US-Laos Relations

Representatives of US NGOs with long experience in Laos met in February in Washington to discuss the troubled state of bilateral relations. Their deliberations led to compilation of the following fact sheet by the Asia Pacifc Center for Justice and Peace

The US has had diplomatic relations with the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) since its founding in 1975. These relations were not interrupted as in the cases of Vietnam and Cambodia.

According to the US State Department, international donors and NGOs, the Lao government is cooperating well on the search for MIA remains from the Vietnam War and a campaign to eradicate narcotics production and trade in northern Laos.

The US currently funds approximately $10 million per year in MIA recovery, clearance of and education about unexploded ordnance (UXO), and counter-narcotics programs in Laos. The Lao government has also expressed willingness to cooperate on HIV-AIDS and trafficking of women and children from Laos to neighboring countries.

A US/Lao bilateral trade agreement was signed in 1998. However, it has not yet been submitted by the State Department to Congress for ratification. With the passage of the US/Vietnam trade agreement, Laos will become the only country in Southeast Asia without Normal Trade Relations (NTR) with the US. This includes Myanmar (Burma), which enjoys permanent NTR despite Congressional imposition of limited sanctions against its military government. The only other countries in the world without NTR are Afghanistan, Cuba, Libya, Iraq, and North Korea, none of which has normal diplomatic relations with the US.

The US has not had an ambassador posted in Laos for over eighteen months. The nomination of Douglas Hartwick was put on hold first by Sen. Jesse Helms, then by Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH), calling for a full review of US policy towards Laos. In effect, Sen. Smith held US policy hostage to his political agenda. No other Senator came forward to persuade him to change his mind.

Sen. Smith credits his views to the so-called "US Congressional Forum on Laos." This group, which despite its name has no link to the US Government, has held closed-door, secretive meetings on Laos since 1999. The Forum was created by an organization called the "Center for Public Policy Analysis," and is believed to be supported by the former Hmong general (and CIA client) Vang Pao. The center's phone is a voice mailbox; calls are never returned. Its supposed location, 2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, is an address that does not exist. (These facts have been confirmed by numerous NGOs as well as by US government officials.) This group's influence on Capitol Hill is far out of proportion to its actual constituency.

Background on Laos

The Lao PDR is a multiethnic state with a bare majority of ethnic Lao and more than 40 minority groups, the largest being Kam Mou (11%), Phou Thay (10%) and Hmong (7%). Although income and education gaps among regions and ethnic groups can be great, there is no legal discrimination against any minority. Ethnic minorities are well represented at all levels of government. More than 80 international development organizations in Laos are encouraged to work with all ethnic groups and have access to all parts of the country.

Laos does have human rights problems from a Western perspective. International human rights groups do not have access inside Laos. However, some progress has been made in the area of religious freedom. US Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Robert Seiple, visited Laos several times in the past two years. His quiet diplomacy resulted in release of many of the approximately 60 prisoners of human rights concern, although new cases have emerged subsequently.

In April 1999, two Hmong-Americans, Michael Vang and Houa Ly, disappeared along the northwestern Thai-Lao border. Vang is the nephew of Vang Pao; Ly was connected with the CIA in Laos during the Vietnam War. They may have been attempting to enter Laos illegally and were reportedly carrying large amounts of cash, in excess of $80,000.

Investigations by both US and Lao authorities have produced no trace of the two men. Two FBI teams visited Laos to investigate the case. The State Department is not satisfied with the level of cooperation received from the Lao government which reports no record of the two men entering the country.

Since March 2000, there have been several bombings in Laos. Some of these attacks may have been the result of business disputes or personal conflicts. Others are likely to be politically-motivated terrorist acts. They do not appear related to a power struggle within the Lao leadership, as has been mistakenly reported in certain media. An attack across the Thai border near Pakse in July 2000 involved 60 armed Thai and overseas Lao who stormed a Lao customs post and duty free store. A leader of the former Lao royal family living in France at first appeared to endorse the attack, then retracted his statement. Some of those involved with the attack are reported to be Lao-Americans.

Recommendations for US policy:

(1) The US should send a new ambassador to Laos without further delay.

(2) The bilateral Lao-US Trade Agreement, signed in 1998, should be submitted by the Administration to Congress and ratified.

(3) The Neutrality Act, prohibiting American citizens from engaging in attacks against another government with which we have diplomatic relations, needs to be enforced.

(4) The US Government should determine whether some bomb attacks against civilians in Laos meet prevailing definitions of terrorism, and if so, speak out publicly against them.

(5) The unresolved case of two Hmong-Americans who disappeared along the Lao-Thai border in April 1999 should continue to be investigated. However, it should not be an obstacle towards achieving the above four objectives for Lao-US relations.

(6) Recent initiatives on the part of the INS to repatriate deportable persons to Laos raise concerns that can best be addressed with the presence of an ambassador.

The Asia Pacific Center for Justice and Peace is at www.apcjp.org, apcjp@igc.org, phone (202) 543-1094.