Boys Body Mutilated.

Laos (FFC) In the early morning hours of May 19, 2004 three small groups left their encampment in the deep jungles of the Xaysomboune Special Zone in Laos in search of food. The first group included twelve young people. The eldest, 19 year old Nou Chue Thao, carried the only weapon, a relic from the Vietnam War era.

In the second group, following some 100 meters behind was Fact Finding Commission videographer/correspondent Va Char Yang. Yang related that at about 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning gunfire erupted just ahead of his group. All took refuge in the dense foliage as the gunfire continued for several minutes. Yang was able to see a group of soldiers as they surrounded the group in front of his.

After the initial volley of gunshots Yang heard girls yelling and pleading "no,no" as the soldiers laughed and yelled "girls, girls." Yang identified the soldiers as Lao by their uniforms and their use of the Lao language. After about ten minutes other shots were heard. In what seemed to Yang to be about an hour the last volley of shots were heard.

Once the soldiers' left the area Yang and the seven others with him returned to the encampment. There Yang got his camcorder and returned with a search party to the scene of the shooting. On the way he videotaped a military helicopter as it flew over the area.

What they found at the scene was the mutilated bodies of four girls and one boy. The mothers of the young girls quickly covered their naked bodies. Chia Her, age 15, had been raped, she was shot, stabbed, and disemboweled. Chao Lee, at age 16 the oldest of the group, had been raped, shot and stabbed, her face was disfigured from a severe beating. Chao Lee's younger sister, Mao Lee age 14, had also been raped, shot, and stabbed. Pang Lor, age 14 had been shot several times in her upper body and foot. She too had been raped. The boy, Tou Lor age 13 had been shot at least twice in the back and stabbed numerous times in his chest and abdomen. He had also been beaten.

Of those that escaped the ambush three were severely injured. Nou Chue Thao was shot in his arms and left foot. Niam Mis Vang was shot in her back and right foot. Niam Vam Xeeb was shot in her knee. All were shot while fleeing the scene.

Yang reported that at the same time another group several miles away was also attacked. In that attack one woman, Ma Vang, was killed. She reportedly had been shot and stabbed numerous times, and her body mutilated.

Yang reported the soldiers involved came from the military camp at Siandae, in the Province of Luang Probang. According to Yang military helicopters that cover that area are stationed at Phounsavang.

For nearly thirty years the Hmong in the remote jungles of Laos have reported atrocities such as this at the hands of the communist government. This, however, is the first time an incident such as this has been captured on videotape. In 1975 the Pathet Lao vowed to "exterminate to the root" those that had been loyal to the United States during the Secret War. Thousands of Hmong and other ethnic groups that had been involved in preventing supplies from getting to Vietnam along the Ho Chi Mien trail, rescuing American pilots, and fighting against communist expansion in Laos, as members of the CIA backed Secret Army, fled from the communist persecution. While many escaped into Thailand and from there to other countries, some unable to get out of the country fled to mountains and jungles within Laos. In recent years the LPDR military has stepped up its efforts to rid Laos of the Secret War veterans, their families, and their descendents.

In April of this yea, only a few weeks before this incident, the Fact Finding Commission went to Laos to investigate reports of these veteran groups surrendering to the Lao authorities. FFC spoke with Bounthavy Vilayvong, Head of Policy Division, Department of Ethnic Affairs, Lao National Front for Construction. Vilayvong stated these groups where being "encouraged" to come out of the mountains and participate in the LPDR "resettlement program." Vilavong assured FFC the people in the mountains are all Lao citizens and will be treated as such, and not as insurgents or rebels. He assured us they will not be arrested if "they have not committed a crime."

Va Char Yang has documented the hardships faced by the Secret War veterans and their families including starvation, the effect of chemical weapons, and struggle to survive. His videos are the basis of much of the Fact Finding Commissions work and can be viewed on Fact Finding Commission
1566 Huntoon Street
Oroville, CA 95965
(530) 342-5571
Contact: Ed Szendrey
Georgie Szendrey
Ger Vang
Website:

Story site: Click Here
Time Magazine story: Click Here