November 8, 2004

Urgent Plea for Help

November 8, 2004, 7:30 PM (PST) the Fact Finding Commission received the following communication from resistance leader Moua Toua Ter in the remote jungles of Laos: 
Beginning October 30, 2004 to November 9, 2004 (Laos time) five battalions of the Lao PDR military launched offensive attacks against the Secret Veterans lead by Commander Yang Toua Thao and Moua Toua Ter in the Xaysomboune Special Zone.  The first battalion came from Sam Thong to Na Khae, the second battalion came from Phousavan, Xieng Khouang to Hoi Pa, the third battalion came from Xieng Dae to Tha Ter Oua, the fourth battalion came from Muang Kasi to Sam San, and the fifth battalion came from Muang Poon to Hin Tan.  These five Lao PDR battalions have surrounded the nearly 2,000 people that were visited by Time Magazine Correspondent Andrew Perrin and Philip Blenkinsop in January 2003, then visited by European Journalists Thierry Falise and Vincent Reynaud in late May 2003, and recently visited by Canadian Journalist Nelson Rand late April 2004.  The four girls and one boy that were killed on May 19, 2004 as documented by Va Cha Yang were part of this 2,000 people.  Commander Moua Toua Ter stressed that it will be a matter of days that these five battalions will kill them all if no action taken by international community.  As expressed by Ka Ying Yang, Va Cha Yang's companion from the jungle, eighty percent of this 2,000 people that he spent all his 20 years with are women and children.  They are starving for food but at the same time fear for their lives. Reported from Moua Toua Ter 11/08/04 @ 1930 PDT

Comment:  Since receiving a copy of the tape depicting the killing of five children by Lao forces the Lao government has not made public comment about the incident.  The response appears to be a buildup of military forces surrounding the groups near the Nam Nueng River in the Xaysomboune Special Zone.  The FFC joins with the Secret War veterans and their families in a plea to the international community to intervene and save the lives.