The authorities in Laos say they have arrested two foreign journalists for involvement in the death of a Lao villager. The two reporters – from France and Belgium – were apparently returning from a trip in the central mountains of Laos when they were arrested along with a US citizen of Lao origin, who was apparently acting as a guide. They had been covering a little-known conflict between the Communist Government and ethnic Hmong rebels, who backed the Americans against Communist forces in Laos during the Vietnam War. The two journalists have been charged with involvement in the death of a villager at the hands of what the authorities call bandits. A foreign ministry statement also accused them of reporting while on tourist visas – although in secretive Laos, where the Communist Party has ruled unopposed for 27 years, this is the only way journalists can find out about sensitive issues. Full Story
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