REPRESENTATIVE MCCOLLUM MEETS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENTIANE 000012

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS, AND H; G FOR FOR DRL, PRM/ANE, AND
S/WE; PACOM FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2017
TAGS: LA OREP PGOV PHUM PREF PREL SMIG SOCI TH
SUBJECT: REPRESENTATIVE MCCOLLUM MEETS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
LEADERS

REF: A. A) 06 VIENTIANE 0686


B. B) 06 VIENTIANE 1117

C. C) 06 VIENTIANE 1232

D. D) 06 VIENTIANE 1234

Classified By: Ambassador Patricia M. Haslach for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)


1. (C) Summary: During her first visit to Laos,
Representative Betty McCollum met with a series of senior Lao
National Assembly (NA) officials, including Madame Pany
Yathotu, NA Vice President as well as member of the ruling
party's Politburo, members of the NA,s Foreign Affairs
Committee, and the NA Chief of Cabinet. The two sides
discussed increased cooperation on issues such as unexploded
ordnance (UXO) removal, maternal and child health, and
education. The only disappointment was Madame Pany's
unwillingness to engage on any issue of a political nature
including resolving the case of the 26 detained children.
End summary.


2. (U) The National Assembly (NA) served as the Lao
Government host of Representative McCollum's December 21-29
first visit to Laos. On December 26, Representative McCollum
held separate meetings with Dr. Koukeo Akhamountry, Vice
Chairman of the NA,s Foreign Affairs Committee, and with
Madame Pany Yathotu, member of the Lao communist party
Politburo as well as NA Vice President and Deputy Chair of
the NA Standing Committee. Joining Dr. Koukeo was Ms.
Singkham Khomsavan, NA Member from Vientiane Province and
also a member of the NA Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as
Mr. Amphai Jitmanon, Deputy Chair of the NA,s Law
Department. Joining Madame Pany in the second meeting were
Dr. Thongphan Chanthalanom, NA Member from Sekong Province
and Chair of the NA,s Women,s Parliamentary Caucus (WPC),
and Professor Bounnhong Boupha, NA Member from Vientiane
Capital and Deputy WPC Chair.


3. (U) After the formal meetings with the NA officials, NA
Chief of Cabinet and NA Member from Savannakhet Province
Thongteun Sayasen hosted a working lunch. The other
attendees from the Lao side at lunch were:

Tong Yeu Thor, NA Member from Houaphan Province and Vice
President of the Lao Front for National Construction;

Dr. Koukeo Akhamountry, NA Member from Savannakhet Province
and Vice Chairman of the NA,s Foreign Affairs Committee;

Ms. Singkham Khomsavan, NA Member from Vientiane Province and
member of the NA Foreign Affairs Committee;

Viengthavisone Thephachanh, Director General of the NA,s
Foreign Affairs Department; and

Somchay Paphasiri, Senior Foreign Affairs Specialist,
Americas Division, Europe and Americas Department, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.

The Dr. Koukeo Meeting
--------------

4. (SBU) Dr. Koukeo, who had met Representative McCollum upon
arrival at the airport, welcomed her again and mentioned the
National Assembly (NA) was at the end of its 17-day session
(to explain why other NA Foreign Affairs Committee members
were not present). Koukeo noted that NA Members are
interested in learning more from the U.S. Congress. Both
bodies have similar functions: making laws, oversight of
executive branch performance, and making important decisions
for the nation. One difference is that the NA has only one
branch. Also the NA does not meet continuously throughout
the year. The Lao NA is a member of the International
Parliamentary Union (IPU) as well as both the 30-member Asian
and smaller ASEAN inter-parliamentary organizations.


5. (SBU) The NA,s 115 members are divided among six
commissions: Legal Affairs; Economics and Finance; Culture
and Society; Defense and National Security; Ethnic Affairs;
and Foreign Affairs -- the smallest commission with only 13
members. According to Koukeo, the Foreign Affairs Commission
(FAC) submits draft laws on foreign affairs for NA review,
provides its opinion about signing international conventions
and treaties, and generally is involved in any aspects of
international cooperation including cooperation with
parliaments of other countries. The FAC also has oversight
of the way the Government of Laos (GOL) carries out its
foreign relations.


6. (SBU) Since the FAC has so few members, it has invited
interested members from other commissions to help develop
relations with other countries. Dr. Koukeo told
Representative McCollum that the NA FAC has established a
17-member Lao-American Parliamentary Friendship Association
(LAPFA). Since there was an NA election earlier in 2005,
there are many new NA members. Nevertheless, Koukeo pointed
out, a number of former NA members still help the work of the
FAC and LAPFA. (Note: A subsequent list of current NA
members who are also members of LAPFA provided the Embassy
shows four members of the FAC; three from Legal Affairs;
three from Economic Affairs; three from Cultural, one from
Defense; and three from Ethnic Affairs. The Embassy plans
follow-up activities with this Association.)


7. (SBU) As part of its duties of overseeing the way the GOL
carries out its foreign relations, the FAC held its own
two-day annual meeting just before the NA opened its December
session. The FAC invited government representatives,
particularly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),to
discuss their work. Dr. Koukeo noted that Deputy Prime
Minister/Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith is a member of
the NA FAC, and he also updated the FAC on the Ministry's
activities. The FAC also invited representatives from the
courts and prosecutors offices to report on their work. This
month,s FAC meeting was the first to be held by any NA
commission. In the past, government bodies sent in written
reports to NA commissions but did not send officials to meet
with the commission members. Koukeo noted GOL officials have
reported good bilateral cooperation particularly on
counter-narcotics and dealing with unexploded ordnance (UXO).
Since UXO makes it very difficult to cultivate new land in
the eastern half of his home province of Savannakhet, Koukeo
specifically pushed for more U.S. assistance in this area.


8. (SBU) Representative McCollum expressed her pleasure at
visiting during Christmas, a time of hope, faith, and joy,
and told Koukeo her own wish for this holiday season was for
a better world for children as we struggle for world peace.
She reviewed the separation of power among the three branches
of the U.S. government and told him her job includes
protecting personal freedom, freedom of religion, and freedom
of trade. The United States has not been perfect in these
areas, but "democracies strive to be better." Representative
McCollum described services she provides to her constituents
as a Member of Congress, from services for veterans,
students, and the elderly to help with passport and
immigration issues as well as business and trade.


9. (SBU) Representative McCollum noted the "new direction"
and "different course" which the Congress would be taking as
a result of the November 2006 election. As she moves to the
Appropriations Committee, Representative McCollum told Koukeo
she planned to continue to support partnerships with Laos to
deal with the issues of remaining unexploded ordnance (UXO),
Avian Influenza, and HIV/AIDs among others. Although the
United States is not as active in inter-parliamentary bodies
as she would like, Representative McCollum pointed out she is
part of a parliamentary group which monitors World Bank
projects.


10. (SBU) Dr. Koukeo told Representative McCollum her lessons
are particularly important to himself, only a two-term NA
member, and to his colleague, Ms. Singkham, in her first
five-year NA term. He affirmed that Representative
McCollum,s visit would spur improved bilateral relations
with the United States and said he hoped to see increased
cooperation with the U.S. Congress. Representative McCollum
said she would return to Washington, D.C. and encourage other
Members of Congress to join her in visiting Laos in the next
12-18 months.

... UXO
--------------

11. (SBU) Responding to Dr. Koukeo,s comments on the need to
make progress on the UXO issue particularly in his home
province, Representative McCollum said that, with a heavy
heart, she had visited people injured by UXO, so she
understood the importance of working together on the issue.
Representative McCollum pointed out that the USG is providing
$5.6 million in UXO assistance and expressed hope this would
continue and even increase. She commended UXO Lao, Laos'
national mine clearance operator, and the Mine Action Group
(MAG) NGO for their close cooperation. Representative
McCollum noted that some countries use their foreign aid to
build projects and then leave. The United States hopes to
create sustainability for the Lao people by building capacity
so the people can lead themselves.



12. (SBU) Representative McCollum noted that she saw
opportunities for the USG to work with the Lao health care
system. U.S. medical teams, from their experience in the
Iraq war, have developed great expertise in treating these
kinds of injuries. She noted that military health care
personnel have a unique role in the U.S. defense system.
First and foremost their goal is to help people. If an
opportunity presents itself, Representative McCollum told Dr.
Koukeo, she hoped the two governments could undertake a
dialogue to fully understand the opportunity available to
have these U.S. medical teams train Lao health care personnel
to create sustainability here in Laos. The Ambassador
mentioned that this had been raised both during the visit of
PACOM Admiral Fallon in July 2006 (ref A) as well as during
the first U.S.-Lao Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue in
October 2006 (ref B). Dr. Koukeo responded that, since
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Thongloun is a member
of the NA FAC, the other FAC members will have the
opportunity to ask him about this and other issues when they
meet.

Madame Pany
--------------

13. (SBU) NA Vice President Madame Pany Yathotu, a member of
the Lao communist party Politburo and an ethnic Hmong, told
Representative McCollum that she saw bilateral relations with
the United States improving in a number of areas to include
investment and trade numbers, MIA accounting, UXO,
counter-narcotics, and counter-terrorism. She was pleased
that Representative McCollum had visited Xiang Khouang
Province to see the "real situation" and to see that the GOL
was using funding provided by the USG to help with UXO and
children's issues.


14. (SBU) Madame Pany pointed out for Representative McCollum
that the current NA, elected in April 2006, had 29 females
among its 115 members, more than 25 percent. The current NA
session was discussing a bill on protecting children's
rights, and Pany highlighted the contributions of female NA
members in this debate as especially important. The NA was
also discussing improvements to the Labor Law to better
protect the rights and interests of women in Laos. One issue
being discussed was amending the law so that women would be
allowed to work until age 60, rather than the present age 55
limit, as long as they are in good physical and mental health
and are willing to continue to work, although the earlier
retirement option would still be available.


15. (SBU) Dr. Thongphan Chanthalanonm, Chair of the NA,s
Women,s Parliamentary Caucus (WPC),told Representative
McCollum the WPC was established by the NA in 2002. Its
focus is gender mainstreaming, studying the rights and
benefits of children, and improving the roles of female
parliamentarians. The WPC also helps with oversight of
social and economic development with a focus on more
participation from females. She reiterated that female NA
members have played a big role in NA debates on laws on
protecting both women and children. Dr. Thongphan pointed
out that the NA has received international assistance to help
raise the role of female NA members. (Note: this includes a
program from the Asia Foundation that is partially
USG-funded.)


16. (SBU) Representative McCollum emphasized that female
legislators "all take our jobs seriously but never forget
that we are mothers." Mentioning female parliamentarians she
has met all over the world, Representative McCollum pointed
out all are strong on defense and understand finance, but
they remind their governments by their presence that "to have
a strong country you need strong families."


17. (SBU) Representative McCollum affirmed to her NA
interlocutors that she looked forward to working with them on
women's and children's issues, health care, and education.
She mentioned she had seen an excellent school with very
bright children during her visit to Xiang Khouang Province
and described the lesson plan on UXO as "outstanding."
Representative McCollum said that opportunities for student
exchanges would enrich our bilateral relations.

... Health Care
--------------

18. (SBU) Representative McCollum said she also wants to work
with other parliamentarians on global health issues as part
of meeting UN Millennium Development Goals. Among these,
maternal and child health is a priority. Women legislators
must do all they can for safer childbirths; "a family that

loses its mother loses its heart" (as well as a strong arm
for carrying water and firewood). Representative McCollum
pointed out she works with NGOs that train women in various
countries at the village level on simple interventions which
can save women's lives; then the NGO departs, and the women
take charge. She also told the NA members that she sees
opportunities for our governments to work on training for
doctors. As she had outlined for Dr. Koukeo in the morning,
Representative McCollum highlighted the great expertise of
medical doctors attached to our Defense Department in dealing
with the heartbreaking injuries caused by UXO. She added,
however, that this would not change our commitment to help
Laos remove and destroy UXO. Madame Pany thanked
Representative McCollum for her concern, noting she was
taking care of five children of her own niece and nephew who
were killed by UXO while trying to till a new field in Xiang
Khouang. Madame Pany expressed hope the House of
Representatives would encourage the USG to increase UXO
funding.

... The 26 Children
--------------

19. (SBU) Representative McCollum pressed Madame Pany about
resolution of the case of the 26 Hmong children (detained in
Laos since being irregularly deported by local Thai
authorities in December 2005),noting that she understood
very intense negotiations were underway to help resolve the
case. Cases such as this cause difficulty when the U.S.
relationship with Laos is debated in the Congress, she noted.
Madame Pany responded that the Lao President had written to
the UN Secretary General (in June 2006 saying that the GOL,
in essence, had no information on the location of the
children). If the Thais had sent the children to Laos, "we
were unaware" she claimed. Madame Pany went on to say "we
continue to cooperate with the Thai Parliament to resolve the
issue." She concluded by adding that they are urging the
Thai government to provide detailed information to the GOL
including a list of the children, where they were sent from,
and who sent them. "We wait for a response," she asserted.

... ICRC
--------------

20. (SBU) Representative McCollum cited the GOL's program to
resettle Hmong people (including insurgents who have
surrendered to the GOL and some recently returned from
Thailand). Even though there have been many successes,
Representative McCollum pointed out, some people still want
to make trouble for the GOL. As she worked for more
cooperation on UXO, trade, and health care, Representative
McCollum said it would be helpful for her if the GOL were to
find a "fair third party" such as the ICRC to work with the
GOL to monitor the successes of the resettlement program and
"put rumors to rest." Representative McCollum cited the work
of the ICRC in bringing to light mistreatment of Iraqis held
at the Abu Ghraib Prison, which Congress was able to bring to
a halt, to demonstrate ICRC's fairness and neutrality.
Madame Pany thanked Representative McCollum for her
suggestion, noting the two sides already had good diplomatic
and trade relations and, "once people see the real situation,
then the rumors will be seen as wrong." The real goal for
Laos, she argued, is to get Laos off the list of least
developed countries, eliminate poverty, and meet the UN
Millennium Goals.

Comment
--------------

21. (C) The NA worked hard to help make Representative
McCollum's first visit to Laos a success. The NA helped set
up meetings with GOL and NA officials, the NA Chief of
Cabinet hosted lunch, and NA staff took Representative
McCollum on a tour of Vientiane's major cultural monuments.
The meetings with Dr. Koukeo and Madame Pany were informative
about NA issues, and Representative McCollum has promised to
return with a delegation of her colleagues to continue to
develop Congress-NA relations. Although no amount of
international cooperation will turn Laos' legislature into a
truly representative body, increased engagement with the U.S.
Congress (as well as training by groups such as The Asia
Foundation) has the potential to improve the quality of the
NA's work, especially its oversight function.


22. (C) One disappointment, however, was Madame Pany's
sidestepping of both the issue of the 26 children as well as
Representative McCollum's suggestion about a fair third party
such as the ICRC. Pany is a Politburo Member (and ethnic
Hmong) and has access to the broadest range of information
available on the 26 children. Her unwillingness to even hint
at the rumors of ongoing progress, especially to a Member of

Congress that most Lao officials view as very pro-Laos (from
Representative McCollum's support for the passage of Normal
Trade Relations in 2004),appeared to be a major lost
opportunity to project a positive image of a government
actively seeking to resolve a year-long problem. In
addition, Pany's virtual dismissal of the ICRC suggestion --
her comment in response that when people see the situation
themselves the rumors will stop -- apparently indicates a
real misunderstanding at least by this Politburo Member about
the image Laos projects abroad regarding its treatment of its
Hmong minority.


23. (U) Representative McCollum did not have the opportunity
to clear this cable.


HASLACH