US removes Laos, Cambodia from trade blacklist

US removes Laos, Cambodia from trade blacklist
By Shaun Tandon – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama removed Laos and Cambodia from
a trade blacklist, opening the way for US loans to companies doing business
in the former US adversaries.

The United States has been boosting ties with both Southeast Asian nations.
But the decision on Laos was sharply criticized by campaigners for the
country's Hmong minority, which says it faces persecution.

In brief declarations, Obama said Cambodia and Laos had each "ceased to be a
Marxist-Leninist country," a designation that prevented financial support by
the US Export-Import Bank for businesses operating in the two nations.

The move, which still must go through formalities, means that US businesses
would be eligible for US government-backed loans and credit guarantees as
they can receive when operating in most countries.

"Given the commitment of Cambodia and Laos to open markets, the president
has determined that this designation is no longer applicable," an Obama
administration official said.

With the decision, the United States forbids US-backed loans for businesses
to operate in only six countries -- Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan
and Syria.

US ties with Cambodia and Laos were long clouded by concerns about the fate
of US service members missing since the Vietnam War. In Cambodia, the United
States worried about corruption and accountability for Khmer Rouge war
crimes.

But the United States has been moving closer to both nations, where China is
also stepping up influence. Washington established normal trade ties with
Laos in 2004 and three years later lifted all restrictions on aid to
Cambodia.

Obama's decision to boost trade ties with Laos came under fire from
supporters of the Hmong, a hill people who supported US forces during the
Vietnam War and say they face retaliatory abuse decades later.

A recent report by Paris-based Medicins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without
Borders, said Hmong who fled since 2005 to Thailand have said they suffered
killings, gang-rape and malnutrition at the hands of Laotian forces.

Obama's declaration "is completely shocking and outrageous," said Philip
Smith, executive director of the Center for Public Policy Analysis, which
promotes Hmong rights.

"This is a one-party regime which is closely allied with Burma (Myanmar) and
North Korea," he said. "This will embolden the Laos government to continue
to slaughter and massacre civilians."

Many Hmong are still in hiding in Laos. Another 250,000 Hmong have resettled
in the United States.

Last month, Medicins Sans Frontieres pulled out of the sole Hmong refugee
camp in Thailand, complaining that the kingdom was forcing some 4,700 people
in the camp back to Laos where they fear persecution.

US lawmakers plan to send a letter next week to Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, asking her to press Thailand to halt the repatriation of the Hmong
to Laos.

"The US has been a champion of the Hmong since the Vietnam War," said the
letter, so far signed by 17 members of Congress.

"We continue to have a vital national security interest in and moral
obligation to assist our former allies, especially those with bona fide
persecution claims," it said.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

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