Conflict in Laos involving the Hmong

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict = Hmong conflict in Laos
partof =


caption=
date = 1975 – present
place = Hmong regions of Laos
casus =
status = Ongoing
combatant1 = flagicon|Laos Laos government
flag|Vietnam (2002 onward)
combatant2 = Hmong
commander1 =
commander2 =
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1 =
casualties2 = 2,000-3,000

The Conflict in Laos involving the Hmong is an ongoing persecution of members of the former "Secret Army" by the Lao People's Army. (Notice: The Hmong hilltribe was not the only tribe that fought as allies for the United States. There were other hilltribes involved.)

History

The dispute stems from Hmong involvement 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 on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, rescued downed American pilots, were utilized by the CIA as drug traffickers, and waged battles against the communist/nationalist Pathet Lao. They also backed up the Lao Royal Army to combat the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese Army. By 1975, America had largely withdrawn and the Pathet Lao took control of the government.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. [The Hmong: An Introduction to their History and Culture. [http://www.cal.org/co/hmong/hhist.html] ] Thousands more Hmong people, mainly former soldiers and their families, escaped to remote mountain regions - particularly 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. [Minority Policies and the Hmong in Laos(Published in Stuart-Fox, M. ed. Contemporary Laos: Studies in the Politics and Society of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (St.Lucia: Queensland University Press, 1982), pp. 199 - 219) [http://www.hmongnet.org/hmong-au/hmong82a.htm] ]

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 visited their secret camps in recent times have described them as hungry, sick, and lacking weapons beyond Vietnam War era rifles. [cite news | first=Andrew | last=Perrin | coauthors= | title=Welcome to the Jungle | date=2003-04-28 | publisher= | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501030505-447253,00.html | work =Time Magazine | pages = | accessdate = 2007-04-27 | language = ] [cite news | first=Richard | last=Arnold | coauthors= | title=Laos: Still a Secret War | date=2007-01-19 | publisher= | url =http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/2641.cfm | work =Worldpress | pages = | accessdate = 2007-04-27 | language = ] Despite posing no 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 casualties occur while people are gathering food from the jungle, since any permanent settlement is impossible. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Lao People’s Democratic Republic | date=2007-03-27 | publisher=Amnesty International | url =http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA260032007 | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-04-27 | language = ]

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. [cite news | first=David | last=Kinchen | coauthors= | title=438 former "Cob Fab" removed by helicopter after they came out of hiding | date=2006-11-17 | publisher= | url =http://www.hmongtoday.com/displaynews.asp?ID=2384 | work =Hmong Today | pages = | accessdate = 2007-03-22 | language = ]

Some Hmong fled to California in the United States after the U.S. military withdrew from Vietnam and ended its' war in Indochina. In June 2005 as part of "Operation Tarnished Eagle" U.S. FBI and anti-terrorism officials uncovered a "conspiracy to murder thousands and thousands of people at one time" and violently overthrow the government of Laos. The plot included ex-U.S. Army Rangers, former Green Berets and other guns for hire. [See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6721313.stm, and http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/225993.html] The plotters were to use rifles, Stinger surface-to-air missiles, anti-tank rockets and other arms and munitions smuggled from the U.S. via Thailand to "reduce government buildings in Vientiane to rubble", said Bob Twiss, an assistant U.S. attorney. [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/50EBCDC7-AF67-45D5-80BA-61918EAC8AB0.htm Al Jazeera English - News - Nine Charged Over Laos 'Coup Plot' ] ] Lieutenant-Colonel Harrison Ulrich Jack, a retired California National Guard officer who reportedly served in covert operations during the Vietnam War (in Laos in co-ordination with the Hmong and other tribal groups) and former General Vang Pao were named as the probable ringleaders of the coup plot. Vang Pao had reportedly built up a strong network of contacts within the U.S. government and corporate circles sympathetic to his cause. [ [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0606/p99s01-duts.html US agents thwart planned Laos coup plot | csmonitor.com ] ] Some speculate that the proposed new government would be much more accepting of large foreign business and may also lead to an explosion of the drugs trade as has been the case in Afghanistan. [ [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-10-26-opium-afghanistan_x.htm USATODAY.com - Rise of drug trade threat to Afghanistan's security ] ]

ee also

*2007 Laotian coup d'état attempt

References

= External links =
* [http://www.factfinding.org/main.html FactFinding.org] - information about the Hmong veterans of the Secret War remaining in the jungles of Laos (requires Adobe Flash)
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v47/ai_17443642 "Acts of Betrayal"] , by Michael Johns, "National Review", October 23, 1995.
* [http://rebeccasommer.org/documentaries/Hmong/index.php Clips from "Hunted like animals"] - a documentary by Rebecca Sommer on the plight of the Hmong in Laos and problems faced by those facing repatriation from Thai refugee camps