A group calling itself the Free Democratic People�s Government of Laos is claiming responsibility for a series of grenade attacks in Laos that have killed four people and injured dozens of others since 2000, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
A one-page statement faxed to RFA�s Lao service in Bangkok on Oct. 27 saidthe previously unknown group planned and executed a string of bombings inthe Lao capital, Vientiane, and elsewhere, beginning in 2000. Until now, noone had claimed responsibility for the attacks, whose motives remainunclear.
�The [Lao] government should stop blaming outsiders for these bombings. Weare responsible,� the group said in an undated fax apparently sent fromNongkhai Province in Thailand. �We are in Laos.�
"Why did you bring Vietnamese troops and station them with the Lao militaryall over the country?� the statement said, referring to thousands ofVietnamese troops reportedly stationed in Laos since the 1970s. �Is it tohelp you massacre citizens who may take up arms to fight you?�
No further information on the group, nor any comment from the Laogovernment, was immediately available. Vientiane authorities have repeatedlyasserted that all of the attacks were planned outside of Laos.
Most recently, a spokesman for the Lao government, Kengchai Sisounonh,confirmed in an interview with RFA�s Lao service that a grenade attack hadoccurred Oct. 19 in Vientiane. He described the attack, near the Khoua Dinevening market, as the result of a personal dispute. Other sources reporteda second attack on the same day, Oct. 19, in southern Laos, at theSouvantxay market in Khanthabouly town, Savannakhet Province. The explosionkilled two people and injured at least five. At least 10 people were injuredin an explosion at a Vientiane bus station on Aug. 4.
On Sept. 4, two Lao nationals were jailed for life in connections withattacks in Vientiane from 2000-2001. Bunlot Senkeo and Thao Khonsavane weresentenced for "sabotaging national security" and "disturbing public order,�according to the Lao official media. Another defendant, Suonthao Khamtane,was handed a 14-month sentence for failing to report their crime to theauthorities.
Foreign diplomats and analysts believe anti-government factions among theHmong ethnic minority, or exiled anti-communists, may be behind the attacks.
RFA broadcasts news and information to Asian listeners who lack regularaccess to full and balanced reporting in their domestic media. Through itsbroadcasts and call-in programs, RFA aims to fill a critical gap in thelives of people across Asia. Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated in1996, RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Lao,Mandarin, the Wu dialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo and Kham) andUyghur. It adheres to the highest standards of journalism and aims toexemplify accuracy, balance and fairness in its editorial content.#####