Agreements with the Stalinist regime in Ventiane are a shame for the EU

Brussels, 6 September 2007

Nonviolent Radical Party MEPs Marco Pannella and Marco Cappato tabled a written question to the EU Commission condemning the Lao regime's ongoing policy of political persecution against the Hmong indigenous population.

Since more than 30 years now, the authoritarian Lao regime, led by Chommaly Saysone, is carrying on policies that might lead to a genocide of the Hmongs, an indigenous population.

According to the World Hmong People Congress, an NGO advocating the rights of Hmong people, attacks on Hmong civilians intensified during the last weeks, in particular in the rural Borkeo district. At least 35 ethnic Hmongs have been arrested, following the last episode of violence carried out by Lao security forces against a Hmong village-chief.

The European Union is one of the main donors with its 100 million euro spent in Laos as "development projects" until 2006. The EU Commission has recently published a new plan giving to Laos 69 millions euro in aid for the period 2007-2013. The 58% of the aid will be spent to support the Lao regime's backed "Reform Plan". This plan contains - amongst other actions - a project to forcibly transfer a large number of indigenous rural populations.

Radical Party MEPs call on the EU Commission to take every possible step - under the terms of the "democratic clause" of the cooperation agreement - in order to make sure that the Lao Government will not receive additional EU funds without engaging itself in opening Hmong's areas to international independent observers, without putting on trial those who committed atrocities against Hmong people and without respecting indigenous populations rights.