Humanitarian crisis-Genocide of the Hmong people in Laos *Very graphic*

[Mockngbrd]

viewer descretion is advised

fren sent this email to me... didn't really bother bout it till i saw the Youtube videos... very sad

The dispute stems from Hmong invovlement in the Secret War, a campaign organized by the American CIA to keep Communism out of Laos and to the support the War in Vietnam. Under the leadership of the General Vang Pao Hmong forces attacked North Vietnamese supply lines, rescued downed American pilots, and waged battles against the communist/nationalist Pathet Lao. By 1975, America had largely withdrawn and the Pathet Lao took control of the government.

Hmong people, especially those who had participated in the military conflict were singled out for retribution. Thus began a mass exodus of 300,000 refugees, including many Hmong, to camps in Thailand.

Of those Hmong people who remained in Laos, between two and three thousand were sent to re-education camps as political prisoners where they served sentences of 3-5 years. Enduring hard physical labor and difficult conditions, many people died.

Thousands more Hmong people, mainly former soldiers and their families, escaped to remote mountain regions - particlarly Phou Bia, the highest (and thus least accessible) mountain peak in Laos. At first, these loosely organized groups staged attacks against Pathet Lao and Vietnamese troops. Others remained in hiding to avoid conflict. Initial military successes by these small bands led to military counter-attacks by government forces, including aerial bombing and heavy artillery, as well as the use of defoliants and chemical weapons.

Today, most Hmong people in Laos live peacefully in villages and cities, but small groups of Hmong people, many of them second or third generation descendants of former CIA soldiers, remain internally displaced in remote parts of Laos, in fear of government reprisals. As recently as 2003, there were reports of sporadic attacks by these groups, but journalists who have visted their secret camps in recent times have described them as hungry, sick, and lacking weapons beyond Vietnam War era rifles. Despite posing a military threat, the Lao government has continued to characterize these people as "bandits" and continues to attack their positions, often killing and injuring women and children. Most casualities occur while people are gathering food from the jungle, since any permanent settlement is impossible.

Faced with continuing military operations against them by the government and a scarcity of food, some groups have begun coming out of hiding, while others have sought asylum in Thailand and other countries

Below is news From Reuters-Hmong vow to resist repatriation to Laos. Songrit Pongern in Bangkok. June 13, 2007 ( http://www.smh.com.au )-


LEADERS of 8000 Hmong people in a refugee camp in Thailand have vowed to fight deportation to Laos, where they say they will be tortured because their relatives backed the US in the Vietnam War.

We would rather die in Thailand than be sent back to die in Laos," said Ly Seu, one of the leaders of the Huay Nam Khao camp, in Phetchabun province in northern Thailand. "We had to leave Laos because we are the children of the CIA allies who have been suppressed since 1975."

Thailand deported 160 Hmong on Saturday, a week after US agents in California arrested a former Hmong chief, Vang Pao, alleging he plotted to overthrow the Laotian Government.Vang, 77, led a CIA-trained, anti-communist guerilla army in Laos during the Vietnam War.As many as 1000 Hmong gathered outside a federal court in the Californian capital, Sacramento, on Monday to support him, shouting "Free the Hmong" as a judge denied him bail. He and nine others have been charged with planning a coup.
The protesters said they felt betrayed by the US Government.

Vang's arrest prompted concerns - fanned by Saturday's deportations - that US and Thai patience had finally run out.The US State Department urged Thailand to screen people so that those who might be persecuted would not be sent back.

A department spokesman said: "Unfortunately, continued allegations of human rights violations in Laos, combined with the Lao Government's refusal so far to permit monitoring of returnees, cause concern about the well-being of those who were deported."

The English-language Thai newspaper The Nation has reported that the Thai Government reached a deal with Laos to return Hmong, "no matter how many bullet wounds they have".

A Laotian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that, under the terms of the agreement, every Hmong confirmed as coming from Laos would be sent back..

[youtube]LmSWXk1nFRc[/youtube]

YouTube - "HUNTED LIKE ANIMALS" Hmong Hunted and tortured -merciless!

YouTube - Genocide of the Hmong in Laos

YouTube - HUNTED LIKE ANIMALS" Eyewitness account + filmed ATTACK

YouTube - "HUNTED LIKE ANIMALS" Hmong refugees-WE ARE NOT REBELS

YouTube - HUNTED LIKE ANIMALS - Hmong Attacked With Chemical Weapons

YouTube - Save The Hmong People