From: akm74@aol.com (AKM 74) Date: 06 Jun 1998 18:48:58 GMT Tourism body refutes Thai paper report of bad service THE National Tourism Authority of Laos recently issued a strong rebuttal to a stinging accusation made by the Thai newspaper Matichon that Thai tourists had been mistreated while visiting Laos. From a broadcast first reported by Radio Free Asia on May 6, Matichon wrote on May 7 that tourists from Thailand, and other countries who had travelled to Luang Prabang for the Lao New Year celebrations, complained of being taken advantage of by a Lao travel company named Mekong Land. According to the report in Matichon, they didn't receive good service and the tour itinerary was not what they had paid for. Moreover, the group of tourists said they were forced to endure an 11-hour ride in a cramped minibus when they made the road journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. Upon hearing this story, the National Tourism Authority of Laos felt obliged to investigate the matter and clear up what they believe to be an unfair misunderstanding. In the article Matichon is quoted as saying: "Mekong Land is a touring company of Laos." This is not true. The company in question is actually LM International Ltd, and is located at 399/6 Soi Thonglor 21 in Bangkok, Thailand. This company has been operating its business out of Thailand, and targets much of its tourism operations within the four riparian countries that make up the so called "Mekong Land", namely: Myanmar,Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. This company is a contract partner of Lane Xang Travel based in Laos, and there is no Mekong Land Company Ltd doing business in Laos. According to a spokesperson from Lang Xang travel, the company did not book a group to Luang Prabang as indicated in the report. It may be the case that Mekong Land brought tourists from Thailand to tour Laos by itself. Were this the case, LM International Ltd most probably rented a minibus from an agency in Laos. Such a vehicle was probably not suitable to carry a group of tourists and this could have been the cause of their discomfort. As for the time required to drive from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, Matichon quoted: "Tourists spent 11 hours driving to Luang Prabang province." The distance from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is 397 km and, while the road condition is generally good, an inexperienced driver unfamiliar with the terrain might take longer than the standard 7 to 8 hours to cover the journey. Bringing tours into the country without the proper authorisation is against the law. The National Tourism Authority of Laos has previously made its position clear to foreign tour operators, explaining that tourists will only suffer by using operators unfamiliar with the situation in Laos. A source from the National Tourism Authority of Laos said that tourists from all around the world have long used the legal tour services available in Laos and have always been happy with the service provided. The Lao National Tourism Authority stated flatly that Matichon erred when it reported that Mekong Land was a Lao- based tourism company. It said that Lao tourism companies would never intentionally misrepresent their services to foreign tourists, especially during a peak travel period like Lao New Year. The source from the National Tourism Authority of Laos further added that they were not particularly surprised by Matichon's report given that it seems to report second hand information and somewhat hasty accusations. From: akm74@aol.com (AKM 74) Date: 06 Jun 1998 18:50:03 GMT Government gives nod to Internet use in Laos ACCESSING the global "Internet" in Laos appears that much closer to reality since the Government released its regulation on using and managing computers to be used with the Internet. The Science, Technology and Environment Organisation (STENO), the agency charged with overseeing the and regulating the Internet in Laos, recently publicised regulation No. 1044/STENO which is to be disseminated to the general public. The regulation, consists of three chapters and is classified into ten articles. The regulation states that individuals, organisations and legal entities accessing the Internet in the Lao PDR must ensure that the computer used is of the acceptable standard and is permitted by STENO. The connecting network must also be approved by STENO before it is linked. Users of the Intemet must also adhere to accepted international laws on the protection of intellectual property rights. STENO has been accorded the right to control, manage and inspect the standards and networks, information on science, technology and environment, and all intellectual copyrights to be used through the Internet. Individuals, organisations and legal entities interested in linking their computer networks to the Intemet must first seek approval by STENO. CNN: U.S. used nerve gas during Vietnam War WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military used lethal nerve gas during the Vietnam War, targeting American defectors in a village base camp in Laos, CNN and Time magazine said in a joint report Sunday. Adm. Thomas Moorer, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that sarin nerve gas was used in 1970 in a secret raid into Laos called Operation Tailwind, according to the report aired on CNN Sunday. Capt. Eugene McCarley, commander of the mission, told the program "Newsstand: CNN & Time" that "upwards of 100" people perished in the raid, including women and children. Platoon leader Lt. Robert Van Buskirk estimated up to 20 American military defectors were killed. The Pentagon said Sunday its own research did not indicate that nerve gas was used during the Vietnam War. "We've haven't seen the piece yet, however we've researched this kind of thing and there's nothing to lead us to believe that nerve gas was used in Vietnam or Laos," said Defense Department spokesman Jim Turner. The report, which also appears in the issue of Time on sale Monday, said that the United States has not before admitted to using sarin in combat. Sarin is the gas used in a 1995 Tokyo subway attack that killed 12 people and made thousands ill. Moorer told the program the White House national security team of President Richard Nixon approved use of the nerve gas and the CIA had partial responsibility for the operation. He said he was speaking out now because of his respect for history. The report quoted military officials and soldiers who took part in the raids as saying that the sarin gas was dropped on more than 20 missions in Laos and North Vietnam. The year of the Tailwind mission, Nixon had pledged a no-first-use policy on nerve gas as part of his commitment to the Geneva Protocol limiting chemical weapons use, but the Senate had not yet ratified the chemical weapons treaty. Van Buskirk told CNN & Time he had orders to kill everyone, including U.S. defectors. "It was pretty well understand that if you came across a defector, and could prove it to yourself beyond a reasonable doubt, do it. Under any circumstance, kill them," he said. "It wasn't about bringing them back, it was to kill them." Soldiers who took part in the secret September 1970 Tailwind mission -- about 60 miles deep into Laos -- were in the Studies and Observations Group, SOG, which mounted operations against unusual targets, using unusual weapons. Van Buskirk said an Air Force colonel warned him about the lethal gas before the mission and urged him to be sure that his soldiers took their M-17 gas masks, designed to protect against nerve gas. The SOG commandos were also issued atropine, a nerve gas antidote, CNN & Time reported. One of the soldiers on the mission, Jim Cathey, said he spent five hours closely observing the village base camp and saw 10 to 15 Caucasians. "I believe that there were American defectors in that group of people in that village, because there was no ... sign of any kind of restraint," he said. "In retrospect I believe that mission was to wipe out those longshadows," as defectors were known since they were taller than Laotians and Vietnamese. In an off-camera interview Moorer acknowledged that Tailwind's target was the defectors in the village, CNN & Time said. Although he would give no firm estimate, Moorer indicated scores of U.S. military had defected during the war. In the Tailwind raid, U.S. planes passed over the village base camp and dropped the deadly nerve gas. SOG commandos entered the camp the next morning, and according to Mike Hagen, who was a platoon sergeant, "basically destroyed everything there."