Grisly Find May Be Missing Lao-americans

[george]

Grisly find may be missing Lao-Americans

Chiang Mai (TNA) - Six sacked corpses recovered Wednesday morning in a national park in Mae Hong Son province are thought to be a family of missing Hmong-Americans, according to police sources.

Early responses from police investigators suggest that the bodies might be a family which went missing March 2 while staying at their holiday home in Chiang Mai's Mae Tang district.

Police said they were murdered, probably 20 days ago, and that the bodies were decomposed beyond recognition. They were put in sacks and dumped in a steep valley inside Hua Nam Dang National Park bordering Mae Hong Son's Pai district and Mae Tang.

Police are still looking for two more bodies and their two cars as Yee Lao Sae Wang, 60, was reportedly missing with other seven family members.

Earlier this month, Mr Yee Lao's relatives informed police in San Sai district of Chiang Mai about the mysterious disappearances.

His relatives told investigators that Yee Lao emigrated to the United States some 30 years ago and became an American national and that every year he and his family would spend two winter months in Chiang Mai where he bought a house.

Investigations are ongoing to identify the bodies and to determine the motive behind the killings.

--TNA 2006-03-29

[sonnyJ]

Don't tell me they had some contacts to Laos that were not favoured by current regime there.?

Edited March 29, 2006 by sonnyJ

[zzap]

Of course not.

This is all a mystery to everybody...

My deepest sympathies to the relatives.

[britmaveric]

Another unsolved mystery?

[Johpa]

Another unsolved mystery?

Or perhaps yet another case where the Lao and Thai intelligence services work together to discourage, with extreme prejudice, politically active Mong refugees from returning to Southeast Asia and upsetting the status quo.

[jdinasia]

or not

[sonnyJ]

Let's hope this unfolds as easy as the bodybags.

Edited March 29, 2006 by sonnyJ

[sriracha john]

Very disturbing, especially coming so closely on the heels of the Royalty-linked Lao-American couple brazenly murder just two months ago:

Lao Prince/Princess Murdered In Nong Khai thread

If I'm not mistaken about that, as yet unsolved, murder they were not Hmong as the latest murder victims were.

Further disturbing is that apparently they were butchered before being placed in the rice saks :

US Hmong feared dead in Thailand

At least six decomposed bodies thought to include a group of missing US citizens from the Hmong tribe have been found in north Thailand, police say.

Police in Chiang Mai said a group of eight people from the same family had been reported missing since 16 March.

Residents of the village of Pai, 650km (400 miles) north of Bangkok, found the body parts in rice sacks in a ravine.

The Hmong live in a number of countries, including Thailand, Laos and southern China.

Thousands of Hmong, often referred to as the forgotten US allies of the Vietnam War, fled to the US after the war ended.

Last year the US accepted another 14,000 Hmong who had been living in a Thai camp.

"We believe the bodies found were those reported missing, but we need confirmation from their relatives and forensic experts," the police chief in Pai, Tanet Chaownatong, told the Reuters news agency.

The US embassy in Bangkok said it had been informed by police that the body of one man believed to be an American had been found but could not name him due to US privacy laws.

The group was thought to include two men, two women, two boys and two girls, police said. They had set out together on 2 March.

It was unclear how many in the missing group were US citizens but regional police chief Lt Gen Panupong Singara na Ayuthaya told Associated Press at least four of the bodies found were thought to be those of US citizens.

news.bbc.co.uk

Edited March 30, 2006 by sriracha john

[Scott]

My sympathies to the family and friends. It is sad because so many of these people have had such a difficult life and then to come to such a brutal end.

Why is it that the overseas Lao people seem to have so much trouble here in Thailand?

[Patex]

Would be funny to see what the us gouvernment and the media would do/say if the victims were genuine white americans... .

[Totster]

Would be funny to see what the us gouvernment and the media would do/say if the victims were genuine white americans... .

Why would it be funny...?

..and are you saying that only white people are genuine Americans ?

totster

[sriracha john]

There are reports now that the murder scene involved seven people, not six

published: 1 hour, 55 minutes ago

Seven corpses found in Thailand, possibly one American

BANGKOK (AFP) - Seven badly decomposed bodies have been found in a ravine in northern Thailand, police have announced, adding that one of them could be that of a missing Hmong American.

The seven bodies were bound, placed in rice bags, and dumped into a 100-meter (330-foot) ravine alongside a highway leading from the northern city of Chiang Mai, police Colonel Thanes Chaonathung told AFP.

Pathologists so far have only been able to identify the corpses as three women and four men who died more than 20 days ago, Thanes said.

Edited March 30, 2006 by sriracha john

[ColPyat]

Why is it that the overseas Lao people seem to have so much trouble here in Thailand?

Because US based Hmong support the still ongoing Hmong insurgency in Laos. This is a major embarrasment for Thailand within ASEAN as Thai territory is regularly used as safe havens by Hmong insurgents.

A left over of the Vietnam war aera in which the Hmong fought on US side againts the Pathet Lao. Google the name "Tony Poe" and you will find lots of fascinating information on this subject.

[sriracha john]

Would be funny to see what the us gouvernment and the media would do/say if the victims were genuine white americans... .

Why would it be funny...?

..and are you saying that only white people are genuine Americans ?

Granted, I would have phrased it differently, but I would hope what was meant was that it might create more U.S. media interest and consequently U.S. government involvement would be raised if they were not Asian immigrant citizens, which is actually a realistic and truthful assessment, right (which it obviously it is not) or wrong (which it obviously is).

Many Caucasian Americans do believe they are the only "genuine" Americans, right etc.

Edited March 30, 2006 by sriracha john

[ColPyat]

what was meant was that it might create more U.S. media interest and consequently U.S. government involvement would be raised if they were not Asian immigrant citizens, which is actually a realistic and truthful assessment, right (not) or wrong (which it obviously is).

The US government is keeping these things rather low key as it is more interested to normalise relations with Laos, including continuing the ongoing search of MIAs in many areas of Laos, but can't really stop naturalized Hmong from supporting the Hmong insurgency in Laos due to the Vietnam war history.

This is a very sensitive issue for all the governments involved.

[sriracha john]

Still, the over-riding issue is simply one of racism, by both the media and government.

Normalization of relations with Laos is quite far down the State Departments priority list. The Department of Defense MIA search program is also far down their priority list and a shell of what it used to be in 80's and 90's.

[Patex]

Would be funny to see what the us gouvernment and the media would do/say if the victims were genuine white americans... .

Why would it be funny...?

..and are you saying that only white people are genuine Americans ?

totster

Totster,

These, now 7, slaughtered humans are descriped as "Hmong- americans", not just as fukcing normal "Americans"...

[TokyoT]

Would be funny to see what the us gouvernment and the media would do/say if the victims were genuine white americans... .

Why would it be funny...?

..and are you saying that only white people are genuine Americans ?

totster

Totster,

These, now 7, slaughtered humans are descriped as "Hmong- americans", not just as fukcing normal "Americans"...

The use of hyphenated Americans dates from the late 19th century and was used to identify people who had a distinct cultural/geographical origin outside of the US. As opposed to being a racial label/slur some of these hyphenated Americans get rather upset if they are not given the option to label themselves as such – for example many African-American group/organizations are pretty adamant about maintaining this type of classification. Where I last lived in the US there were many Italian-American organizations/people that were just as adamant about keeping the classification.

There was a pretty big news item last year where a Hmong-American killed several other hunters in the woods in Minnesota or Wisconsin that drew some level of interest in regard to who the Hmong are, but generally speaking most Americans are clueless about the Hmong and their relations with the US government in the past.

[Johpa]

A left over of the Vietnam war aera in which the Hmong fought on US side againts the Pathet Lao. Google the name "Tony Poe" and you will find lots of fascinating information on this subject.

Better to read about Poe's nominal, and I mean nominal supervisor, Bill Lair, in the book Back Fire by Roger Warner. Poe was of course the more colorful person along with his lessor known peers who have preferred to stay as anonymous retired snake eaters, at least one of whom still resides in Bangkok. And I believe the late Doc Weldon, another amazing and, need i say, more admirable character from that era, has a memoir that is still available in bookstores in Thailand.

[aaaaaa]

Why is it that the overseas Lao people seem to have so much trouble here in Thailand?

Because US based Hmong support the still ongoing Hmong insurgency in Laos. This is a major embarrasment for Thailand within ASEAN as Thai territory is regularly used as safe havens by Hmong insurgents.

A left over of the Vietnam war aera in which the Hmong fought on US side againts the Pathet Lao. Google the name "Tony Poe" and you will find lots of fascinating information on this subject.

so as Karen are in Myanmar as I heard.

another thing is - some say Hmong deal heavily in drugs. so, perhaps these were victims of new wave of drug traffickers extermination in Thailand (or those which ar rival to ruling / prominent group / triad / whatever it is called) ?

[ColPyat]

A left over of the Vietnam war aera in which the Hmong fought on US side againts the Pathet Lao. Google the name "Tony Poe" and you will find lots of fascinating information on this subject.

Better to read about Poe's nominal, and I mean nominal supervisor, Bill Lair, in the book Back Fire by Roger Warner.

Thanks a lot, it's already on my amazon list.

[ColPyat]

so as Karen are in Myanmar as I heard.

another thing is - some say Hmong deal heavily in drugs. so, perhaps these were victims of new wave of drug traffickers extermination in Thailand (or those which ar rival to ruling / prominent group / triad / whatever it is called) ?

Yes, the Karen are still fighting, though it's more sneak ambushes with few casualties. Very different when they still held substantial territory in Karen state, when the resitence capital was still Mannerplaw before it was overrun by Burmese forces after the Christian Karen/Buddhist Karen split.

The minority SSA (shan state army) is also still fighting a lost war while the majority Shan have done a peace deal a long time ago, and profit rather well from it. Their sort of capitol - Mong La - is quit a sight, especially if you come from Wa state. From the worst roads in the world through the jungles suddenly you get those major highways going to Mong La with skyscrapers, shiny casinos and huge discos. There's even Thai katoey troupes working there in cabaret's.

The drug war is a bit more complex, like everything in those areas.

Edited April 4, 2006 by ColPyat

[cobra]

The fact that the bodies were merely dumped, opposed to being buried which would make discovery more difficult is curious, makes this look more political than criminal,

Sad affair none the less,

[Johpa]

another thing is - some say Hmong deal heavily in drugs. so, perhaps these were victims of new wave of drug traffickers extermination in Thailand (or those which ar rival to ruling / prominent group / triad / whatever it is called) ?

The Mong were opium producers and not drug dealers. Thery sold the product to Chinese middlemen who often worked for the KMT. The definitive book on the subject is Alfred McCoy's The Politics of Heroin.