Population
5.5 million
50% Lao Loum
30% Lao Theung
10-20% Lao Sung
10-20% tribal Thais
Capital City
Vientiane
Leadership
President
Khamtai Siphandon
Prime Minister
Bounyang Volachit
Religion
60% Buddhist
40% animist
& spirit cults
Lao Ambassador
to the U.S.
His Excellency
Phanthong
Phommahaxay
Lao Embassy
to the USA
2222 S Street NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone: (202) 332-6416
Fax: (202) 332-4923
BIO
The relatively undeveloped country of Laos has never truly had its own identity. Having always been influenced or con-
trolled by one of its neighboring governments, in addition to
enduring French rule, Laos has gone virtually unnoticed by the rest
of the world. That is except for the Vietnam war, when Laos'
eastern border, home of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, was severely and
repeatedly bombed by the US, in their hunt for North Vietnamese
troops.
When the Lao People's Democratic Republic
was finally formed in
1975, they chose to remain closely allied with the communists
of
Vietnam, further alienating them from the Western democracies and
their trade
opportunities. Laos stood on the brink of economic
disaster in the 1990s,
forcing them to finally reach out and be
noticed. A campaign
to attract tourism was mildly successful,
and their 'kip' is now somewhat more stable. They
have also had
the opportunity to capitalize on many of their exports: rice,
coffee,
opium and timber, just to name a few.
But Laos
remains a traditional and virtually untouched piece of of Asia,
allowing them to govern somewhat
unchecked. While the Laos constitution contains provision for the freedom of religion, Laotian
Christians
continue to suffer restrictions on their faith: proselytizing by
foreigners is prohibited, any association with a
foreign religious organization must
receive government approval, and only three churches are officially
recognized by
the government.
Unfortunately, what at first seemed like mild restrictions have since
developed into full-scale persecution.
Government officials
have labeled Christianity "the number one enemy of the state." Christians
are being
commanded to recant their faith or face losing their homes and land.
Churches have been confiscated and
pastors murdered. Persons in public service
jobs such as teachers are threatened with losing their jobs if
they don't
renounce their faith. And in certain provinces, entire groups of believers are
expelled from their
regions and sometimes their country! Secret campaigns to close
down all Christian churches have led to
numerous arrests, with charges of
"anti-government activities" being filed. These prisoners have been
known to receive no
food or rations. Often their families must continue to bring them
sustenance.
Additional source: International Christian Concern