Laos: EU lawmakers take tough stance on missing activists

The video is admittedly a bit blurry, but what it shows is undeniable — at least to everyone except Lao Government. Famous Laotian civil society leader Sombath Sompong He was last seen on December 15, 2012, driving a jeep in the capital Vientiane. CCTV footage (the following) Photos showed him being stopped at a police checkpoint before leaving in another car escorted by security personnel.Eight months later, MEPs accused the communist-ruled state of telling them “absurd lies” about the 62-year-old’s disappearance.

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While hopes for his settlement are fading fast, Somba’s career refuses to die with it. His disappearance is likely to remain top of mind when an official European Parliament delegation travels to Vientiane on October 28, after an advance team that visited Vientiane this week found their investigations ignored. Soren Bo SondergaardA Danish MEP told reporters on Wednesday that he wanted to “send a signal to the authorities that this case will not be closed easily.” The lead investigator told Sombath’s wife last week that her husband’s case was officially closed, but superiors rushed to refute that when more allegations of complicity began to emerge.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSZzzk3Ay1M]

Despite Laos’ human rights record Poor qualityThe disappearance of its most prominent activist has caused an uproar. Sombath was a widely respected leader in education and sustainable development, educated in part in the United States and awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Community Leadership Award in 2005. Lao authorities have acknowledged that investigations have gone nowhere but have repeatedly refused to offer technical assistance and have dismissed concerns by claiming that the pillar of society must be the victim of a shady business dispute.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that Sombath has long been seen as a mediator, not an instigator — one who informed authorities of his participatory development projects, worked within official boundaries and even sat on influential panels with senior government figures. “Every day that passes without any acceptable answers to this very serious and symbolic case … is very damaging to Laos’ international image,” the EU delegation said in a statement.

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Sombath’s fate is heartbreaking for those who knew him, but his disappearance has also had a “chilling effect” on free speech and activism, with civil society groups suddenly “scared to death,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director for international counterterrorism and security. Human Rights WatchRobertson described the Laotian government’s silence on the matter as “clear evidence of its involvement”. He told Time magazine: “He was stopped at a police checkpoint in the capital. There is no way the Laotian government didn’t know what had happened to him.”

Sondergaard said the usually contentious European Parliament was united on the issue, and Somba’s name was certainly a frequent topic in speeches by diplomats from all sides in Vientiane. The international pressure for answers may take into account two other issues: first, the possibility of Laos’ future membership in the European Union. United Nations Human Rights Council — Robertson called the possibility “ludicrous” — and second, the country’s efforts to shed its least developed country stigma. Both goals require the achievement of measurable benchmarks and support from other countries.

That goodwill is in short supply now and must be regained if Laos is to receive help in addressing its many social, economic and humanitarian problems. Living Down Under The Somba live below the international poverty line, on less than $1.25 a day. International development programs designed to alleviate such conditions are tied to specific sociopolitical reforms that are called into question by flagrant human rights violations. So, even if the truth about Somba is never known, it may be a small consolation that his memory is now being used as a lever to help his fellow citizens live better lives—just as he always tried to do.

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