02/04/2006

Royal Lao Government in Exile Condemns Sudden Rescheduling of National Elections in Laos
Chairman Sisavatdy calls move undemocratic, and warns ruling communists will control the outcome

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Despite numerous warnings from the international community, the communist government of Laos has changed the date for national elections to a full year ahead of originally scheduled. According to news reports, no reason was given for moving the election up. The Royal Lao Government in Exile, which had recently warned that the Lao government would likely take such an action, strongly condemned the early election.

"The presence and monitoring of international election officials is needed to ensure a fair and free vote in Laos," Steve Jones, an advisor to the RLGE, said. "This drastically early election will make it incredibly difficult for the international community to properly oversee the vote."

After the 2002 national elections, reports emerged that more than two million Vietnamese had illegally voted in Laos for the communist candidates. Since the communists seized power in Laos in 1975, there have been strong indications that the Vietnamese communists controlled the Lao government to a certain degree.

The United States, the European Union and numerous other countries have passed resolutions urging the communist government of Laos to, among other issues, begin democratic reform by allowing internationally-monitored elections in which political parties other than the ruling Communist Party can run. This move to an early election date indicates the communist government’s unwillingness to allow any such changes in the way they control elections.

The Royal Lao Government in Exile has condemned this new election as a fraud by the communist government, arguing that the communists will use the lack of international observers to control the outcome of the vote.

"Without international observers, without political parties, without freedom to express our opinions," RLGE Chairman Khamphoui Sisavatdy stated, "this April 30, the Communist Pathet Lao Party will defraud the Lao people and mislead the entire world. This in no way will be a ‘free election’ like they would like us to believe. The Communists will make certain only their pre-approved candidates win."

The Government in Exile issued the following points as well:

This upcoming election should incorporate multiple political parties, should take place under international monitoring and should become a first step towards reconciling our nation and out people with each other

The international community should get involved in order to ensure safety and justice for pro- democracy groups and individuals in Laos.

They called upon all pro-democracy groups, both in Laos in abroad, to join them in protesting this upcoming one-party election. "The Communists will do anything they can to keep power," Steve Jones explained. "The influence of China via Vietnam continues to spread unnoticed in the region, and they have an interest in keeping Laos under communist control."

The Royal Lao Government in Exile is an alliance of Lao expatriates who have joined together to institute in Laos a true democracy, one which will ensure freedom, justice, and peace for all Lao people.

His Excellency Khamphoui Sisavatdy will be in Washington, D.C., for meetings and discussions with U.S. government officials from February 6 through 8, 2006. We would like to invited you to schedule an interview with the Prime Minister during his Washington trip. Please contact our media relations staff for more information and to set up an interview.

If you have an interest in the current situation in Laos, please do not hesitate to contact us. We can provide in-depth knowledge and information on Laos, and would be happy to work with you on bringing attention to this dire situation.