Human Rights Archives - Page 8 of 11 - Sombath Somphone | ສົມບັດ ສົມພອນ

June 10, 2016

Vì sao Lào vẫn thẳng tay trấn áp về nhân quyền ?

RFI: 09 tháng sou 2016 By Arnaud Dubus

Ba thanh niên Lào đã bị chính quyền Viêng Chăn bắt giữ và đã bị giam giữ bí mật vì tội chỉ trích chế độ trên mạng Facebook. Cả ba người đã phải “thú nhận lỗi lầm” của họ trên đài truyền hình Nhà nước hồi cuối tháng 5/2016 rồi. Theo thông tín viên Arnaud Dubus tại Bangkok, sự cố này không phải là chưa từng có và điều đó cho thấy là chính phủ Lào không chút mảy may lo ngại trước các áp lực của cộng đồng quốc tế trong việc tôn trọng tự do ngôn luận.

RFI: Thân chào anh Dubus, anh có thể cho chúng tôi rõ về vụ bắt giữ ba thanh niên Lào này ?

Arnaud Dubus: Cả ba thanh niên, gồm một cô gái, tên Lodkham Thammavong, 30 tuổi, bạn trai của cô – Somphone Phimmasone, 29 tuổi và một người khác, tên Soukan Chaithad, 32 tuổi cùng làm việc tại Bangkok, như hàng ngàn thanh niên Lào khác. Thammavong từng làm giúp việc nhà ; Somphone – làm bảo vệ nhà máy, còn Soukan, người giao hàng. Continue reading “Vì sao Lào vẫn thẳng tay trấn áp về nhân quyền ?”

June 7, 2016June 9, 2016

Rights group demands Laos release detained activists

Turkish Weekly: 07 June 2016, By Max Constant

Rights groups have called on Laos to immediately release three young Laotians arrested and detained since March on charges of criticizing the country’s communist government.

The trio is accused of participating in a demonstration last December in front of the Laos embassy in Thailand, and criticizing the “regime” on Facebook.

“The government’s systematic repression of all forms of peaceful dissent underscores the immense gap between Vientiane’s promises to the international community and its abusive behavior at home,” Karim Lahidji, president of the Paris-based International Federation of human rights, said Monday in a joint statement with the Laos movement for human rights.

“Laos authorities must immediately and unconditionally release three individuals who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained incommunicado for criticizing the government,” he added.

Lodkham Thammavong, a 30-year-old domestic worker, Somphone Phimmasone, a 29-year-old security guard, and delivery man Soukan Chaithad, 33, were shown May 27 on a Laos state security TV channel in what appeared to be a pre-recorded broadcast admitting that they recognized their mistake of “getting involved with a group that protested against the country’s policies”. Continue reading “Rights group demands Laos release detained activists”

June 5, 2016June 5, 2016

Is International Aid Complicit in the Repression in Laos?

The Lao Movement for Human Rights has the honor of inviting you to a conference on:

”Is International assistance complicit in the repression in Laos?”

Tuesday, June 14 at 15:00
Regional Council of Ile-de-France, room 100
33 rue Barbet-de-Jouy, 75007 Paris

Speakers:

Anne-Sophie Gindroz, author of the book ”Laos: the Silent Repression”
Richard Werly, France correspondent of the Swiss newspaper ‘Le Temps’
Vanida Thephsouvanh, President of the Lao Movement for Human Rights

For safety reasons, events taking place in the regional council hall, require prior registration.

An ID will be requested at the entrance.

Le Mouvement Lao pour les Droits de l’Homme

A l’honneur de vous inviter à la conférence sur le thème

‘’L’aide internationale est-elle complice de la répression au Laos?’’

Mardi 14 juin à 15h00

Conseil régional d’Île-de-France, salle 100

33 rue Barbet-de-Jouy, 75007 Paris

Intervenants :

Anne-Sophie Gindroz, Auteur du livre ‘’ Laos : la répression silencieuse’’
Richard Werly, correspondant en France du journal suisse ‘’Le Temps’’
Vanida Thephsouvanh, Présidente du Mouvement Lao pour les Droits de l’Homme

Pour des raisons de sécurité, les manifestations qui se déroulent dans les salles du Conseil régional sont sur inscription obligatoire.

Une pièce d’identité vous sera demandée à l’entrée.

April 25, 2016May 26, 2016

Une dictature pas très dérangeante

Le Courrier: 18 avril 2016

La république populaire du Laos ne tolère aucune protestation face à ses projets de barrages ou miniers . La coopérante Anne-Sophie Gindroz en a fait les frais en 2012. Elle signe un livre poignant.

Géographiquement pris en sandwich entre la Thaïlande et le Vietnam, le Laos est un pays qui fait peu parler de lui. Cette discrétion sur le plan international semble convenir au régime autoritaire en place qui continue à réprimer toute opposition impunément – notamment par des disparitions forcées.

Les simulacres d’élections législatives du 20 mars dernier n’ont trompé personne mais n’ont guère suscité de protestations de la part de la communauté internationale. Une situation qui a le don d’irriter Anne-Sophie Gindroz, ex-coopérante de l’œuvre d’entraide suisse Helvetas, qui a été expulsée du Laos en 2012. Un peu plus de trois ans après les faits, elle publie un livre1 qui retrace son travail sur place auprès des communautés locales chassées de leurs terres par le gouvernement «communiste» et relate les circonstances de son éviction. Continue reading “Une dictature pas très dérangeante”

March 13, 2016May 26, 2016

BertelsmannStiftung Foundation’s 2016 Report

BertelsmannStiftung Foundation: 2016

Party leaders furthermore urged tighter control over civil society organizations in the face of alleged but unsubstantiated efforts to undermine the party. In the wake of community leader Sombath Somphone’s unexplained disappearance in late 2012, the deplorable investigation of which attracted condemnation from around the world, increased pressure on civil society organizations produced levels of fear and self-censorship reminiscent of a more oppressive past. In this context, leaders’ ongoing claims to be strengthening the rule of law – another rhetorical theme in Laos – continued to fall flat.

From the 2016 BertelsmannStiflung Foundation’s Laos Country Report. On its Political Transformation Index, the foundation ranked the Lao PDR 120th out of 127 countries. Only North Korea ranked lower among Asian nations.

February 17, 2016

Interview: Lao People Fighting for Change ‘Deserve Better than Silence’

Radio Free Asia: 16 March 2016

Anne-Sophie Gindroz, a former Swiss humanitarian worker in Laos, observed forced displacement and evictions of rural populations to make way for dams and other controversial infrastructure and plantation projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian country. Gindroz, who was the country director for Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, was expelled in 2012 for criticizing Laos in a letter to donors that said the country’s one-party regime stifles debate and creates a hostile environment for aid groups. She spoke to Ounkeo Souksavanh of RFA’s Lao Service about her new book, “Laos, The Silent Repression.”

RFA: Why did you write this book?

Gindroz: It is a testimony. After I was expelled, and especially after (civil society activist) Sombath Somphone was abducted (in 2012), it became urgent for me to share my experience in Laos, to tell about the repression and suppression of dissent. It is also a way to pay tribute to Sombath and the many wonderful people I had the privilege to work with in Laos. Continue reading “Interview: Lao People Fighting for Change ‘Deserve Better than Silence’”

February 7, 2016December 16, 2016

UN Special Rapporteur Slams Laos

Maina Kai Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, is sharply critical of the situation facing civil society in the Lao PDR in a forward to the book Au Laos, la Répression Silencieuse by Anne-Sophie Gindroz. Excerpts include:

Laos is something of a void on the human rights map these days… A casual observer might take this to mean that things are all well.

But that is a horribly misguided assessment, of course, for Laos is like few countries I know.

I first began to understand few years back, when I had my first encounter with members of Laos’ civil society at an international conference. My overriding impression from these individuals was the profound and all-encompassing fear that engulfed them. Their lack of trust was palpable. They did not want to talk to me with others present. They did not even want to be seen with me.

I have never seen anything quite like it. These individuals were like islands– operating in apparent isolation, prevented from exercising their fundamental human right to connect with others who shared their concerns.

…And Sombath’s case seems to have only created more trepidation, which is a tragic irony. He dared to affirm his convictions, and his courage and dedication should be an inspiration. Instead, it is viewed as a warning. The culture of fear is that deep.

This culture, of course, is toxic to a thriving civil society movement. Activism is based on connections, relationships, discourse, and open discussion. None of this is possible when fear crushes people’s very ability to talk to one other.

The full text is available here. The book will be available from Asieinfo Publications on February 15, or can be ordered at [email protected]

January 22, 2016January 26, 2016

Open Letter to John F. Kerry

FIDH/LMHR: 22 January 2016

John F. Kerry
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520 US

22 January 2016

Dear Mr. Secretary,

FIDH and its member organization Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR) respectfully request that you use your upcoming official visit to Vientiane on 25 January as an opportunity to raise important human rights issues that the Lao government has left unaddressed for far too long.

Laos is ruled by one of the most repressive regimes of Southeast Asia. Authorities in the one-party state continue to severely restrict the right to freedom of information, association, and peaceful assembly within its borders. Authorities have also continued to crack down on religious minorities and arrested numerous members of various Christian groups in 2015.

FIDH-Logo Impunity continues to reign for enforced disappearances. Authorities have repeatedly refused to disclose any information concerning all victims of enforced disappearances in the country. To this day, the fate or whereabouts of at least 13 individuals remain unknown. Among them is civil society leader Sombath Somphone, who was abducted at a police checkpoint in Vientiane on the evening of 15 December 2012. The government has failed to conduct a competent, thorough, and transparent investigation into his enforced disappearance. We call upon you to urge the Lao authorities to accept international assistance to help determine Sombath’s fate or whereabouts. Continue reading “Open Letter to John F. Kerry”

December 15, 2015December 30, 2015

Laos: Three years on, no progress on case of Sombath Somphone’s disappearance

Amnesty International: 14 December 2015

The Laos authorities must establish an independent commission to uncover the truth about the fate of civil society activist Sombath Somphone, Amnesty International said on the third anniversary of his disappearance.

In an open letter to the Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, 49 Directors of Amnesty International national offices around the world are highlighting the near complete lack of progress in the case despite a catalogue of evidence.

“Sombath Somphone’s disappearance remains a dark stain on Laos’ human rights record. The Laos authorities’ claim that they are investigating this crime is a lie – they are simply dodging questions and trying to silence civil society’s attempts to raise the case,” said Champa Patel, Amnesty International’s Southeast Asia and Pacific Regional Office Director.

“Three years is too long for Sombath’s family and his many supporters to wait for the truth. The Laos authorities must once and for all set up an independent commission to genuinely investigate Sombath’s disappearance.”

More information

A full copy of the open letter is available here:https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa26/3035/2015/en

For background, see Amnesty International’s report Caught on camera: The enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone (13 June 2013)

December 9, 2015December 30, 2015

Pro-democracy student leaders must be released after over 16 years of arbitrary detention

FIDH: 08 December 2015

(Paris, Geneva) The Lao government must immediately and unconditionally release two former pro-democracy student leaders who have been arbitrarily detained for more than 16 years and disclose the fate or whereabouts of two others, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint FIDH and OMCT program) and the Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR) said today.

Mr. Thongpaseuth Keuakoun and Mr. Sengaloun Phengphanh, two former student leaders with the Lao Students Movement for Democracy (LSMD), remain detained in Samkhe prison, located on the eastern outskirts of Vientiane. Thongpaseuth and Sengaloun were arrested in Vientiane on October 26, 1999, along with fellow LSMD members Mr. Bouavanh Chanhmanivong, Mr. Khamphouvieng Sisa-at, and Keochay, for planning peaceful demonstrations that called for democracy, social justice, and respect for human rights. All five were subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison for “generating social turmoil and endangering national security.” The government, however, denied that it had detained Bouavanh, Khamphouvieng, and Keochay.

Thongpaseuth and Phengphanh are imprisoned in solitary confinement with their legs locked in wooden stocks at all times. Prison authorities allow them to go out of their cells once a week or once every two weeks to wash and empty their accumulated excrements. They are accompanied by police officers and not by prison guards. Witnesses described them as looking like “human skeletons.” Prison authorities do not allow them to receive visitors and have consistently prohibited them from receiving food and medication sent from family members. For many years, the Lao government refused to acknowledge the detention of Thongpaseuth and Phengphanh.

“The lengthy arbitrary detention of the two former student leaders as well as the prolonged torture inflicted upon them are gross and unacceptable human rights violations. The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release them, investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and provide compensation for their wrongful detention.” Karim Lahidji, FIDH PresidentHumhu

Continue reading “Pro-democracy student leaders must be released after over 16 years of arbitrary detention”