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Content about Laos Freedom

March 12, 2010
2009 Human Rights Report: Laos

The central government continued to deny citizens the right to change their government. Prison conditions were harsh and at times life threatening. Corruption in the police and judiciary persisted.

March 5, 2010
What is Human Rights?

Human rights are international moral and legal norms that aspire to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses.

August 16, 2010
The Democracy Fix for the South China Sea

China is once again mixing belligerent rhetoric with military exercises, sending shudders through Southeast Asian capitals. At the heart of these words and actions is the claim that the entire South China Sea -- through which nearly 50% of all international trade must transit

July 5, 2010
Chinese court sentences US geologist to 8 years

An American geologist held and tortured by China's state security agents was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday for gathering data on the Chinese oil industry in a case that highlights the government's use of vague secrets laws to restrict business information.

July 3, 2010
Dissidents sue, but law still suits China

Washington, DC. June 30, 2010.  Initatives for China, The Boston-based movement for a peaceful transition to democracy in China, announces its profound outrage and sorrow at the arrest of renowned democracy advocate, Liu Xianbin

June 22, 2010
No Reconciliation for Thailand's Red Shirts

Despite public promises of compromise by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand's military-backed government is continuing to tighten the screws on protesters, most recently freezing bank accounts belonging to 83 wealthy suspected supporters of the two-month insurrection which ended in May.

June 7, 2010
CPJ's Letter to Thai Prime Minster Abhisit

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns recent violence against journalists in Thailand, including the shooting deaths of two foreign reporters killed while covering news events. We call on your government to launch independent probes into recent attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.

June 3, 2010
Rep. Kind, Sen. Franken host meetings to discuss conditions for Hmong refugees

Kind said he considers the issue a high priority, especially the security, treatment and conditions the Hmong returnees are facing. He said he has discussed the situation with other members of Congress and the Lao embassy in Washington, D.C.

June 1, 2010
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Spoke at SAIS on April 12, 2010

Kasit Piromya, foreign minister of Thailand, discussed "Political and Economic Developments in Thailand" on Monday, April 12, 2010

May 28, 2010
Rep. Loretta Sanchez meets with Secretary of State Clinton to discuss human rights and border violence

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-47) today met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss a number of issues important to her constituents, in particular her concerns regarding human rights issues surrounding the Vietnam and South Korean community.

May 27, 2010
Pursuing justice: For all rights, for all people

Between January and May 2009, some 300,000 Sri Lankans were trapped on a narrow strip of land between the retreating Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the advancing Sri Lankan military.

May 27, 2010
Rights group accuses Vietnam of stifling online dissent

Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Vietnam of mounting a sophisticated and sustained attack against online dissent, including detaining and intimidating anti-government bloggers.

May 27, 2010
Thailand extends censorship against anti-govt protesters

Thailand's army chief Anupong Paochinda signed an order this week to ban three newspapers and one magazine associated with the "red-shirt" protesters at the centre of the worst rioting in modern Thai history last week.

May 15, 2010
Ten dead as Thai military lays siege to protesters

At least 10 people have been killed and 125 wounded over the past two days after the Thai military sealed off all access to the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) protest site in the Ratchaprasong commercial district of Bangkok. Three journalists—two Thai reporters and a Canadian cameraman—were seriously injured.

May 15, 2010
Thailand’s King Sees Influence Fade as Crisis Intensifies

A battle over Thailand’s future is raging, but the one man who has been able to resolve such intractable conflicts in the past has been notably silent: King Bhumibol Adulyadej, long a unifying father figure for his nation.

May 15, 2010
U.S. State Department issues travel warning for Thailand

WASHINGTON, DC. The United States on Saturday issued a travel warning for Thailand as violence continues to grip the country's capital.

May 14, 2010
U.S. risks China's ire with decision to fund software maker tied to Falun Gong

The State Department has decided to fund a group run mainly by practitioners of Falun Gong, a Buddhist-like sect long considered Enemy No. 1 by the Chinese government, to provide software to skirt Internet censorship across the globe.

May 14, 2010
US, China talk human rights after hiatus

The United States and China braced for a second day of human rights talks Friday after a two-year hiatus, with a feud brewing over US support for efforts to crack China's Internet firewall.

May 13, 2010
Renegade Thai General Reported Shot

A rogue army commander leading a militant group of opposition protesters was shot in the head Thursday as Thai army and police forces began blockading the site of weeks-long antigovernment rally in Bangkok's main shopping district.

May 12, 2010
Four gunned down in Laos suspected drug hit: report

Gunmen in communist Laos shot dead four people in a brazen daylight ambush thought to be linked to the drugs trade, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

May 12, 2010
Vietnam Human Rights Day 2010

The 16th Annual Commemoration of Vietnam Human Rights Day will be held on May 11, 2010 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington DC.

May 10, 2010
Congressional Ceremony to Commemorate Vietnam Human Rights Day May 11, 2010

On Tuesday, May 11, 2010 a ceremony on Capitol Hill will call attention to the dismal human rights conditions in Vietnam.  This event, held in the Dirksen Senate Building (Room 106) from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., will commemorate the anniversary of the U.S. House-Senate Joint Resolution SJ 168 designating May 11th as the Vietnam Human Rights Day.

May 8, 2010
Thailand censors more websites as protests persist

The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is fighting a battle on at least two major fronts against protesters seeking its ouster. On the streets, a massive force of soldiers and police has only managed to battle them to a standstill. In cyberspace, the authorities have fared little better, despite efforts to block dissenting voices with the threat of lengthy prison terms.

May 7, 2010
2010 World Report: Thailand Chapter

Political instability and polarization continued in 2009 and occasionally resulted in violence when anti-government groups, affiliated with Thaksin Shinawatra, clashed with Thai security forces.

May 3, 2010
Mrs. Clinton, Tear Down this Cyberwall

When a government department refuses to spend money that Congress has allocated, there's usually a telling backstory. This is doubly so when the funds are for a purpose as uncontroversial as making the Internet freer.