wow wow wow lol !!!!!!
I don't know what were the real intentions of General Vang Pao and his group, because i didn't have time to talk to him before him being arrested lol, so i can't say anything about it.
But about the way he intended to do, i disagree. Has he been to Laos these last years? How does he know the current situation of Hmong people there? I don't mean that what that has been said about it is wrong, cos i truly believe that there are still groups of Hmong people living in bad situations, but maybe General Vang Pao like thousands lao ppl from abroad, still think that Laos is the same as it was in 1975 when the Communists made the coup and got the country.
As it is here in France, there is a lot of propaganda against the current lao government. People formed groups n intend to take the country back and set up the monarchy. I've talked to a lot of old people who still remember what happened thirty two years ago. Some still think that things remained the same after they left Laos. I've talked to some influent people in Laos too, n that helped me have my own opinion about it.
No matter how good were General Vang Pao's intentions, i don't think that using violence with guns, bombs, weapons could solve the problems. Did he forget that there are a lot of innocent people there too? that using bombs won't only kill the lao soldiers? We can target the place we want bombs to explode, but we dunno how far it damages can be extended to. It's like how he tried to do, he did with his men, but did he ask other Hmong ppl in the US, other foreign countries n in Laos, if that's how they wanted it to be done? but see the results, he has been arrested and all Hmong ppl are affected by that, some afraid by how they can be perceived by the international opinion, etc...
Even the reputation becomes bad about Hmong people, i don't think ppl should take it to heart too much. I don't think everybody would think this way. There r thousands of Hmong ppl all other the world, right? Would it exist ppl who think that all those ppl are terrorists? That would be stupid no?
For me Hmong people are Lao too. Someone above said that Hmong people have no land and came from China. But don't we all come from China a few centuries ago? We all come from the same land but we dispersed to live somewhere in Asia. My definition of home land is "any place where you feel good at" (Laos, Thailand, USA, Europe...).That's true that the situation of some Hmong people at the extremities of Laos is alarming. They have been in the middle of opposite troups during the war, helping the Americans, and now, they pay their loyalty to them at a very expensive price without any help from the US government.
If i'm not wrong, i've seen some Hmong people working in the current lao government, but i don't really know how live others, except one interview that French reporters made secretly about Hmong ppl at the extremities of the country and read some articles written by Amnesty International. So if you guys know more about it, or have links to some international reports or interviews, please show me !!!
My opinion about people (hmong or not) who try to get the country back to the ancient form of government, i would say it's just over. I've not endured those bad situations as a lot of our elders did, so i can't know what they feel exactly, except imagine how they feel. What i know is that it is impossible to get a country, after 32 years, back to the monarchy. Our parents have suffered much i understand that, that's why they fled Laos, but we all have to think of ppl who live now in Laos and think of those who stayed there after 1975. They have suffered too. And who we are now to want a change in a country we left when it was in war? I don't judge people who fled the country in 1975 (my parents did too and also a lot of relatives) and i don't judge people who stayed there either. Our parents all made the choice which suited more to their needs and situations that time.
Now, after 32 years, after having a good life abroad, yeah even leaving the country was a real pain, with time we got a better life no? better than the half of the Lao population there. We all the last generation got the opportunities to study and have a good job. Laos isn't General Vang Pao's country, and it doesn't belong to their leaders. Laos belongs to people who live there, to the population. And if any kind of group wanna try to take the country back, they should ask the real owners before no?
Even we were born n grew up in Laos, we eat lao, we speak lao, i don't think we know the country better than people there. We can't really think lao, cos a lot of years separate us from the country. If we look at the current infrastructures, we haven't been there when the first block of cement has been posed, and the latest historical of the country? What do we know about that? nothing much, only what we've read in articles, books, or related by people. We know Laos from through our parents and elders eyes, which is true. That was their memories of the good and bad happened, lived there, and all those things are true too. Our knowledge of Laos can be completed by the opinion we could make ourselves when we go there and see how things really are.
I understand too that our parents want to go back to Laos, cos even they have spent a lot of years abroad, their heart remained in their native country, which is totally normal. We can never feel as good as at HOME.
Now the current Lao groups wanting to take Laos back, just ask Lao people there if they accept that Lao from abroad to come back and change everything, they should not be surprised if they say No and shouldn't wonder why.
Oh and i've read above that we should support our leaders, or something like that, even if we don't support the things they do, we just have to support and be by their side, cos that's what we would do with friends too. What does that mean? you support his ideas, but when he put in practice his plans, u just say, oh that's not good, i support u but dun imply me if u r arrested? or that means no matter what you do, i'm gonna support you and let you do the things which makes u happy n seems the best for you, even if it includes causing damages to others? Then ok General Vang Pao can go to Laos to make his bombs explode, as long as it makes him happy, i'm happy?
I'm weird, i have a different vision of support in friendship or anything. I support and will never give up on a friend no matter how he/she is (qualities, defaults), but if what he/she does not seem good to him/her or to others, i wouldn't stay quiet and support. In my dictionnary, the definition of Friend is more complex, it includes yelling at my friend if they do something wrong, reason them, even if it makes my friend hates me for not following his ideas. A good friend doesn't necessarily say yes to all the things a friend does.
WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW sorry, i'm too talkative....Sorry for this long speech. It was only my opinion, i'm not for or against General Vang Pao, i'm not for or against the current government, i just tried to analyze the situation with objectivity. So no offense haha, peace n love.......