…At the end of 2012 the Lao authorities kidnapped one of the countries most prominent NGO leaders, Sombath Somphone, without a murmur in Laos, and without any sense that they should be accountable. Since then the NGO sector has been frozen with fear.
…In a society of hyper-politicization one becomes apolitical, and that includes foreigners too.
Grant Evans, in “’Foreign influence’ in Red Shirt demonstrations,” New Mandala.
Across all social groups, the people strongly emphasized the need for wise leadership and good governance as the fundamental basis for influencing happiness in multiple domains. In particular, they repeatedly stressed the need to consistently enforce laws and ensure social justice as precursors to social equity.
From “Listening to the People’s Voice,” a draft press release summarizing nation-wide consultations held as part of the lead up to the 9th Asia-Europe People’s Forum in October, 2012. The article was drafted by Sombath and Minh H. Pham, Resident Representative of the UN Development Program, but withdrawn prior to publication at Mr. Pham’s request.
Soon thereafter, UNDP joined with the Lao government in celebrating the 2012 International Human Rights Day themed “Inclusion and the Right to Participate in Public Affairs” on December 10th, but made no public mention of Sombath’s disappearance five days later. Mr. Pham recently received the Lao Cross of Friendship for his dedication while serving in Laos.
“Generally I’m known to be a serious person, and therefore serious persons are generally pessimistic. But at the same time, I’m simple and practical… and from that point of view, I’m optimistic… I basically come to the point that I would not be able to change the world, but I should do whatever I can, no matter how small, just to give meaning to my life, and also to pay back the society which I have taken from to attend school… Giving back is a pleasure.”
Sombath Somphone in Great Men and Women of Asia: Ramon Magsaysay Awardees from Southeast Asia 1990-2005.
The enforced disappearances of Sombath Somphone, Jonas Burgos and Somchai and dozens of Southeast Asian activists highlight ASEAN’s insincerity in protecting the human rights of its peoples. Its failure to meaningfully respond to these cases is immoral and unjust, especially to the families of the victims. For the nth time, we strongly urge ASEAN to instruct its representatives in the regional human rights body, AICHR, to investigate these cases and formulate recommendations that will punish the perpetrators and eliminate cases of enforced disappearances. The true test of the legitimacy of AICHR and ASEAN’s commitment to human rights is when they finally act on these cases and help in the elimination of rights abuses in the region.
From Solidarity for Asian Peoples’ Advocacy (SAPA) statement made at Asian People’s Forum in Yangon. 24 March 2014
“This culture of impunity must be stopped and I’m saying this on behalf of the hundreds of others who have suffered a similar fate.”
Angkhana Neelapaijit, speaking at the FCCT on 04 March 2014 about the enforced disappearance of her spouse, Somchai Neelapaijit.
“Angkhana still waiting for justice” Bangkok Post, 06 March 2014
The notion that Asean can be a people-oriented community will be a farce as long as none of the Asean leaders speaks out on human-rights violations.
…Asean must take up the case of Sombath; its credibility is at stake.
From “Asean must bring silence in Sombath abduction to an end,” in The Nation, 25 February 2013.
If Sombath Somphone can disappear in broad daylight, it can happen to anyone. Asean governments and their stakeholders, in the name of human decency, have the right to clear answers from the Lao leadership.
In Bangkok Post article “The Sombath crisis has implications for Asean” on 14 December 2013.
- Expresses its deep concern regarding the disappearance, safety and wellbeing of Sombath Somphone;
- Calls on the Lao authorities to undertake prompt, transparent and thorough investigations, in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law, to fully cooperate with UN bodies such as the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and to ensure the immediate and safe return of Sombath Somphone to his family;
- Reiterates its call on the High Representative/Vice-President of the Commission to closely monitor the Lao Government’s investigations into the disappearance of Sombath Somphone;
- Stresses that the Lao authorities should take all necessary steps to end the practice of arbitrary arrests and secret detention; calls on Laos to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;
- Calls on the Government of Laos to respect the rights of free expression and association and the rights of minorities, and to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief;
The full resolution, adopted by the European Parliament on 16 January 2014, can be seen here.
The Asean Secretariat supports the four-year-old Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights. The group has actually shown no known concern for the uncounted violations of human rights in the region. The egregious and obvious offence of Mr Sombath’s abduction would be an excellent case for the Asean group to adopt, and press to a decision.
From Bangkok Post editorial “Sombath Case Needs Pressure” on 17 December 2013
The definition of poverty used in Laos by international agencies and institutions is very much based on a measurement of cash income or gross national product (GNP) that is based on products and cash. It does not emphasise social and environmental capital. International agencies and institutions talk about cash capital and material capital, which is basically what comes from industry not from natural products. So in using that criteria yes, Laos is a “least developed” country and based on this criteria Laos is considered “poor”.
But the poverty here and in other countries is quite different. Poverty here is basically cash poor; social services are poor – education and health care services do not reach many people – that is “poor”. But the natural social capital and the indigenous social capital is quite high. For example, people really care about one another, they help one another and in this sense, I think we are quite wealthy. In terms of the environment, we are lucky that we are not very populated and nature can provide a lot of things that makes us kind of easy-going. This should be seen as a capital, it is our national wealth.
But in the World Bank and the mainstream economic system of measuring poverty, these factors are not considered and Laos is seen as “poor”. From the Western point of view, it is seen as a disadvantage if you are not competing against each other.
Sombath Somphone, in Watershed Vol. 7 No. 2 November 2001 – February 2002
