he's helping the laos government and all that.
here's a little of who he is.
A CALL FOR CALM FROM DR. YANG DAO
Dr. Yang Dao
I am a Hmong educator and scholar from Laos. I received my Ph. D. in social science at the Sorbonne, University of Paris, France, in 1972. During the Provisional Government of Laos (1974-1975), a result of the Vientiane Accords, signed by the Royal Lao Government and the Pathet Lao in February 1973, I was appointed by the King of Laos to the National Political Consultative Council (Laotian Congress). Today I am a U.S. citizen living in Minnesota.
On June 4, 2007, I was traveling abroad when General Vang Pao, a former military officer of the Royal Lao Army, was arrested in California along with a retired U.S. National Guard Lieutenant Colonel and 8 other Hmong local community leaders for "suspected violations of the Neutrality Act, the object of which was to engage in the violent overthrow of the sovereign government of Laos". (See U.S. Federal Court's official press release of June 4, 2007). Upon my return to the United States, I found the Hmong American community in a state of utter confusion.
While I profoundly regret the incident which led to General Vang Pao's being incarcerated in the U.S. federal prison of Sacramento, California (along with his team of the United Front for the National Liberation of Laos - "Neo Hom" in the Lao language), I firmly condemn violence of all forms, wherever it comes from, which threatens the life and security of humanity. However, I hope that the U.S. Federal Court will follow due process and assure that the accused have total access to legal counsel and get a fair trial based on "justice for all" in full respect of the U.S. Constitution.
Today, I make a solemn call for calm to all my Lao-Hmong countrymen living in the United States of America. For all U.S. residents and citizens, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Therefore, I ask each and everyone of you, Lao-Hmong Americans, to act as reasonable and responsible people by respecting our cultural traditions and the U.S. Constitution, which is the foundation of social justice and economic progress for the multi-cultural society of this great nation.
During the Vietnam War (1960-1975), at the request of the Royal Lao Government, the Kennedy Administration could not militarily intervene in Laos, a neutral country, as it did in South Vietnam where hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops were sent to defend the South Vietnamese Government. Instead, Washington sent the C.I.A. to Laos to equip and finance an irregular army, known as Special Guerilla Units (S.G.U.), made up of Lao, Hmong, Khmu, Mien, Lue and other Laotian ethnic groups, which fought a "secret war" under the leadership of the Royal Lao Army. After the Vietnam War ended in catastrophe (in April 1975), the Pathet Lao seized power in Laos (in May 1975). Tens of thousands of Laotians of all ethnic backgrounds began to leave the country to take the road of exile to refugee camps in Thailand. Therefore, the U.S. Government responded
Dr. Yang Dao's Call for Calm
June 22, 2007
to its moral obligation to offer political asylum in the United States to its former allies, the members of the S.G.U. and their families, along with other refugees from Laos.
In order to show our deep gratitude to the local and federal governments of the United States, we, the Laotians of all ethnic backgrounds, must respect the U.S. constitution and laws. As U.S. citizens, we have the duty and responsibility of serving our host nation with devotion and loyalty. All self-proclaimed "Laotian governments" in exile and resistance organizations based in the United States are illegal and must be disbanded immediately. I urge each and everyone of our multi-ethnic Laotian communities in the U.S. (including Lao, Hmong, Khmu, Mien, Thaidam and Lue Americans) to do their best to become productive U.S. citizens, to build a strong relationship with the local American community, and to work together to make this great nation a better place to live as well as to support our U.S. government foreign policy in promoting peace and international cooperation with all nations of the world, including Laos.
Yang Dao, Ph. D.
U.S. citizen and former member
of the National Political Consultative Council
of the Kingdom of Laos
Email: dr.yangdao@comcast.net
credit to:
http://hmongtimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=3...&TM=1352.22