Off the air in Laos

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NB22Ae01.html

I want to cry after reading it. I still love the motherland, and want to see the country, people to prospers :(

I did not even know about this radio show! My level of Lao is not good enough to properly understand such shows.
It was some genius from the part of the officials who agreed for a such show to exist but it seems it backfired! When virtue smash into the wall of realpolitik!
The closure without warning or official reasons of this show might be the sign that Vientiane as the seat of power has lost a battle in her "war" against the provinces. The show seems to have through the voices of the audience stigmatize the still ongoing corrupted practice of power and other bad habits of some government officials. The central authorities despite their good will still have difficulties to enforce their views on development in the provinces and effectively change the "feudal" practice of power in the provinces.
It is very sad that Laotian cannot any longer express their justified or unjustified frustrations and fears on air. Most are very concerned by the ever raising cost of living and the more and more obvious gap between social class! Lets be realistic, dealing with the scandals revealed by the show would require a "clean hands" campaign of such a scale that it will dry off the human and financial resources of the justice ministry for decades!
But no all hopes are lost. We might be able to hear this show on air again probably on a slightly different format.
I strongly hope that this whole "affair" is one of the bargaining chips that lao rulers gather in order to deal with Europeans and others rightful law and order inclined powers. Are they talented and wise enough to get from that small chip a step stone? Will they try to get the tools and the financial support needed to wage an inevitable long and painful crusade against corrupted practices and effectively gain control over provincial economical and political evolutions? Do they really want to redeem/reform themselves? I personally think that they want to but still lack the "firepower" to do so. Do they have a plan, a strategy? Only few fine observers of the political life of Lao PDR would be able to answer such a question. Myself i do not have a clue! But I can feel at my small level that on Vientiane things are getting better; it is more and more difficult to bribe a cop that rightfully stop you. In most case u get the fine!
Does it really underline a real tendency toward a more virtuous mindset of the power and his representatives?

Vientiane has done quite a good job by showing good intend and realizations but recent glitches cast few shadows.
For many years already the Done Chang island was in the visor of  "investors", many rumors were heard about it. It seems that the need of housing for international meeting was the perfect alibi for "investors" to finally grab that beautiful island. Some other controversial project arise many questions, have you heard about the Nong Chan Waterpark encirclement? Chinese investors have started a new project (hotel and !!?casino!!?) on what should be a protected area by raising blue barricades around "their" compound. Cutting off all road access and severing water pipes of neighbors, if they were not stop by locals they would have severed power supply also! What about the new project on nampou? Who is really behind this project? Why did they stop working on it? Strange   :o  :-? :-/
It seems that these "irregularities" or "anomalies" have aroused the interest of many embassies.
Investigations are under course, difficult to know where it would lead. Some "fuses" will probably blow off! That is a good start!

Well said. Pretty sad, people has no say. That mean corruption will continue. Rich and powerful will get richer, and poor will get poorer. :(


wrote on 27^th Feb, 2012 at 2:07pm:

I did not even know about this radio show! My level of Lao is not good enough to properly understand such shows. It was some genius from the part of the officials who agreed for a such show to exist but it seems it backfired! When virtue smash into the wall of realpolitik! The closure without warning or official reasons of this show might be the sign that Vientiane as the seat of power has lost a battle in her "war" against the provinces. The show seems to have through the voices of the audience stigmatize the still ongoing corrupted practice of power and other bad habits of some government officials. The central authorities despite their good will still have difficulties to enforce their views on development in the provinces and effectively change the "feudal" practice of power in the provinces. It is very sad that Laotian cannot any longer express their justified or unjustified frustrations and fears on air. Most are very concerned by the ever raising cost of living and the more and more obvious gap between social class! Lets be realistic, dealing with the scandals revealed by the show would require a "clean hands" campaign of such a scale that it will dry off the human and financial resources of the justice ministry for decades! But no all hopes are lost. We might be able to hear this show on air again probably on a slightly different format. I strongly hope that this whole "affair" is one of the bargaining chips that lao rulers gather in order to deal with Europeans and others rightful law and order inclined powers. Are they talented and wise enough to get from that small chip a step stone? Will they try to get the tools and the financial support needed to wage an inevitable long and painful crusade against corrupted practices and effectively gain control over provincial economical and political evolutions? Do they really want to redeem/reform themselves? I personally think that they want to but still lack the "firepower" to do so. Do they have a plan, a strategy? Only few fine observers of the political life of Lao PDR would be able to answer such a question. Myself i do not have a clue! But I can feel at my small level that on Vientiane things are getting better; it is more and more difficult to bribe a cop that rightfully stop you. In most case u get the fine! Does it really underline a real tendency toward a more virtuous mindset of the power and his representatives? Vientiane has done quite a good job by showing good intend and realizations but recent glitches cast few shadows. For many years already the Done Chang island was in the visor of  "investors", many rumors were heard about it. It seems that the need of housing for international meeting was the perfect alibi for "investors" to finally grab that beautiful island. Some other controversial project arise many questions, have you heard about the Nong Chan Waterpark encirclement? Chinese investors have started a new project (hotel and !!?casino!!?) on what should be a protected area by raising blue barricades around "their" compound. Cutting off all road access and severing water pipes of neighbors, if they were not stop by locals they would have severed power supply also! What about the new project on nampou? Who is really behind this project? Why did they stop working on it? Strange   :o  :-? :-/ It seems that these "irregularities" or "anomalies" have aroused the interest of many embassies. Investigations are under course, difficult to know where it would lead. Some "fuses" will probably blow off! That is a good start!

Some wonder why Laos is the poorest and least developing  country in SE Asia. I love Laos, but want to know about the bad news too. Not just the good one :)

I agree that Laos is a very corrupted country. I don't feel proud to say this but you can't hide from the truth.

In Laos, the police will let you off from some offence if you give them a few dollars. In western countries, corrupted police won't even accept $1000 from you, but get yourself into more trouble. They will only deal with large amounts of money into hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions. And not petty cash like in Laos.

That's the difference, it's very easy to pay yourself out of trouble in Laos for some crimes, not all crimes, but still it's not good.

USA is perfect there's no crime and corruption. Haha ;D

Theres freedom of press here. Its on the news all the time, how police officers, rich and powerful, CEO, politicians were send to prison for committing crimes.

Sound like mafia and dictatorship. Few powerful family control the government and economies. Same as in Philippine. :(

Press Freedom & Controversy


http://www.laopride.com/pictures2/the-crowd-cheer-for-laos-at-a-soccer-event.jpg

In regards to Freedom of the Press, Laos is currently ranked 168th out of 178 nations (as conducted by Reporters Without Borders). This list refers to how free a nation's forms of communication are in respect to journalism, electronic media, published media and so on. Freedom in this case is based on liberal ideas, and thus usually implies an independence from governmental influence or corruption, and whether a society is allowed their own discretion, independent thought and an expression of human rights. It is also based on what information is disclosed to the public, the nature of the information and whether the media is based on a national interest or the personal interest of those who control it.

Laos maintains its national identity through strict regulation of their journalists. It is a criminal law for a journalist to write or publish anything that may "weaken the state", so journalists learn to censor themselves in full knowledge that the projection of any personal or anti-government opinion will not be published and will also have negative repercussions upon the journalist themselves. It is also illegal to import any form of media that contradicts the nation's beliefs or introduces new policies that offend the “national culture”.

Foreign journalists are not openly welcomed in Laos, and risk persecution if they “obstruct the authorities” or offend the national culture. They are watched with caution, and often banned from visiting certain parts of the country. In the past, foreign journalists have been arrested for such reasons, and the Lao/Hmong people who may have aided them in their reporting are punished.

Regulations are necessary to maintain the government's control over its people, supporting their national identity. Security measures were also employed as a method of silencing anti-government resistance groups who attempted and continue to attempt to share their opinions through print, broadcast and electronic media. For example, after speaking out about how Laos needed reform, journalist Thongpaseuth Keuakoun, and many others who supported him, were imprisoned for their views.

More recently, bilingual/foreign forms of media (Vientiane Times, La Renovateour) have been made available. Cable television is available to those who can afford it, and Thai programs are broadcast in the main city and near the border. However, all content is monitored. There remains a focus around Laos and “friendly countries”, such as Vietnam and Burma, about which content must be free from criticism.

There is foreign pressure on Laos to change and improve its press freedom.

Admin Saovaluck wrote on 2^nd Mar, 2012 at 4:59pm:

Press Freedom & Controversy http://www.laopride.com/pictures2/the-crowd-cheer-for-laos-at-a-soccer-event.jpg In regards to Freedom of the Press, Laos is currently ranked 168th out of 178 nations (as conducted by Reporters Without Borders). This list refers to how free a nation's forms of communication are in respect to journalism, electronic media, published media and so on. Freedom in this case is based on liberal ideas, and thus usually implies an independence from governmental influence or corruption, and whether a society is allowed their own discretion, independent thought and an expression of human rights. It is also based on what information is disclosed to the public, the nature of the information and whether the media is based on a national interest or the personal interest of those who control it. Laos maintains its national identity through strict regulation of their journalists. It is a criminal law for a journalist to write or publish anything that may "weaken the state", so journalists learn to censor themselves in full knowledge that the projection of any personal or anti-government opinion will not be published and will also have negative repercussions upon the journalist themselves. It is also illegal to import any form of media that contradicts the nation's beliefs or introduces new policies that offend the “national culture”. Foreign journalists are not openly welcomed in Laos, and risk persecution if they “obstruct the authorities” or offend the national culture. They are watched with caution, and often banned from visiting certain parts of the country. In the past, foreign journalists have been arrested for such reasons, and the Lao/Hmong people who may have aided them in their reporting are punished. Regulations are necessary to maintain the government's control over its people, supporting their national identity. Security measures were also employed as a method of silencing anti-government resistance groups who attempted and continue to attempt to share their opinions through print, broadcast and electronic media. For example, after speaking out about how Laos needed reform, journalist Thongpaseuth Keuakoun, and many others who supported him, were imprisoned for their views. More recently, bilingual/foreign forms of media (Vientiane Times, La Renovateour) have been made available. Cable television is available to those who can afford it, and Thai programs are broadcast in the main city and near the border. However, all content is monitored. There remains a focus around Laos and “friendly countries”, such as Vietnam and Burma, about which content must be free from criticism. There is foreign pressure on Laos to change and improve its press freedom.

If, as the above article says, "All content is monitored", are you not concerned that they are also monitoring this forum?

If they are, I'd imagine they'd take a very dim view of the content of that article since it's very critical.

This forum is based in the United States.

I've never criticised senior Lao officials, so even if they check in to see what their citizens are saying, I'm fine.

U.S, Lao government are monitoring most or all of the websites.  8-)


Laosnow wrote on 3^rd Mar, 2012 at 7:21am:

Admin Saovaluck wrote on 2nd Mar, 2012 at 4:59pm: Press Freedom & Controversy http://www.laopride.com/pictures2/the-crowd-cheer-for-laos-at-a-soccer-event.jpg In regards to Freedom of the Press, Laos is currently ranked 168th out of 178 nations (as conducted by Reporters Without Borders). This list refers to how free a nation's forms of communication are in respect to journalism, electronic media, published media and so on. Freedom in this case is based on liberal ideas, and thus usually implies an independence from governmental influence or corruption, and whether a society is allowed their own discretion, independent thought and an expression of human rights. It is also based on what information is disclosed to the public, the nature of the information and whether the media is based on a national interest or the personal interest of those who control it. Laos maintains its national identity through strict regulation of their journalists. It is a criminal law for a journalist to write or publish anything that may "weaken the state", so journalists learn to censor themselves in full knowledge that the projection of any personal or anti-government opinion will not be published and will also have negative repercussions upon the journalist themselves. It is also illegal to import any form of media that contradicts the nation's beliefs or introduces new policies that offend the “national culture”. Foreign journalists are not openly welcomed in Laos, and risk persecution if they “obstruct the authorities” or offend the national culture. They are watched with caution, and often banned from visiting certain parts of the country. In the past, foreign journalists have been arrested for such reasons, and the Lao/Hmong people who may have aided them in their reporting are punished. Regulations are necessary to maintain the government's control over its people, supporting their national identity. Security measures were also employed as a method of silencing anti-government resistance groups who attempted and continue to attempt to share their opinions through print, broadcast and electronic media. For example, after speaking out about how Laos needed reform, journalist Thongpaseuth Keuakoun, and many others who supported him, were imprisoned for their views. More recently, bilingual/foreign forms of media (Vientiane Times, La Renovateour) have been made available. Cable television is available to those who can afford it, and Thai programs are broadcast in the main city and near the border. However, all content is monitored. There remains a focus around Laos and “friendly countries”, such as Vietnam and Burma, about which content must be free from criticism. There is foreign pressure on Laos to change and improve its press freedom. If, as the above article says, "All content is monitored", are you not concerned that they are also monitoring this forum? If they are, I'd imagine they'd take a very dim view of the content of that article since it's very critical.