Minister of The Prime Minister’s Office
President of The National Assembly
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Interior
Governor, Vientiane Prefecture
Vientiane, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic
CC:
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of ASEAN
Embassies/consulates of Australia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, USA
Re: Request urgent investigation into the disappearance of Mr. Sombath Somphone
Dear Madams and Sirs:
We write to you in a state of extreme concern. Mr. Sombath Somphone, the founder and former Director of PADETC, has been missing since about 5 pm on Saturday, December 15 2012.
We urge the Lao Government to immediately and urgently initiate an investigation into Mr. Sombath’s disappearance.
His wife and colleagues last saw Mr. Sombath on December 15 at 5 pm, when he left the PADETC office in Vientiane to go home. He left the office in his own car; his wife was in another car. He did not reach home and his family has had no news from or about him since then. His family checked all the hospitals later the same day and on Sunday, December 16, but none of the hospitals had admitted him. His car—an open-top Jeep–has also not been found. His family has filed a report with the police. His family and friends have continued searching for Mr. Sombath, with no results.
Mr. Sombath is a highly respected member in the fields of education and development, and a recipient of the prestigious international Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2005. He has dedicated his life to sustainable development and poverty reduction in the Lao PDR, and has contributed positively to numerous international processes, including the recent AEPF events that were held in Vientiane in October. Mr. Sombath is indeed an inspiration to development practitioners all over the world.
We are deeply concerned for Mr. Sombath’s safety and well-being. Such a disappearance is unusual and rare, and cause for great alarm.
We urge the Lao Government to use its extensive resources to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into Mr. Sombath’s disappearance, and to make every effort to ensure his safety.
Respectfully,
1. Aksone Saysana, Lao PDR
2. ASEAN WATCH-Thailand
3. Asian Public Intellectuals (API) Community
4. Bank Information Centre (BIC)
5. Ms. Binh Hoang, Mekong Program Coordinator, GreenID Innovation and Development Center, Vietnam
6. Both ENDS, Netherlands
7. Bruce Shoemaker, USA
8. Dr. Carl Middleton, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
9. Mr. Chris Greacen
10. Ms. Chunchom Sangarasri Greacen
11. Chunshan Zhang
12. Do Hai Linh, Vietnam
13. EOM Eunhui, National University Asia Center, South Korea
14. The Finnish NGO platform Kepa, Finland
15. Focus on the Global South, Asia
16. Fu Tao, China
17. German East Timor Association (DOTG e.V.)
18. Global Association for People and the Environment
19. Grainne Ryder, Canada
20. Green Innovation and Development Centre, Vietnam
21. Hoang Duong Thien, Vietnam
22. Indian Social Action Forum, India
23. International Rivers, USA
24. Khiev Kanal, Cambodia
25. Ken Kampe, Office of Retired Developers, Thailand
26. Mr. Ith Mathoura, Samreth Law Group, Cambodia
27. Lam Thi Thu Suu, Vietnam Rivers Network (VRN)
28. Le Kim Nhien, Vietnam
29. Mr. Man Vuthy, Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), Cambodia
30. Margie Law, Mekong Monitor, Tasmania
31. Mr. Mean Meach, 3SPN, Cambodia
32. Mekong Energy and Ecology Network (MEENet)
33. Mekong Watch, Japan
34. Mongkhon Duangkhiew, Thailand
35. Mueda Nawanat, Thailand
36. NGO Forum on Cambodia
37. Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc , Mekong Alumni Network ,Vietnam
38. Patricia DeBoer, American Friends Service Committee
39. Dr. Philip Hirsch, Mekong Research Group (AMRC)
School of Geosciences, the University of Sydney
40. Phokham, Thailand
41. Mr. Randall Arnst
42. Sangthorng La, Mekong Allumni
43. School of Democratic Economics, Indonesia
44. Shining Som, Burma/Myanmar
45. Tanasak Phosrikun
46. Thai NGO coordinating Committee on development (NGO-COD)
47. Tipakson Manpati, Thailand
48. The Cornerhouse, United Kingdom
49. Thou, Cambodia
50. Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA)
51. Toukta, Lao PDR
52. Trinh Le Nguyen, Vietnam
53. WARECOD, Vietnam
54. World Rainforest Movement
55. Zuo Tao, China
