Laos tells Thailand to speed up return of rebels

July 26, 2000
Web posted at: 12:24 p.m. HKT (0424 GMT)

BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) -- Laos said on Tuesday Thailand's delay in extraditing armed rebels who staged a bloody raid on a border post was putting bilateral relations at risk.

"From the Laotian government's point of view, we would like this problem to be tackled quickly otherwise it will become an obstacle to our bilateral relationship," Hiem Phommachanh, Laotian Ambassador to Thailand, told Reuters.

He said the delay in extraditing the 28 armed gang members who attacked the customs and immigration offices on the Thai-Laos border on July 3 was a stain in the two countries' relationship.

But he added: "We now want only the 14 Laotian suspects to be extradited to Laos." Laos had previously said it also wanted the other 14 raiders, who included 10 Thais, to be sent back.

"We would like Bangkok to accelerate the extradition process of the Laotian suspects rather than going through the time-consuming legal procedure of Thai law," the ambassador said.

Relations between the two neighbors soured after the predawn raid on the Laotian village of Wang Tao.

Laotian troops killed five rebels near the village and Thai authorities later detained 28 others after the group fled across the border.

The exact motive for the raid has never been clear but the group has been reported to be linked to dissident royalist forces ousted after the communist revolution in Laos in 1975 and who are now living in the United States.

Hiem said Laotian Foreign Minister Somsavat Lengsavad urged Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan on Monday to act swiftly on the extradition.

The two met on the sidelines of the 33rd annual ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bangkok.

But Surin said the Thai government could not interfere with the judicial process and the decision to extradite the culprits depended solely on the courts.

Hiem said Laos accepted Thailand's reasoning, but said Bangkok must show it would not protect the raiders.

"The longer Thailand delays the extradition, the more people will misunderstand Thailand."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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