told Pol/Econ Chief at lunch on March 13: that 
the situation of the 21 girls will be resolved "quite soon." 
Yong added that some, perhaps even a majority, will elect to 
stay in Laos because they were "traumatized" or even 
"extremely traumatized" by the Thai police in Petchabun. 
According to Yong, the ones whose parents are in Petchabun 
will be reunited with them, even if only for a short time 
before the repatriation of the Petchabun group to Laos. 
(Comment: both the GOL and the Thai Government would like to 
resolve the Petchabun situation and the decades-long flow of 
Hmong from Laos into Thailand.  End comment.)  Although 
perhaps more complicated, Yong told the P/E Chief there is 
"no barrier" to the situation of the 5 boys being resolved. 
However, it will have to be done step-by-step (apparently in 
sequence following the resolution of the situation of the 21 
girls). 
 
¶8. (C) The like-minded discussed next steps and agreed that 
applying pressure on the GOL at this time would be 
counterproductive and could jeopardize a resolution of the 
boys, detention.  By publicly stating that it will allow the 
voluntary reunification of the girls with their families, the 
GOL would not risk losing face by not following through on 
this reunification.  According to the French Ambassador, the 
girls are being well treated and are attending school. 
 
Visit to Bolikhamsai 
-------------------- 
¶9. (SBU) The like-minded group also reviewed the visit, 
organized by the MFA Press Department, to Bolikhamsai 
Province on March 7.  This visit was arranged for members of 
the international community to meet three Hmong men who had 
been repatriated with their families (a total of 16 people) 
from Thailand in January.  The three men described themselves 
at the briefing for the visitors as victims of human 
trafficking who had been misled into believing they could be 
resettled in the United States if they were able to enter 
Thailand.  (Comment: an earlier MFA tour had taken 
international community representatives in February to meet a 
family of five in northern Vientiane Province who said they 
had entered Thailand as economic migrants before being 
repatriated to Laos as part of a group of 53 in November -- 
ref B). 
 
¶10. (SBU) The names of the three men were given at the 
briefing as Ga Long Va, Nhia Long Lor, and Yong Hua Yang 
although subsequent press reports gave their names as Kua 
Long Vang, Nia Nong Lor, and Toou Hua Yang respectively.  Ga 
said each family had paid a trafficker $210 for transport to 
Thailand in November, but the group was arrested and detained 
a short time after reaching Thailand, detained in Nong Khai 
for more than a month, and then returned to Bolikhamsai in 
January.  They claimed they were happy to be back, and Ga 
expressed appreciation to what he described as "a government 
 
VIENTIANE 00000288  003 OF 006 
 
 
that loves us."  Ga noted rumors that the group members had 
been killed after being returned from Thailand but told the 
audience "we are alive and the Hmong in Thailand should not 
be afraid to return to Laos." 
 
Comment: More Than Meets The Eye In Bolikhamsai 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶11. (C) Since the GOL's decision to accept that at least some 
portion of the Hmong in Thailand -- including the 8000 at the 
holding camp in Petchabun -- are from Laos (ref B), we have 
seen three events: the well-publicized repatriation of 53 
"economic migrants" in November (reported on the front page 
of Vientiane newspapers); the January return of the 16; and 
the failed attempt to return the 152  3 -- all given refugee 
status by UNHCR -- from Nong Khai on January 30.  While no 
one has raised questions about the return of the 53 in 
November (they appear actually to have been economic 
migrants), the repatriation of the group of 16 caused much 
concern among Hmong activists who claimed all had links with 
the insurgency and should have been interviewed by UNHCR (and 
given refugee status) rather than being returned to Laos by 
the Thais. 
 
¶12. (C) One prominent Hmong activist visited the group of 16 
in Nong Khai before the repatriation.  He tells us that all 
three were insurgents captured during the past few years: 
Nhia Long Lor was captured in November 2004; Ga Long Vang in 
late 2005; and Yong Hua Yang in May 2006.  All had been 
resettled at the Sob Na lowland village in Bolikhamsai's 
Viengthong District; they had managed to slip away from Sob 
Na and make it to Thailand before being arrested there by the 
Thais and sent back. 
 
¶13. (C) The activist notes that both Ga and Yong showed him 
scars from bullet wounds they had received fighting against 
the Lao military when the activist met them in Nong Khai. 
Moreover, Yong Hua Yang (whose name was Jia Yang before he 
was married) is the son of former insurgent leader Wa Meng 
Yang.  Wa, now living quietly in Thailand, told the activist 
the GOL has relocated 70 Hmong insurgent families to the Sob 
Na Village and uses it as a detention location.  Although 
telling the international visitors that the three men they 
were meeting lived in Sob Na, the MFA Press Department took 
the group only as far as neighboring Borikhan District town 
for the briefing "due to poor road conditions." 
 
¶14. (C) No mention was made during the briefing -- by the 
three Hmong men or the MFA officials -- that these were 
former insurgents much less that one is the son of a 
prominent insurgent leader.  The MFA was "selling" the image 
of innocent victims of human traffickers even though the 
Hmong community apparently knows the difference.  This raises 
questions not only about the value of the MFA trips on this 
side of the border but also about the willingness of Thai 
officials to repatriate former Lao insurgents rather than 
allowing them access to UNHCR screening.  For the moment, the 
attempt by the MFA Press Department to lump together the 
November group of 53 economic migrants and the January group 
of "trafficking victims" has run into the angry buzz saw of 
information available on the Internet. 
 
The Nong Khai 152  3 
-------------------- 
 
¶15. (C) The like-minded group also discussed the still 
uncertain fate of the 152 Hmong refugees (plus their three 
new babies) being held in detention in Nong Khai, Thailand, 
across the bridge from Vientiane.  The GOL has not backed 
away from its position demanding the return of all 152  3, 
including two insurgent leaders -- Chong Lee Lor and Blia 
Shoua Her -- despite a request from the German Foreign 
Minister to Lao FM Thongloun, when the latter was in 
Nuremburg for the ASEAN-EU meeting March 14-15, to focus GOL 
attention on the Petchetbun Hmong and not on the Hmong being 
held in Nong Khai who have already received UNHCR refugee 
 
VIENTIANE 00000288  004 OF 006 
 
 
status. 
 
Comment: More Than Meets The Eye In Nong Khai Also? 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶16. (C) In ref E, the Embassy examined the "material support" 
issue as it relates to the Hmong.  Although establishing the 
identities of perpetrators of past attacks has always been 
difficult, all information held by the Embassy pointed to 
several violent attacks in 2003 -- including the 02/06/2003 
attack on a bus in northern Vientiane Province that killed 
two passing Swiss cyclists in addition to nine others -- as 
having been carried out by the insurgent group led by Yang 
Toua Thao.  However, at their March 13 lunch, MFA Spokesman 
Yong told P/E Chief that Blia Shoua Her was the insurgent 
leader whose group carried out the 2003 attacks.  According 
to Yong, Blia's group was located in northern Vientiane 
Province while Yang's group was further north -- in southern 
Luang Prabang Province.  The desire to bring to justice the 
leader of the 2003 attacks may be at least part of the reason 
for the GOL's insistence on the return of the Nong Khai group 
to Laos despite its UNHCR status.  Minimally, spreading the 
accusation -- even if untrue (and we have no way to confirm 
Mr. Yong's claim) -- that Blia was the insurgent leader 
responsible for the 2003 attacks may be an attempt to derail 
Blia's planned resettlement to Australia. 
 
Possible Political Prisoners Released 
------------------------------------- 
¶17. (C) The like-minded group discussed conflicting reports 
about whether four of the remaining five "student" agitators 
(in fact hired laborers) who were arrested and incarcerated 
in 1999 for attempting to organize a pro-democracy 
demonstration in Vientiane were released from prison as part 
of the Lao President,s annual amnesty granted to prisons in 
December.  Ministry of Justice officials told visiting EU 
Parliamentarians that the four had been released.  When 
questioned, Vice Foreign Minister Phongsavath Boupha, 
however, expressed ignorance of their release and promised to 
check on their status. 
 
¶18. (C) The French Ambassador reported that Laos's most 
prominent political prisoner -- condemned killer Colonel Sing 
Chanthakoumane, a former government official who is serving a 
life sentence after a 1990 trial that was not conducted 
according to international standards -- had also been 
released.  He did not have information, however, on the 
status of the three Hmong porters, who were arrested in Xieng 
Khong Province along with French and a Belgian reporter and 
their interpreter.  The journalists and interpreter were 
released, but the three porters were charged with having 
conspired with ethnic Hmong villagers in the killing of local 
militia member and given long prison sentences.  One later 
escaped, but at year,s end the other two remained in 
custody. 
 
¶19. (C) Comment: The Embassy's information does not have COL 
Sing being released.  We are still trying to clarify the fate 
of the remaining prisoners from the 1999 trials of the 
pro-democracy demonstration organizers.  The Embassy's 
information is that one of the five laborers who were 
incarcerated for this event has already died in prison and 
the other two were released in amnesties in previous years. 
In our Human Rights Report, we still list the remaining two 
incarcerated laborers as Thongpaseuth Keuakoun and Sengaloun 
Pengboun. 
 
¶20. (C) Comment continued: The GOL announced pardons and 
commutations of sentences on December 11, 2006.  Three 
political prisoners were among the 117 persons pardoned and 
released from prison; most were pardoned because they had 
turned 60 and were considered too old to be in prison.  None 
of the three (arrested in 1996 for spying, in 2003 for 
betraying the nation, and in 2006 for spying) were previously 
known to the Embassy in this still very secretive society. 
Among those also described as political prisoners, ten had 
 
VIENTIANE 00000288  005 OF 006 
 
 
sentences reduced.  Two were indeed jailed in 1999 for 
"gathering a group to cause trouble" but neither name (Mr. 
Khamlaab and Mr. Phavanh) matches those of the two 
incarcerated laborers we attempt to monitor. 
 
Prison Access 
------------- 
¶21. (C) The Swedish Political Chief reported to the 
like-minded that his country had wrapped up round nine of 
their twice-yearly human rights dialogue with the GOL -- held 
in Pakse in Champhasak Province in late March.  The theme of 
the Swedish-Lao workshop, part of the dialogue process, was 
juvenile justice.  UNICEF also participated in these 
meetings.  The GOL presented to the Swedes the first draft of 
its National Action Plan on Human Rights in preparation for a 
regional workshop on the subject.  The Lao officials also 
discussed human rights indicators, which are now a required 
part of Swedish bilateral assistance.  The GOL agreed to 
create a sub-group within the workshop setting to discuss the 
indicators. 
 
¶22. (C) The Swedes were able to visit a district prison but 
could not go inside.  They also went to the Pakse detention 
center, where they were able to go inside and see the 
prisoners but not talk to them.  They saw about 400 prisoners 
-- 300 men repairing fishing nets and 100 women cleaning 
rice.  The prison officials told the visitors that 100 
prisoners lived in each of the four dormitories and received 
kip 2,000 (USD 0.20) each month for food etc.  The Swedes 
reported that the prisoners looked disciplined and relatively 
well fed. 
 
French Progress with Security Forces 
------------------------------------ 
¶23. (C) The French have begun a dialogue with the Lao 
security forces emanating from their workshop on trafficking 
held with Lao and Vietnamese police and immigration officials 
in February.  At that time, French Ambassador Maurice 
Portiche invited the Minister of Public Security (MOPS) 
Thongbanh Sengaphone to a working lunch.  While he declined 
the invitation at that time, the Minister recently contacted 
Ambassador Portiche and accepted lunch with him at his 
residence on March 26.  The lunch included the Minister, who 
was accompanied by the Director of the MOPS Cabinet and the 
MOPS Director for International Relations. 
 
¶24. (C) According to Ambassador Portiche, the atmosphere was 
open, and they discussed human rights and other sensitive 
subjects.  The Minister asked for training and seemed 
particularly concerned that Laos could in the future face a 
hostage-taking situation -- similar to what occurred in Peru 
a number of years ago.  Ambassador Portiche followed up the 
lunch with a visit to the National Police Academy, where the 
Director repeated the Minister,s request for training. 
 
¶25. (C) Ambassador Portiche told the like-minded that this 
new relationship has already paid some tangible benefits. 
The GOL responded when the French asked the Lao to detain and 
extradite a French criminal to France, despite the lack of an 
extradition agreement between the two countries.  Ambassador 
Portiche opined that the Politburo has clearly decided to let 
the security forces work with non-traditional partners by 
allowing Minister Thongbanh to dine at the French 
Ambassador,s residence.  Thongbanh is rising in the Party 
Central Committee and is relatively young (born in 1953).  He 
has already served as governor in the key province of 
Bolikhamsai.  (Note: The Embassy included then-Governor 
Thongbanh in a 2003 International Visitor Governors Group on 
"Sustainable Development.")  Bolikhamsai has been the site of 
several skirmishes with the Hmong insurgents and is where 
many insurgent families from nearby Xieng Khong Province have 
been resettled, so Thongbanh is well aware of these issues. 
Ambassador Portiche also reported that the GOL has given a 
French non-governmental organization permission to work with 
resettled insurgent families in Poukout District in Xieng 
 
VIENTIANE 00000288  006 OF 006 
 
 
Khong Province with the Lao Red Cross.  This is close to the 
area where the ICRC has also received permission to work -- 
Poukoun District. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶26. (C) We were pleased to see some positive signs relating 
to the complicated and sensitive set of human rights issues 
in Laos.  The Swedish dialogue process seems to be making 
slow progress, and the MOPS contact with the French is a step 
toward opening up this silent giant.  However, the reluctance 
of the like-minded to press on anything at this time, 
including throwing their support behind the proposed visit of 
UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Ericka 
Feller to Laos April 25-26, remains a bit uncomfortable. 
(Note: The Lao MFA on April 3 sent a formal diplomatic note 
"welcoming" Ms. Feller's visit.)  While we agree with the 
group's assessment that public statements might be 
detrimental at this point to the release of the 26 children, 
the Lao need to be told privately to keep to their word.  The 
Lao also need to be told that focusing on the return of the 
152  3 in Nong Khai will not be supported by the 
international community since they have UNHCR refugee status. 
 The fact that the Lao and Thai were able to quietly 
repatriate the group of 16 to Bolikhamsai without a great 
deal of attention at the time since none had UNHCR status 
seems to have given them both a false sense of confidence. 
It would be good to nip that in the bud. 
HASLACH