In 1974-75 there were over 60 ethnic groups in Laos. Today there are around 45-47. The other 15 or so, according to the Pathet Lao, simply "disappeared". They didn't just move away, gang. Between the Vientiane side of the Mekong and Non Kai on the Thai side there are 250,000+ bodies on the bottom of the river...all people massacred trying to escape in 1975.
I don't know what our diplomats out there are doing these days, but under Clinton and the unforgettable Amb. Wendy Chamberlain, they did everything possible to protect and prop up the Pathet Lao regime. If ever there was an ambassador who "went native" it was the excerable Chamberlain who ate with her fingers in restaurants and seemed to feel that it was her job to defend the Lao regime and make sure no American interests "hurt the Lao".
The Lao peoples are wonderful, brave, loyal to us and frankly quite noble. It is a disgrace that our government, influenced by the likes of McCann unfortunately, has left them to the tender mercies of the Communists!
What is your source for this claim? Pretty funny considering you can almost walk across that section of the Mekong during the dry season. The river bed by Vienchang is about 3/4th exposed during April/May.
I have very good friends in Laos and hate the government there as much as the next guy but making claims like this doesn't help things.