P 291007Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2345
INFO NCTC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS VIENTIANE 000671 
 
 
DEPT FOR S/CT:RHONDA SHORE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC LA
SUBJECT: LAOS:  2008 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 
 
REF: STATE 120019 
 
¶1.  General Assessment 
 
Since 2002, the Government of Laos has consistently denounced 
international terrorism and expressed a willingness to 
cooperate with the international community on 
counterterrorism. While there are domestic opposition 
elements that have in the past employed terrorist tactics, 
such as ambushing civilian buses as recently as 2003 and 
bombing civilian targets as recently as 2004, Lao officials 
at many levels saw international terrorism as an issue of 
only marginal relevance to Laos. They believed that Laos, as 
a small and neutral country, would not be targeted or 
exploited by international terrorists. 
 
Laos does not have a separate counterterrorism law, but the 
Lao judicial system was prepared to prosecute acts of 
terrorism as serious crimes under the Lao criminal code, and 
amendments to the criminal code sought to strengthen 
counterterrorism sanctions. Still, a 2006 UN-sponsored 
workshop on counterterrorism illustrated myriad shortcomings 
and vagaries in the theoretical application of the Lao 
criminal code to deal with terrorism-related crimes, and 
successful prosecution under these laws is not assured. 
These shortcomings remained unresolved in 2008 
 
Laos' border security was weak; border officials could not 
effectively control access to the country even at its most 
sophisticated border checkpoints. Border crossing along the 
Mekong River into the surrounding countries of Burma, 
Thailand, and Cambodia could be accomplished easily and 
without detection. Border delineation remained poor in more 
remote sections of the country, especially along the land 
borders with Vietnam and China; it is likely that unmonitored 
border crossings by locals occurred on a daily basis. Since 
9/11, Lao authorities have strengthened airport security, and 
airport security forces have participated in U.S. supported 
security seminars in an effort to raise their standards, but 
security procedures at land immigration points remained lax 
compared with most other countries in the region. In 
addition, official Lao identity documents, including 
passports and ID cards, were easy to obtain. 
 
¶2.  Terrorist Groups 
 
Laos has a small residual domestic insurgency numbering less 
than 1,000 persons, including women and children, split into 
small groups based in very remote areas of north/central 
Laos.  These groups have in the past employed terrorist 
tactics, but there were no confirmed violent activities by 
insurgents in 2008.  In general, the insurgent groups faced 
continuous military suppression which limited their 
activities. 
 
These groups are derived from disparate factions of the Hmong 
ethnic group, some of which claim affiliation with royalist 
and U.S. interests dating back to the Indochina conflict. 
Allegiances held by insurgent groups are attributed to, among 
others, General Vang Pao, the exiled Hmong leader who was 
arrested in the U.S. in June 2007 for conspiracy to violate 
the Neutrality Act by participating in a group that allegedly 
formulated a plot to overthrow the present Lao government. 
Information derived from the indictment indicated that the 
group had undertaken extensive planning and had actively 
sought financial backing from overseas contributors to 
support its efforts to undertake the coup.  The arrests 
appeared to quash much of the popular support for this 
movement, yet small nomadic groups of insurgents continue to 
be linked to this cause. 
 
¶3.  Foreign Government Cooperation 
 
In accordance with its obligations under UNSCR 1373, the Bank 
of Laos vetted government and commercial bank holdings for 
possible terrorist assets, as identified by U.S.-provided 
lists of terrorist organizations and individuals, and issued 
freeze orders for assets of organizations and individuals 
named on these lists.  However, the Bank has yet to require 
the freezing of assets of individuals and entities included 
on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee consolidated list. 
 
Lao authorities issued orders limiting the amount of cash 
that could be withdrawn from local banks or carried into or 
out of the country and strengthened reporting requirements of 
state and privately owned commercial banks. Banking 
regulation remained extremely weak, however, and the banking 
system was vulnerable to money laundering and other illegal 
transactions. Cooperation between U.S. officials and the Bank 
of Laos remained cordial and cooperative. 
 
¶4.  Embassy point of contact is DCM Peter Haymond.  Mr. 
Haymond's classified e-mail address is 
 
HaymondP@state.sgov.gov. 
 
 
Huso