Lao royal couple killed by gunmen in Nong Kai province

Activist couple claiming Lao royal blood killed

Published on January 19, 2006. The Nation

Pair shot at monastery said to be descendants of Lao Lan Xang dynasty

A couple of Laotian social activists who claimed to be of direct royal descent from the ancient Lao Lan Xang kingdom were shot dead in northeastern Nong Khai province yesterday, police said.

A man in his 50s, identified as Prince Anouvong Sethathirath IV, and his wife Princess Oulayvanh Sethathirath, were killed by two unidentified gunmen while praying at a Buddhist monastery in the province at about 10am.

The man was hit three times in the head, while the woman, whose body was found some 30 meters away, had been shot in the stomach.

Police found some leaflets about Anouvong’s royal lineage nearby.

The couple were US citizens from North Carolina. Anouvong is a Lao native of Vientiane while his wife Oulayvanh is a Thai native of Nong Khai’s Sri Chiang Mai district, and both claim original royal blood ties from the ancient capital of Luang Phrabang. They arrived in Thailand a week ago to attend a seminar on the “Restoration of Lao Culture” in neighbouring Udon Thani.

They were frequent visitors to Thailand as campaigners to restore Lao culture and the monarchy to the communist-ruled Lao People’s Democratic Republic. This was their fifth visit to Thailand.

It is understood that their activities in Thailand over the past years were mostly concerned with Buddhism as they have often been seen visiting temples in Ubon Ratchathani and Sri Chiang Mai district.

Police Colonel Nattawud Phongsima, deputy commander of Nong Khai provincial police, said there were no clues to link the murder with their campaigning.

“We need a deeper investigation into the case since it might relate to diplomatic relations with neighbouring Laos,” he said.

One of their associates told The Nation that despite their campaign for the restoration of the monarchy in the communist state, Anouvong has never been involved in political activities or armed struggle against Vientiane.

The pair, both with doctorate degrees, presented themselves as academics who championed Lao identity, art and culture, said the associate who declined to be named.

Laos Denies Any Role in Americans' Deaths

© 2006 The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand — An American couple claiming to be of Lao royal descent who were shot dead in northeastern Thailand might have been targeted by Laos' government on suspicions that they were working against the communist regime, police said Thursday.

An official at the Laotian Embassy in Bangkok denied that his government played any role in Wednesday's slaying near the Thai-Laos border.

Anouwong Sethathirath IV, 49, and Oulayvanh Sethathirath, 38, were killed at a Buddhist monastery in Nong Khai, police said.

The couple lived in Fairview, N.C., a suburb of Asheville, according to North Carolina newspaper accounts. Both were U.S. citizens and apparently were in Thailand to attend a cultural conference. They had made several previous trips to Thailand, where they were engaged in charitable activities for schools and Buddhist temples, according to their Web site.

The Thai television station iTV reported that witnesses said the gunmen, wearing coats and black sunglasses, walked into the monastery and shot them at close range. Nong Khai is 320 miles north of Bangkok.

"The gunmen are of Thai nationality, but we believe that they were hired by secret agents who support the Laos government because the (Laotian) government is always suspicious of Laotians from America," Thai police Lt. Col. Santhipab Meephol said. "They think Laotians from America are always involved in anti-government activities."

No arrests have been made, and Santhipab did not say why police believed the assailants were Thai.

A U.S. Embassy official said two consulate staffers were on their way to Nong Khai "to look into the situation." She refused to comment further.

The couple's Web site said they were descendants of a Lao royal family and that Anouwong was a prince and Oulayvanh a princess. Sethathirath is the royal line of Laos' Sisattanakhanahut kingdom, also known as Lan Xang.

The Web site does not describe Anouwong's connections to the dynasty, which last ruled a part of Laos in the 19th century, and offers no documentation of the claim, which some members of the overseas Lao community doubt.

The couple were as not related to Savang Vatthana, the last king of Laos, who was forced to abdicate after a communist takeover of his country in 1975. Most exiled members of Savang Vatthana's family live in France.

The Asheville Citizen-Times said that Anouwong _ who also had the Western name Phillip McRowan _ married Oulayvanh, also known as Ashley, in 1987. The couple are survived by two sons.

The newspaper said that Anouwong worked as a pathologist's assistant in a local hospital, while Oulayvanh was studying for a degree in international studies at the University of North Carolina in Asheville.

Although some refugees from Laos have engaged in activities against the country's communist government, the couple were not known to be involved with them.

Couple’s killers elude police

Published on January 23, 2006. The Nation

Police still have no solid evidence to pin down any suspects in connection with the murder of two Lao-American social activists in north-eastern Nong Khai province last week.

Central Investigation Bureau deputy commander Maj-General Aswin Kwang-muang, who is leading the investigation into the case, yesterday instructed Nong Khai police to hunt for a suspect who might be a police officer or military official in Khon Kaen’s Mung Pon district.

Sketches of several suspects have been handed out in Nong Khai and Khon Khaen to obtain information about their movements in the area.

US citizens Anouvong Sethathi-rath and his wife Oulayvanh Sethathi-rath, both of whom claimed descent from Laos’ royal Lan Xang dynasty, were shot dead on January 18 in a Buddhist monastery in Nong Khai.

Police believe the gunmen might have been Thai nationals hired by unknown agents to kill the two for political purposes. The couple had championed the restoration of the monarchy in communist-ruled Laos.

The couple arrived in Thailand the week before to attend a conference in neighbouring Udon Thani province to promote Lao identity and culture. Associates said their previous activities had no direct link with any political movement or armed struggle.

The Lao Foreign Ministry denied the couple had royal blood and said Vientiane had nothing to do with the murders.

The couple do not appear to have been directly related to the Lan Xang White Parasol Dynasty, which reigned in Luang Prabang before the takeover of Laos by the communist Pathet Lao forces in 1975.

Anouvong, who lived in the US state of North Carolina under the name Philip McRowan, claimed he was a descendant of Xay Sethathi-rath, the founder of Vientiane. He moved to the US in 1985 from Cuba, where he was studying.

A Lao official said the man was originally known as Somouk Siharath when he lived in his hometown of Ban Kern in Vientiane province. He changed his name to Anouvong to strengthen his claim of royal blood. Laos’ King Anouvong led the kingdom’s struggle for independence from Siam.

His wife Oulayvanh, who went by the name of Ashley McRowan in the US, was born in Laos and moved to Nong Khai’s Si Chiang Mai district when she was six years old, before moving in 1984 to North Carolina.

The couple’s slaying has aroused concern among many parties in Thailand and the US. The government has assigned senior police to handle the case, while US Congressman Charles Taylor has asked for an update on the investigation from the Thai Embassy in Washington.

Such people are controversial.

In Thailand to remove controversial people by the power of a gun is nothing new, and they should know about such a danger, as they were very familiar with Thailand and Laos.

They never should go out to such remote areas, without some armed escorts.

Security does not cost much money in Thailand, plenty of retired soldiers, policemen and similar personnel around will accept this job.

If you are earning an American income, you can pay easily for security services in Thailand.

I read in the newspapers today that they were probably killed by Thai police officers who were working for nobody knows whom.
Seems to be quite common in that part of Thailand for some rogue Thai police officers to kill Lao people, for money, of course, and to never be caught...

So I guess it is ok to kill them...

Victims not of Lao royal blood

Thursday January 26, 2006. Bangkok Post

Police have found no links between last week's murder of a Lao-American couple in Nong Khai and earlier killings in the Northeast of Lao people believed to be members of an anti-Vientiane resistance movement.

Police spokesman Ashirawit Suphanphaesat said yesterday that background checks also showed Anouvong Setthathirat and his wife Oulayvanh, who were shot dead on Jan 18, were not descended from a Lao royal family.

The man had identified himself as Prince Anouvong Setthathirat IV and his wife Princess Oulayvanh.

Police also found that the murder weapons were 11mm handguns, said Pol Lt-Gen Ashirawit.

However, it was too early to conclude that some police were involved in the murder as more key witnesses have yet to give their statements, he said.

Both local and national police were working to find those responsible for the murder of the couple who came from the United States.

Before the couple's murder, seven other Lao people had been shot dead in Nong Khai in the past two years, police said.

Deputy national police chief Lt-Gen Priewpan Damapong was in Nong Khai yesterday to follow up on the case.

He also went to Udon Thani to see the progress of police investigation into the killing of a Lue tribesman identified as Boonmi Narared, alias Anu Jitmanorom, 52, on Jan 2. Boonmi, from Chiang Rai's Wiang Kaen district, was shot dead by a gunman while walking from the Mit Pracha hotel to catch a bus to Bangkok. Found in his possession were documents in the Lao language.

Police said to be behind killing

January 28, 2006. Bangkok Post

A number of police officers were involved in the murder of a Lao-American couple in Nong Khai on Jan 18, deputy national police chief Pol Lt-Gen Priewphan Damapong said yesterday.

Pol Lt-Gen Priewphan said preliminary investigation revealed that an ''order'' was sent from Laos to certain Thai policemen to kill Anouvong Setthathirat and his wife Oulayvanh, who were on a hit-list. He did not elaborate on who issued the order.

He said the couple's murder was linked to many others in the Northeast involving members of the Lao resistance movement against Vientiane.

Police investigators believed the two were members of the resistance.

Pol Lt-Gen Priewphan said a number of Region 4 police officers were involved, but their identities could not be revealed.

However, he said that Pol Snr Sgt-Maj Thaweesak Singprasert and Pol Snr Sgt-Maj Niran Duangchansri, both of Muang district police station of Nong Khai province, were among the suspects. Investigators were gathering evidence to seek a court warrant for their arrest.

Pol Col Sommai Kongwisaisuk, deputy investigation chief of Region 4 police headquarters, has been transferred to temporary duties at Loei provincial police headquarters to facilitate the investigation.

Two 11mm guns seized from the houses of Pol Snr Sgt-Maj Thaweesak and Pol Snr Sgt-Maj Niran have been sent for examination in Bangkok to find out if they were the weapons used in the murder.

Before his death, Anouvong identified himself as Prince Anouvong Setthathirat IV, a descendant of the royal Lao family prior to the communist takeover of Laos in 1975. He fled to the United States where he met his wife Oulayvanh, a native of Nong Khai province.

Police spokesman Pol Lt-Gen Ashirawit Suphanphaesat, however, said that background checks revealed that Anouvong was not of Lao royal descent.

Five policemen transferred

Published on January 29, 2006. The Nation

Five police in Nong Khai province have been transferred to Bangkok to facilitate investigation into the murder of two Laotian social activists who claimed to be of direct royal descent.

The transfer note was signed by deputy police commissioner General Preowpan Damapong. The five, who are non-commissioned police, have not been charged, and the transfer is a common measure in the investigation process, according to the note.

The couple, identified as Prince Anouvong Sethathirath IV and his wife Princess Oulayvanh Sethathirath, were killed by two unidentified gunmen while praying at a Buddhist monastery in Nong Khai last week.

The man was hit three times in the head, while the woman, whose body was found 30 metres away, had been shot in the stomach. Police found some leaflets about Anouvong’s royal lineage nearby.

The couple were US citizens from North Carolina. Anouvong was a Lao native of Vientiane while Oulayvanh was a Thai native of Nong Khai’s Si Chiang Mai district. Both claim original royal blood ties to the ancient capital of Luang Phrabang. They arrived in Thailand a week ago to attend a seminar on the “Restoration of Lao Culture” in neighbouring Udon Thani.

Some reports have alleged that provincial police played a part in the murders.

I heard the following claim from a Vientiane resident:

As well as working to restore the Lao monarchy (and their own privileges), the murdered couple also called for the Emerald Buddha (looted by Thailand long ago) to be returned to Laos. Therefore the Thai government had them assasinated to put an end to this kind of dangerous talk. Hmmm.

BTW, where can I find more info on other Lao citizens and activists killed in the Nong Khai area over recent years?

A quick Google came up with this... http://www.laohumrights.org/
... which is a start I guess. Please do let us know what you find out.

BTW, welcome to our website. How nice to have someone based in Laos with us.

This is not related to the dead-royals saga, but anyway ...

*********************************

http://www.alertnet....sk/BKK92159.htm

Thai police find sacks of human remains at resort
29 Mar 2006 10:38:21 GMT

Source: Reuters

BANGKOK, March 29 (Reuters) - Thai police have retrieved sacks of body parts which may belong to a Lao-born American, his relatives and friends for whom they have been searching since early this month, an officer said on Wednesday.

Six sacks of skulls, bones and partially decomposed bodies were found by villagers in Pai, a northern resort popular with backpackers, and police said they believed them to be among the eight people reported missing early this month.

"We believe the bodies found were those reported missing, but we need confirmation from their relatives and forensic experts," Pai police chief Tanet Chaownatong told Reuters by telephone.

"The question is where are the other two," he said.

Relatives told police they had not seen the 60-year-old American and seven others -- two men, one woman, two boys and two girls, all ethnic Hmong -- since they went out together on March 2.

Police were investigating if their disappearance was linked to criminal gangs in an area which lies in the Golden Triangle, the once notorious heroin producing region, Chiang Mai provincial police chief Jiruj Prommobol told Reuters.

A U.S. diplomat said police had informed the embassy they had found the body of a man they believed to be an American citizen, but would not name him due to privacy laws.

Thousands of Hmong, the hill people known as "America's forgotten allies" from the Vietnam War, are living in Thailand in hope of eventually being sent to the United States where many others moved.

Last year, the United States took in 14,000 Hmong who had been living in a camp in Thailand, but has not indicated it would take more.

Suspected hitmen arrested for murdering 17 anti-Laos government rebels

25 may 2006. The Nation

Police have arrested two suspected hitmen who reportedly confessed that he killed 17 anti-Laos government rebels including a Lao-American couple who claimed they were descendants of a former King of Laos.

Arthit was arrested in Udon Thani for cooperating with two other men, Suwat Suthang and Sombat Permpanya in murdering Sukan Techakampu, a former soldier in former Lao regime and his wife, Chantorn, at their residence in Ubon Ratchathani on May 11.

Police managed to arrest Suwat the following day who implicated Arthit and Sombat as accomplices. Arthit then was arrested. Sombat is still at large.

Central Investigation Department's Deputy Commander Assawin Kwanmuang said during the interrogation, both Arthit and Suwat reportedly confessed that they had already killed 17 anti-Laos government rebels.

"They claimed that of the 17, they murdered three Ubon Ratchathani, six in Nongkhai, one each in Udon Thani and Loei," Assawin said.

The two suspects were called, "Assassins of Mekong," he said.

The general quoted both suspects as claiming that they were hired by a "neighbouring country" to commit the murders and was paid Bt100,000 for each assassination.

Arthit admitted to involvement in the January 18 fatal shooting of Anouwong and Oulayvanh Sethathirath - known at home in Fairview, North Carolina, as Phillip and Ashley McRowan. The couple, who called themselves prince and princess, said they were descendants of a former king of Laos, although there is no evidence to back their claim.

The suspect, however, said it was his fugitive accomplice, Sombat, who fired the shots that killed the couple, Assawin said.

They had been visiting a Buddhist shrine in Nong Khai province when they were gunned down in broad daylight by two men wearing coats and black sunglassฌes, according to witnesses.

Accused assassins claim Laos paid them

26 May 2006. The Nation

Two suspected gunmen arrested on Wednesday in connection with a host of political killings in the Northeast said they were hired by a neighbouring country to kill Lao dissidents in Thailand, police said yesterday.

The pair confessed they had killed 17 people here, including Lao-American social activists Anouvong and Oulayvanh Sethathirath, who were shot at a monastery in Nong Khai on January 18. The couple lived recently in North Carolina, where they were known as Philip and Ashley McRowan. They claimed to be descendants of King Xay Sethathirath, the founder of Vientiane.

Gunmen Arthit Klinchan and Suwat Suthang - dubbed "the butchers of Mekong" - said they were paid Bt100,000 by unknown agents from the neighbouring country for each of their victims, the Central Investigation Bureau Deputy Commander, Police Maj-General Assawin Kwanmuang, said.

Lao Ambassador to Thailand Hiem Phommachanh rejected the stunning allegations last night, saying his government had nothing to do with the murders in Thailand.

"We don't know about these assassinations and consider the matter as internal affairs of Thailand, which Laos will not intervene in," Hiem said in a phone interview.

The two suspects were arrested in Udon Thani as police hunted the killers of Sukan Techakampu, an ex-captain in the former Lao regime and his wife Chantorn, Assawin said.

Three gunmen, who killed Sukan and his wife in Ubon Ratchathani on May 11, abandoned their car after a road accident not far from the crime scene, he said.

Officials found pictures of Anouvong and Oulayvanh - the American couple shot at Nong Khai - in the car that led to the gunmen's arrest. A third alleged accomplice, Sombat Permpanya, was still at large, Assawin said.

However, US-based Radio Free Asia reported differently yesterday. It said Suwat was arrested shortly after the murder of Sukan after being injured in the accident. He was granted bail and tipped police off about his colleagues.

Sombat and Arthit later turned themselves in to police in Nong Khai and requested protection due to fears they would be killed by the mastermind to kept them quiet, RFA quoted their lawyer as saying.

Members of the anti-Lao government movement have been killed consistently since 2001 and Thai authorities have been unable to arrest any suspects in connection with those murders. Many assassinations have been linked to the group that raided a border checkpoint in southern Laos six years ago.

Ex-captain Sukan was an associate of Anouvong and also a close friend of Sisouk Sayaseng, a suspected leader of the attack on the Vang Tao checkpoint in Laos' Champasak province in July 2000. Sisouk was shot by two masked gunmen at his home in Ubon's Sirindhorn district in November 2003.

Laos denies role in activists' deaths in Thailand

27 May 2006. The Nation

HANOI - Laos denied any involvement in the killing of several anti-government Lao activists in Thailand after police arrested two Thai suspects who allegedly said they were paid by Vientiane.

Thai police nabbed Arthit Klinchan, 25, in the northeastern province of Udon Thani on Wednesday and Suwat Suthang, 35, on May 13 in the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani on the border of communist-ruled Laos.

Central Investigation Bureau Deputy Commander, Police Major-General Assawin Kwanmuang quoted the men as saying they were paid Bt100,000 by unknown agents from the neighbouring country for each of their victims.

Lao foreign ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy protested Saturday against what he said was a "ridiculous story."

"We have a defense force in charge of defending our territory that has no precedent of any intervention abroad," he said Saturday.

"This happened in Thailand and we consider it an internal affair of Thailand."

"People need evidence before accusing someone. One has to be very careful with a case like this," he said.

I'm a Laos-born american citizen and I've been back to my parents country when I was younger which is Thailand and Laos. Growing up in America I've seen some crazy political hits on asian movie stars such as Haing Ngor.

I believe the thailand police officers has assasinated the couple in thailand. I don't think it's right for them to just shoot laos people when ever they feel they're in their country. I don't consider myself Thai, even though I'm more of it than Laos. I was born in america and chose my true race as Laos, because my cousins are full and so are my friends I grew up with here.

Us Laos-born citizens aren't to be taken as a joke, nor non-human. We don't put up with this thailand people shooting our people and we don't retaliate on our own kind. The more I see news like this, I don't like it. If things come down to it. Something may happen to thai people down here regardless of political hits. We are a big family from city to city in the United States. We are the strongest asians in America and will move our way to the top, without selling drugs and arms. Respect us or deal with us.

To any laos people reading this. Don't call yourself laotian. The name was given to us by the french people and we just got stuck with it. If you consider your a true laos. call yourself laos.. not laotian

bigbosslaos, on Sep 9 2006, 06:28 AM, said:

I did not know you were that many in the States.

Bluecat, on Sep 9 2006, 02:44 PM, said:

I'm sure theres not that much, but I can be the one to spark these kids mind and the next one will go on to grow faster. And it's not much about quanity, its the quality of our people.


You can have over millions of people who came to America and lost their traits growing up here, but learning about Asian America living and real Asian living on Asia can give you a better perspective of the world by placing yourself into the lives of both sides. I have had the chance to experience a lot of it.

bigbosslaos, on Sep 12 2006, 06:25 AM, said:

Well, at least nobody can accuse you of lacking ambition...