Tell his CIA buddies to find him or his royalist supporters trying to stir up trouble. look honestly if they wanted him dead and no trace they would have killed his wife as well. There is no use leaving a witness to a crime alive. 

Funny i saw on the american embassy lao fb page " we do not condone what happen to Sombath" yet they condone mass bombing of lao civillians and not doing enough to clean up their own sh1t years later (bombies)  man America makes me laugh sometimes so inconsistent in  criticism. The same nation that does not condone Islamic terrorism but codones over throwing governments and supporting saudi arabia that beheads people critical of policy in the street in front of large crowds. Democracy is great 

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2013/04/30/sombath-somphones-disappearance/

Sombath was in the US studying on a scholarship at the University of Hawaii at the time of the change of government in 1975. He could have taken the easy path and stayed in the US. But, inspired by a commitment to help in the development of his country, he instead chose to return home.  Almost no other Lao students in the US at that time took this risky path. As he continued on in graduate school and began making research trips back to Laos, some Lao refugees in the US labeled him a Communist. A number of Lao students in Hawaii even boycotted the ESL classes he was teaching. At the same time, he was also greeted with suspicion in Laos and assumed by some to by a CIA agent. But in reality, Sombath instead took a careful middle path, cultivating good relations with government officials at many levels and building relationships with people across a wide spectrum of Lao society.

Lol how kind of Lao Americans  now he is a "martyr" to them. He was a CIA agent or corrupt. He didnt even struggle when he saw his jeep missing or when the men put him in the truck.  Who gets kidnapped without fighting the kidnappers? Conveniently it was done in front of a cctv camera too and the government ( which is so vile and horrible like north korea) allowed the tape to be viewed. There are plenty of dark roads in Vientiane but they picked right in front of  camera 

just pointing out the irony ,now lao norks claim him as a martyr but before they called him a communist and boycotted his classes. How times change right? 

Who's fault is it for the land grabs and the dams displacing people? Seems to me funding comes from the outside right? You are quick to slam LPRP but these foreign nations like  South Korea are pouring money into the projects. Lao norks make Laos seem like North Korea but all these nations give money for projects in such a 'north korea like evil state'. Isn't that funny? I'd rather the outside world not do that so the corrupt in our gov stop getting money. But you know what they say money makes the world go round

 Which is why I myself am not just some blind  party follower. I support the socialist ideal and since I find LPRP the only good choice than some lao nok imposed pseudo democracy I don't want  radical change.  I am a Maoist and wouldn't mind that type of government reorganization. 

Anonymous wrote:

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Go ahead and believe what you want.  Your a minority/loner as far as Lao people go.  The Lao PDR is about business and don't like people to get in the way of their business and that's why Sombath is gone.

Dr Khampheuy was tellin his fellow colleagues they need to be more open minded and stop callin everyone that doesn't agree with them Patikarn.  That was funny.  But that's just common sense. 

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 Who brings the business? the west and capitalist nations  Who continually lines corrupt members pockets? Such a bad nation similar to North Korea with terrible human rights and a strict communist regime yet it doesn't stop business coming here right? The world cares so much about human rights don't they? Thats why they get up on a pedestal and cry about Sombath yet do nothing to stop these mega projects coming to Laos.

Anonymous wrote:

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Who said business was bad?  Only you would say that.

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 NOpe I didn't say business was bad.. What I said was why do businesses come to Laos if Lao nork describe it as North Korea jr? I don't see western nations flocking to North Korea for business do they? 

You can't have things both ways. People whine and complain about Laos human rights and" evil communist regime" yet business seems as usual... Sombath disappears yet no business stopped their operations here. No countries moved their embassy or closed it did they? So all it is is whinig and complaining because the west needs someone to b1tch at to seem good and deflect blame from their own shoddy human rights record. 

It's not even about Sombath.  He's just in a long line of other Lao that spoke up for themselves and other Lao.

Anonymous wrote:

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Reminds me of the Lao Radio host in Vientiane that had to leave Laos last year because he had an hour on his shows where Lao people could call in and talk about their grievances.

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If there was no Thailand for Lao people to go work and make a living/feed their families/get medical care, the Lao people would have booted the officials in Vientiane and Savannakhet a long time ago.  But having a place to go work(Thailand) has eased their feelings.  There is true tension between the haves and have nots in Laos.  It's a dang shame that Lao have to go work in Thailand when Thais in general enjoy putting both Laos and Lao people down on a daily basis.  Laos is the big brother but does not at the moment behave like it on any levels.  But hey, it's been said before the the Lao PM didn't finish school.  Chounmaly is even worse than Thongsing intellectually.

It doesn't matter.  Thailand at the moment is still in better condition than Laos.  That's why you have Lao people going to work in Thailand and not the other way around.  That's why all the daily products(soap, toiletries, food) used in Laos are made in Thailand.  That's why mid level Lao officials send their kids to study in Thailand.  That's why Thailand helps Laos builds schools and orphanages and not the other way around.

Your trying to say Thailand is a slave, but Laos wants to be like Thailand.  The Lao PDR leaders themselves want to be like Thailand except with only one party so they can fatten their wallets even fatter than they are now.  "They" LOVE thailand.  You can dislike it all you want but you're alone in your views.  Everyone goes to Laos and Southeast Asia and sees the situation.  Thai TV on all day all over Laos.

You yourself read Thai Newspapers so stop being a hypocrite.  Quit trolling

Sombath's name is really haunting the boys in VTE.

A lot of people in Laos know what happened to Sombath.  Especially those in Vientiane. 

The Viets did not like Sombath becoming popular among rural Lao people he worked with.  Rural Lao people saw that he genuinely cared for them and respected him.  The Viets didn't like that.  They(Viets) told Naipon Sanyahuk Phomvihane(who was 75% Viet himself) to take care of it.  He did.  After that he got into it with other Lao PDR Naipons such as Naipon Gaenkham SaengAthorn who disagreed with him. 

There's real friction among Lao PDR. 

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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A lot of people in Laos know what happened to Sombath.  Especially those in Vientiane. 

 

The Viets did not like Sombath becoming popular among rural Lao people he worked with.  Rural Lao people saw that he genuinely cared for them and respected him.  The Viets didn't like that.  They(Viets) told Naipon Sanyahuk Phomvihane(who was 75% Viet himself) to take care of it.  He did.  After that he got into it with other Lao PDR Naipons such as Naipon Gaenkham SaengAthorn who disagreed with him. 

There's real friction among Lao PDR. 

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Always has been.

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More so nowadays than in the past though. 

http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-04-12/news/the-cia-s-kidnapping-ring/full/

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31925.htm

The Phoenix Program 

The US Phoenix Program was a secret, large scale counter terrorist effort in Vietnam. Developed in 1967 by the CIA, the Phoenix Program, called Phung Hoang by the Vietnamese, aimed a concerted effort to “neutralize” the Vietcong Infrastructure (VCI) consisting of South Vietnamese civilians suspected of supporting North Vietnamese or Viet Cong soldiers. The euphemism “neutralize” meant to kill or detain indefinitely. Then CIA Director William Colby, while insisting in 1971 Congressional hearings that “the Phoenix program is not a program of assassination,” nonetheless conceded that Phoenix operations killed over 20,000 people between 1967 and 1972. [11]

Phoenix targeted civilians, not soldiers. Operations were carried out by “hunter-killer teams” consisting both of US Green Berets and Navy Seals and by South Vietnamese Provincial Reconnaissance Units (PRUs), units of mercenaries set up for assassination and “counter terror.” A Newsweek article in January 1970 described Phoenix as “a highly secret and unconventional operation that counters VC terror with terror of its own.” [12]  Robert Kaiser of the Washington Post reported Phoenix being called “an instrument of mass political murder…sort of Vietnamese Murder Inc.,” designed to terrorize the civilian population into submission.” [13]

Until 1970 the computerized VCI blacklist was a unilateral American operation. After the devastating 1968 Tet offensive, South Vietnamese President Thieu declared: “The VCI must be eliminated…and will be defeated by the Phoenix program.” [14] Phoenix became a ruthless “bounty hunting” program to eliminate the opposition. [15] The US and South Vietnamese created a list of tens of thousands of suspects for assassination. These names were centralized and distributed to Phoenix coordinators. From 1965-68 U.S. and Saigon intelligence services maintained an active list of Viet Cong cadre marked for assassination. The program for 1969 called for “neutralizing” 1800 a month.

The VCI blacklist became corrupted by officers inserting their personal enemies’ names to get even. Due process was nonexistent.  Names supplied by anonymous informers showed up on blacklists. [16] CIA Director Colby admitted in 1971 that the blacklists had been “inaccurate.” [17] Few senior VCI leaders were caught in the Phoenix net. Instead its victims were typically innocent civilians. A Pentagon-contract study found that, between 1970 and 1971, ninety-seven per cent of the Vietcong targeted by the Phoenix Program were of negligible importance. [18] By 1973, Phoenix generated 300,000 political prisoners in South Vietnam. Military operations such as My Lai used Phoenix intelligence; in fact, the My Lai massacre, hardly an isolated incident, was itself a Phoenix operation. [19]

Honduran death squads were active through the 1980s, the most infamous of which was Battalion 3–16, which assassinated hundreds of people, including teachers, politicians, and union leaders. Battalion 316 received substantial CIA support and training, and at least 19 members graduated from the School of the Americas.

In Colombia, about 20,000 people were killed since 1986 and much of U.S. aid for counternarcotics was diverted to what Amnesty International labeled “one of the worst killing fields.” The US State Department also supported the Colombian army in creating a database of subversives, terrorists and drug dealers.

In Nicaragua, the US provided illegal funds to the Contras, and Marine intelligence helped maintain a list of civilians marked for assassination when Contra forces entered the country.

In Chile, 1970-73, CIA-created unions organized CIA-financed strikes leading to Allende’s overthrow and subsequent suicide. By late 1971 the CIA was involved in the preparation of lists of nearly 20,000 middle-level leaders of people’s organizations, scheduled to be assassinated after the Pinochet coup.

In Haiti, U.S. officials with CIA backgrounds in Phoenix-like program activities coordinated with the Ton-Ton Macoute, “Baby Doc” Duvalier’s private death squad, responsible for killing at least 3,000 people.

The guy should ask himself what is the Lao PDR obsession with Vietnam.

Anonymous wrote:

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Nothing wrong with trading and doing business with Viets.  The problem is Viet think they own Laos.  They've been stepping on Lao people's heads for decades.  They have no respect for Laos or Lao people. 

Vietnam wanted Thailand up to the late 80's.  But they ran out of funds and had to be content with Laos.  Whoever lived in Thailand in the 70's-80's knew the Thais were worried about the Viets.  Thai people of today just don't talk about it because it would make them look bad or they just plain forgot.  They like to pride themselves in their made up history of being superior to other Southeast Asians which we all know it crap.

If Viets didn't run Laos, Sanyahuk wouldn't have got to Sombath and Naipon Gaenkham wouldn't have reacted the way he did.  Sanyahuk is RIP.  "Malaria" they said.

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 That is the same you can say about all nations then in Lao history since 1900... You think the French or the Americans showed any "compassion" towards the Lao people either? The French slandered Lao people often and brought in the Viets because they believed Lao to be incapable to gov positions. Don't get me started on how America treated Laos either. The reality is it is hard to be a big time world player with a population of 6 million. America had the Lao leaders literally so scared they would not say anything against their policy. Bombing of Lao civilians? Nah who cares ? What bombing is going on? I think it's just Pathet Lao propaganda about mass bombing the countryside.

America also crashed the Lao economy multiple times after elections didn't go "their way". 

1955 The US attempts to buy Laos - buying up truckfuls of kip, the local currency, and burning the banknotes, giving the Royal Lao Government American dollars at a bloated exchange rate. The US government also pays the salaries of the entire Royal Lao Army, making Laos the highest per capita recipient of US aid ever, and without the average taxpayer even aware where their money was going. The State department allows the creation of a secret project (Project 404) to have military officers temporarily resign in order to be assigned as military advisors, but with civilian identities, furtively violating the Geneva accords. Elections are held but the Pathet Lao are excluded. The Vietnamese, in response, start trickling troops into eastern Laos.

I know there is corruption here, but I know it is no different then any other nation in the world. I don't give huge standing to people who preach from one the if not the most violent nations in comtemporary history.

Sayaburi, Bokeo, Phongsaly, Luang Prabang, Thakek, Savannakhet etc. 

People all over Laos are bumping heads with the Lao PDR over what Sombath talked about. 

Never happened in Laos before.