[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2214-E2215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING CONCERN ABOUT THE COMMUNIST REGIME IN LAOS AND COMMENDING 
       SENATOR BOB SMITH AND THE U.S. CONGRESSIONAL FORUM ON LAOS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK GREEN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 15, 2000

  Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, as this Congress comes to a 
close, I want to state for the record that I continue to be very 
troubled about the dreadful situation in Laos and the U.S. Department 
of State's behavior toward this one-party, Communist regime.
  Wisconsin is home to the third largest Hmong and Laotian community in 
the United States. I am very proud to represent so many of these 
Americans. Their families and relatives, however, continue to suffer 
terribly under the current Stalinist regime in Laos.
  On October 19, I was pleased to speak once again before the U.S. 
Congressional Forum on Laos, an excellent forum series organized by the 
Center for Public Policy Analysis. At this forum, I again stressed my 
concerns about the disappearance of Messrs. Houa Ly and Michael Vang--
two Americans who disappeared in Laos last year--and the ineffective 
handling of the case by our State Department.
  Mr. Speaker, I also would like to thank Senator Bob Smith for placing 
a hold on the Administration's nominee for a new ambassador to Laos. I 
strongly supported Senator Smith's hold as an important tool in the 
effort to force significant changes in U.S. policy toward Laos--changes 
I hope will occur under the next Administration.
  I would like to submit this recent Washington Times article about our 
mutual efforts to enhance understanding about the situation in Laos and 
work for a positive change in U.S. policy.

               [From the Washington Times, Oct. 6, 2000]

                         New Laos Policy Urged

       Philip Smith has been trying to press the Clinton 
     administration into adopting a tougher policy against Laos 
     and is hopeful that a senator blocking the appointment of a 
     new U.S. ambassador to the isolated communist nation will 
     help the cause.
       Mr. Smith, executive director of the Center for Public 
     Policy Analysis, said he has no personal objections to the 
     nominee, Douglas Alan Hartwick, a career Foreign Service 
     officer.
       ``But we support the holding up of the nomination in the 
     hope this will produce the

[[Page E2215]]

     necessary leverage for a comprehensive review of U.S. policy 
     toward Laos,'' he said.
       Mr. Smith said the administration has failed to support the 
     political opposition in Laos and has made no effort to invite 
     opposition leaders to the United States to meet with groups 
     like the National Democratic Institute or International 
     Republican Institute, which promote democracy in other 
     countries.
       Sen. Robert C. Smith, New Hampshire Republican, is blocking 
     Mr. Hartwick's nomination along with several other diplomatic 
     appointments because of his concerns about lax security in 
     the State Department and some U.S. embassies.
       Mr. Smith, who is not related to Sen. Smith, is also 
     organizing a congressional forum on Laos that will feature 
     leading Laotian dissidents.
       He has invited Laos' highest-ranking defector, Khamxay 
     Souphanouvong, former finance minister and son of the founder 
     of the current Pathet Lao movement that controls the country.
       Bounthone Chanthavixay, another leading political exile, 
     has also been invited to address the invited guests at the 
     Oct. 19 forum.
       ``Laos has become increasingly and precariously unstable 
     with an ongoing string of bombings and political violence 
     seemingly spinning out of control,'' Mr. Smith said.

     

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