Says it was behind latest bombing
A group calling itself the Free DemocraticPeople's (Underground) Government of Laos has claimed responsibility for thelatest explosion in Laos and threatened �more serious violence� in theabsence of democratic change, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.
Lao officials initially described the blast in central Vientiane late Oct.31 as a gas tank explosion, �although everyone in the country knew that itwas a bomb,� the group said in a statement dated Nov. 1 and faxed to RFA�sLao service in Bangkok. No one was killed or injured in the blast, the thirdin Laos in the month of October. It occurred in the early evening Fridaynear the Patouxay monument in central Vientiane. Patouxay, known asVientiane's Arc de Triomphe after the larger version in Paris, is locatednear the city's main boulevards and government offices.
�All the bomb explosions... this time, as in the past, have been carried outby [Lao] people,� it said. �We have already warned that unless power isreturned to the people and the Vietnamese are driven out of Lao territory,we, the people, will carry out more serious violence.�
�We have been oppressed for the past 28 years by... [this] party-state.Almostall of Laos�s precious resources have been sold by the Comrades�party-state. The Lao PDR government should not hide the truth and deceivethe people, and it should not suspect anyone else: The people plant thebombs and the government must be solely held accountable,� it said. �Let theLao people unify, let Lao people govern Lao people, stop cutting down trees,stop selling the precious resources of Laos to foreigners at once, andremove the Vietnamese troops disguised as laborers all over Laos...completelyand as soon as possible."
�We the people claim responsibility for all the bombings, past and present.We, the people of multi-ethnic Laos, Lao people of all walks of life inLaos, have unanimously formed an underground Free Democratic People�sGovernment to dismantle the cruel and barbarian regime of the ruling LaoPeople's Revolutionary Party. We ask foreigners to keep monitoring theaccomplishments of the multi-ethnic Lao living inside Laos.�
A Lao Foreign Ministry spokesman, Sodom Phetrasy, told RFA on Monday that �abad-intended individual left a very small bomb in a trash can� near thePatouxay monument. �No one was hurt. There was no damage, except the mangledtrashcan.�
�We do not have any reaction, since we don't know who they really are. Theycan claim all they want... We will know who they are when we catch themred-handed," he said.
On Oct. 27, RFA�s Lao service received a one-page fax purportedly from thesame group claiming responsibility for a series of explosions that havekilled four people and injured dozens of others since 2000. No one hadpreviously claimed responsibility for the attacks.
"The [Lao] government should stop blaming outsiders for these bombings. Weare responsible,� said the statement, apparently faxed from NongkhaiProvince in Thailand. �We are in Laos... Why did you bring Vietnamese troopsand station them with the Lao military all over the country?� the statementsaid, referring to thousands of Vietnamese troops reportedly stationed inLaos since the 1970s. �Is it to help you massacre citizens who may take uparms to fight you?�
Vientiane authorities have repeatedly asserted that all of the attacks wereplanned 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 reported a second attack on the same day, Oct. 19, in southernLaos, at the Souvantxay market in Khanthabouly town, Savannakhet Province.The explosion killed two people and injured at least five. At least 10people were injured in 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.
Analysts have said anti-government factions among the Hmong ethnic minority,exiled anti-communists, or disaffected members of the Lao military could bebehind 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.#####