CPPA - Center for Public Policy Analysis

Book Foreword: Standing Ground in Laos, By Kay Danes

Home
About the CPPA
Contact CPPA
Getting Involved with CPPA
Upcoming CPPA Events
CPPA on Twitter
CPPA In the News
Breaking CPPA Press Releases
Press Releases: (2017 & Recent)
Press Releases (East Asia)
US Business News (Breaking)
Press Freedom
Egypt Crisis
Afghanistan
South Asia
Laos Hmong Refugee Crisis
East Asia & Pacific
Veterans
Crisis Areas
Global Financial Crisis
Africa
Americas & Caribbean
Europe
Middle East
Human Rights
Religious Persecution
Refugees
National Security
Terrorism
Book: Standing Ground In Laos
Kay Danes - World Affairs Council & Washington
CPPA Advisory Boards
Terms of Use
Links
Privacy Policy

 
 
 
 
 
Standing Ground:  An Imprisoned Couple's Struggle For Justice Against a Communist Regime, by Kay Danes, (New Holland , Publishing) 2009, Sydney, Auckland, London, Capetown
 
 


By Kay Danes

Standing Ground is the true story of Kay and Kerry Danes, a couple managing a security business in Laos. They are wrongly arrested and thrown into a stinking prison, accused of stealing gems from a business for which they did security work. They were charged and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.

Finally released and pardoned, they contacted many foreign embassies to advise them of their country's citizens being held for years without charge, and about those who were being treated cruelly.

Released: March 2009
Download sample chapter (PDF)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Excerpts of Foreword to Standing Ground (by Kay & Kerry Danes) 
 
Foreword by Philip Smith, Center for Public Policy Analysis

Standing Ground: Kay Danes tours U.S., Elucidates Laos, Hmong Gulag in New Book
“The ordeal of Kerry and Kay Danes in the mysterious and exotic land of Laos is, perhaps most importantly, a unique human saga of love, courage, honor, heroism and the triumph of hope in the face of overwhelming odds against a ruthless Stalinist regime.” - Philip Smith, Executive Director, Center for Public Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C.


(PressZoom) - Washington, D.C., April 2, 2009 - Australian author Kay Danes has received a special invitation to speak at the prestigious World Affairs Conference in Boulder, Colorado, from April 6-10, 2009.

Mrs. Danes is also slated to speak at events in Washington, D.C. later this month. She is an invited keynote speaker at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and U.S. Congress on April 16-17 regarding human rights violations and political prisoners in Laos and the plight of thousands of Laotian and Hmong refugees in Thailand and Laos. media-newswire.com/release_1088730.html

Last month, Kay Danes' latest book, "Standing Ground," was release in Australia about her plight in Laos. kaydanes.com

Philip Smith, Executive Director for the Center for Public Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C., and a former U.S. Congressional adviser for national security and foreign policy issued the following statement regarding Kay and Kerry Danes new book “Standing Ground”:

"Readers of the amazing story of Kerry and Kay Danes in Laos will find it a compelling, richly inspiring and fascinating saga. The unique strategic role of Laos, both during the Vietnam War and presently, makes this book all the more interesting and important. Standing Ground helps to elucidate the dark and despotic nature of the current government of Laos, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (LPDR).

The ordeal of Kerry and Kay Danes in the mysterious and exotic land of Laos is, perhaps most importantly, a unique human saga of love, courage, honor, heroism and the triumph of hope in the face of overwhelming odds against a ruthless Stalinist regime. Stripped of their honor, dignity, and fundamental liberties while working as security managers in Laos, Kerry and Kay Danes are forced to undergo a dark journey into a corrupt and brutal prison and gulag system...

http://presszoom.com/story_148273.html

 

Kay Danes, Sheng Xiong to Speak About Laos, Hmong Human Rights Issues

"The current plight of the Laotian and Hmong people, both in Thailand and Laos, continues to alarm many in the international community," said Philip Smith, Executive Director of the CPPA in Washington, D.C. "Kay Danes new book "Standing Ground' and her visit to Washington, D.C. and the United States to address U.S. policymakers about current issues in Laos comes at a very important and pivotal time," continued Smith.


(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington, D.C., April 16, 2009 -  The Center for Public Policy Analysis ( CPPA ) will sponsor a National Policy Conference and Press Conference from 8:30 A.M.-11:00 A.M., on Thursday, April 16, 2009, at the Zenger Room of the National Press Club ( 529 14th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20045 ).

The National Policy Conference and Press Conference will be organized in a panel discussion format and is entitled:  "Laos, Hmong Crisis: Refugees, Political Prisoners and Human Rights Violations in Thailand and Laos."

"The current plight of the Laotian and Hmong people, both in Thailand and Laos, continues to alarm many in the international community," said Philip Smith, Executive Director of the CPPA in Washington, D.C. "Kay Danes new book ‘Standing Ground' and her visit to Washington, D.C. and the United States to address U.S. policymakers about current issues in Laos comes at a very important and pivotal time," continued Smith.

 "The health and well being of Hakit Yang, and the two other Hmong-American citizens from St. Paul Minnesota that he was traveling with in 2007 when they were arrested by Lao military and security forces, continues to remain an issue to their families and many in the Lao Hmong-American community," Smith stated. "Like Kay Danes, they were jailed and tortured in the notorious Phongtong Prison in Vientiane, Laos, by the Lao government while the outside world ignored their terrible fate."

Keynote speakers at the panel discussion at the National Press Club policy conference include:  Kay Danes, Australian author and human rights advocate; Sheng Xiong, spokesperson for Hmong-American citizens of St. Paul, Minnesota imprisoned in Laos; and Philip Smith, Executive Director, CPPA.

http://www.media-newswire.com/release_1089564.html

 

  

Laos' Secret Prison Camps: Hmong Appeal

Laos' Secret Prison Camps: Hmong Appeal for Families

Scoop News, New Zealand, 14 January 2010,

Hmong families from St. Paul, Minnesota and across the United States are appealing for the release of their relatives held in a secret nextwork of prisons and camps in Laos by the Lao Peoples Army (LPA). In the last several days, a team of Australian journalists from “The Age” was barred from entering a secret prison, surrounded by razor wire and LPA troops in the Paksan area of Sayabouri Province. There thousands of Hmong refugees from Thailand’s Huay Nam Khao and Nong Khai were recently forcibly repatriated....

Kay Danes and her husband were jailed in Laos in brutal conditions as political prisoners. Danes is the author of the book “Standing Ground” (New Holland) that details torture and horrific conditions in Lao prisons and detention centers. http://www.media-newswire.com/release_1089564.html

“Over the last three years, political analysts have painstakingly documented evidence that supports the ongoing persecution of Lao Hmong and Political Prisoners in secret detention centres throughout Laos. It is a broadly accepted view held by the International Community that the Lao Hmong Refugees will face similar persecution, arbitrary detention, torture, and possibly death, if forced back to Laos. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Foreign Prisoner Support Service have independently reported returnee abuse in Laos” said Danes who was tortured in Laos. http://www.media-newswire.com/release_1108993.html

 

 

 

Minnesota Twin Cities’ Hmong families are appealing for the release of their relatives held in secret prisons and camps in Laos.

Online PR News, Jan 13, 2010 ... The Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) in Washington, ... Danes is the author of the book “Standing Ground” that details torture and horrific ... have independently reported returnee abuse in Laos,” said Kay Danes, ... Minnesota Twin Cities’ Hmong families are appealing for the release of their relatives held in secret prisons and camps in Laos.Online PR News – 13-January-2010 –Washington, D.C. and St. Paul, Minnesota, January 13, 2010
Minnesota Twin Cities’ Hmong families have joined others from California, Wisconsin and other states in appealing for the release of their relatives held in a network of secret prisons and camps in various provinces in Laos. The Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) in Washington, D.C. has uncovered additional information about the secret prisons and clandestine gulag system in Laos that has been confirmed by Australian human rights advocates, journalists and others. "Thousands of Lao Hmong refugees, and many political and religious prisoners, including Lao student leaders, are being held in secret prisons and detention camps in Laos that are part of a nation-wide network in various provinces," said Philip Smith, Executive Director of the CPPA in Washington, D.C."Three Hmong-American citizens from St. Paul, Minnesota, including Mr. Hakit Yang, also continue to be jailed in a secret prison complex in Sam Neua Province according to reliable sources; significant numbers of the Laotian and Hmong prisoners and refugees have disappeared or have suffered beatings,torture and abuse in recent years, including known cases of summary executions in 2007-2009," Smith concluded. Over 4500 Hmong political refugees and asylum seekers were recently forcibly repatriated from Thailand to Laos. Over 8,000 Hmong were forced from Thailand back to Laos from 2007-09 by the Thai military.As a Hmong-American, and the wife of Hakit Yang, I still have not received concrete answers from the Lao government about the arrest and disappearance of my husband; He is still imprisoned in Laos since 2007 with his two Hmong citizen colleagues from St. Paul, Minnesota,” said Mrs. Sheng Xiong wife of Hakit Yang. http://www.live-pr.com/en/secret-prisons-in-laos-hold-hakit-r1048311013.htm
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Laos, Obama Urged By Rights Groups, Hmong, to Free 3 Americans

WASHINGTON & MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL, Minn. April 23, 2011 --(BUSINESS WIRE)--A coalition of Laotian and Hmong non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA), have joined the families of three Hmong-Americans from Minnesota in issuing an international appeal for the release of their relatives who have been imprisoned in Laos for over three years. The appeal requests that the Lao government, and U.S. President Barack Obama, work at a higher diplomatic level, with urgent priority, to release the three Hmong-American citizens.

In August 2007, for unknown reasons, Lao People's Army (LPA) troops and secret police arrested the three Americans: Mr. Hakit Yang, 24; Mr. Congshineng Yang, 34; and Mr. Trillion Yunhaison, 44.

The Hmong-Americans remain imprisoned in Laos' Sam Neua province by LPA troops and secret police. The three are being held without charges being filed, or due process, according to the Foreign Prisoners Support Service (FPSS), the CPPA, human rights organizations, family members and others.

Mrs. Sheng Xiong, a spokeswoman for the families, and Philip Smith of the CPPA, spoke to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) about the case.

“I just wish the Lao government would be upfront ...,” Xiong told MPR.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/04/21/hmong-americans-held-in-laos/

“We want answers now from the Lao government about the arrest and continued imprisonment of my husband, Hakit Yang, and the other two Hmong-Americans...,” Xiong, stated further.

“We would like to ask the President, Barack Obama, and the U.S. Government, to please seriously help to press the Lao military and government to cooperate in telling the truth about the arrest and imprisonment of our families in Laos so that they can be released and come home to their loved ones, including their wives and children,” Mrs. Xiong said.

“Our Lao Hmong families, and the community in St. Paul and Minneapolis, are appealing to the Lao government... to release my husband, Hakit Yang, and his colleagues...,” Xiong commented.

“We are grateful to Kay Danes and the FPSS in Australia for helping to bring new and updated information, and evidence, about the arrest and continued jailing of my husband in Laos-- and we appreciate her book 'Standing Ground' regarding... the plight of prisoners at Phonthong Prison, in Vientiane, where my husband was jailed...,” Xiong concluded.

“The LPA, and secret police, later moved the three Americans, including Sheng Xiong's husband Hakit Yang, from Xieng Khouang province, where they were arrested, to Laos' notorious Phonthong Prison, in the capital of Vientiane, where the men were interrogated, beaten and tortured, according to eyewitness and multiple sources...,” said Philip Smith, Director of the CPPA in Washington, D.C.
http://www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

“In 2009, the three Hmong-American men were again moved... and are now being held in a secret LPA military-operated prison camp in Sam Neua Province, Laos,” Smith stated. “We are urging President Obama to press the Lao military and government, at a higher diplomatic level, to release the three Americans...”

“Additionally, we are also appealing to President Obama, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to assist with the release of other Lao and Hmong political prisoners and religious dissidents in Laos...,” Smith concluded.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, the continued imprisonment by the Lao military and communist officials in Laos of Mr. Hakit Yang, Mr. Conghineng Yang and Trillion Yunhaison, who are U.S. citizens still being held without charge in horrific conditions in Laos by the LPA and secret police,” said Christy Lee, Director of Hmong Advance, Inc. (HAI) in Washington, D.C.
http://www.hmongadvance.org

The NGOs joining the Hmong-American families in urging Laos, and the White House, to help release the Americans include the CPPA, HAI, Hmong Advancement, United Lao for Human Rights and Democracy, Lao Human Rights Council, Hmong Students Association, Lao Students for Democracy, United League for Democracy in Laos, Laos Institute for Democracy and Lao Veterans of America.

On March 16, the CPPA issued an appeal regarding the imprisoned Hmong-Americans and human rights violations in Laos.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110316007171/en/Laos-Hmong-Crisis-Rights-Groups-International-Appeal

CPPA - Center for Public Policy Analysis
info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

 

Contacts

Center for Public Policy Analysis
Helen Cruz, 202-543-1444
info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

 
 
 
Gold Coast News Australia, March 6, 2010
Michael Jacobson
Kay Danes spent almost 11 months detained in a prision in the Lao capital of Vientiane. IN the cramped confines of the 3m x 3m cell she shared with five other inmates for almost 11 months is a sewage tank stamped with Kay Danes' footprints. Day after day, week a
www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/03/06/195005_more-gossip-news.html
 
 
 
 
 
 

Laos, Hmong Human Rights Activist Nominated For Australian of the Year Award


Press Release ---

Washington, D.C., Brisbane and Canberra, Australia, November 3, 2011

Author, human rights advocate and humanitarian activist Kay Danes has been nominated for the Queensland category of the Australian of the Year Award. The nomination was hailed by the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) and a coalition of Laotian and Hmong non-governmental and human rights organizations including: the United League for

Democracy in Laos, Inc.; the Lao Students Movement for Democracy; United Lao for Human Rights and Democracy, Inc.; Lao Institute for Democracy; Hmong Advance, Inc.; Hmong Advancement, Inc.; the Lao Veterans of America, Inc.; and, others.

Danes, who was arrested in 2000, was brutally interrogated and tortured in the notorious Phonthong prison in Vientiane, Laos, along with Laotian, Hmong and foreign prisoners. She is now an author and human rights activist.


“Her critical testimony about her interrogation and torture in Laos, and that of other victims, helped to develop deeper understanding and awareness about the terrible fate of those languishing in foreign prisons who are often imprisoned unjustly in horrific and inhumane conditions in violation of international law,” Smith stated.
http://centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

“Kay Danes has been a tireless and effective international advocate for human rights, womens' rights, the suffering of torture victims, and the plight of refugees and those imprisoned in horrific conditions in Laos, Afghanistan, and other nations around the world,” Smith said.


“Kay Danes distinguished work, especially as it relates to the Laotian and Hmong people, refugees and foreign prisoners, has been crucial in helping to bring international attention to the suffering and voiceless people of Laos and other countries,” Smith continued. "Danes has researched and spoken about the fate of imprisoned and missing Lao student pro-democracy demonstrators as well as three Hmong-Americans from St. Paul, Minnesota, including Mr. Hakit Yang, who have been jailed in harsh conditions for years under the Communist regime in Laos."


The awards will be announced in Brisbane on November 17, 2011. Winners will join recipients from other states and territories in Australia as finalists for the national awards that will presented in Canberra, Australia, in January 2012.


Kay Danes has authored important books about human rights violations and torture in Laos including “Standing Ground” (New Holland Publishers, Australia), released in 2009. In the same year, she was invited to speak in the United States about her experiences in Laos, and as an advocate for the Foreign Prisoners Support Service, at the World Affairs Council, National Press Club and U.S. Congressional Forum on Laos.

presszoom.com/story_148273.html

www.media-newswire.com/release_1089564.html

www.newholland.com.au/product.php?isbn=9781741107579


Dane's book "Standing Ground" was cited and acclaimed by the American Authors' Association and others.

www.americanauthorsassociation.com/ images/ Standing%20Ground%20Press%20Release%20March%2009.pdf

Contact: Maria Gomez or Philip Smith

info@centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

Tele. (202) 543-1444

CPPA - Center for Public Policy Analysis

2020 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite 220
Washington, D.C. 20006 USA
www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

Contact Information:
CPPA - Center for Public Policy Analysis

2020 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Suite 220
Washington, D.C. 20006 USA

Contact Person:
Maria Gomez or Philip Smith
Communications / Public Affairs Department
Phone: 202-543-1444
 

 

 

Standing Ground - Kay Danes tours U.S., Elucidates Laos, Hmong Gulag in New Book 
Press Zoom,
April 2, 2009, 2009-04-02

Kay Danes tours US, Elucidates Laos, Hmong Gulag in New Book. "The ordeal of Kerry and Kay Danes in the mysterious and exotic land of Laos is, perhaps most importantly, a unique human saga of love, courage, honor, heroism and the triumph of hope in the face of overwhelming odds against a ruthle
www.presszoom.com/print_story_148273.html

 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright 1988-2017, All Rights Reserved,
Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA - Centre for Public Policy Analysis ), Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All Rights Reserved.
 
 


Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

 
 
 
 

Site Disclaimer:

Copyright 1988-2017. Center for Public Policy Analysis ( CPPA - Centre for Public Policy Analysis ) . All Rights Reserved.

The Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA -  or Centre for Public Policy Analysis)  is not responsible for any incorrect or incomplete information (see Terms of Use/User Agreement). The facts, figures, reviews, records, stats, and other data presented on this page are for suggestion and information purposes only. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

All trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property are the property of the Center for Public Policy Analysis ( CPPA - Centre for Public Policy Analysis ), and, or, their respective owners.