Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "vang pao"

Hmong New Year celebration

2009-11-30T06:14:33Z

Thanksgiving Day usually means eating turkey. But for thousands of local Hmong, it means eating Hmong sausage, grilled pork and sticky rice while attending the Sacramento Hmong New Year celebration at Cal Expo.

More than 40,000 people are expected to attend the four-day celebration which begins Thursday and ends Sunday, said John Thao, Hmong New Year Committee board member. The board formed six years ago and consists of one representative from each of the 18 Hmong clans which make up Sacramento's community of approximately 26,000 to 28,000 Hmong. Hmong come from the mountainous regions of China and other countries Southeast Asia.

Nov. 14 and 15, Hmong already celebrated the new year at home with their immediate families and close relatives, Thao said. The celebration at Cal Expo is more than a New Year celebration - it's a festival of unity, a way to show wealth, meet new faces and come together to show support for the Hmong community in Sacramento, he said.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, General Vang Pao, will be cutting a ceremonial ribbon and giving a speech during the celebration's opening ceremony. A Hmong American born in Laos, the General fought in the Royal Lao Army and is revered by both Hmong in the U.S. and Asia. He was recently released of conspiracy charges.

His speech will kick off four days of events including a Miss Hmong California pageant, a Hmong Idol singing competition and a play reflecting on why the Hmong celebrate the new year.

The celebration will include local and international performers singing, playing music and dancing, said Tony Moua, the event's entertainment chair. Hmong people from China, Thailand and Laos, as well as other Asian American groups from Sacramento, are expected to attend the festival.

Moua and Thao both said they were excited that General Vang Pao will attend the celebration.

"He doesn't visit the area very often, (so) this is a wonderful event for Sacramento," Moua said. "It means the whole world to me, and it means that the region is strong and dynamic."

"It's important to all the Hmong, he's a hero to the people," Thao added.

Sacramento and Fresno both have about the same population of Hmong, the largest in California. Thao said that Fresno's Hmong International New Year celebration will be held Dec. 26 - Jan. 2, and will hold the Miss Hmong International pageant.

He also said he was looking forward to watching the play, which will reflect the history of why Hmong people celebrate the new year. This will be the first time the play will be produced, and it will be held on the first day of the event.

One New Year tradition is playing "Swb Pob", pronounced "pah-bah," which Moua said has similar rules to an egg toss. It acts as a way to socialize and meet new people.

Competitors wearing traditional Hmong clothing begin standing 10 feet apart while tossing a ball to each other. Each team must back up five feet every three minutes until they are 35 feet apart. The last person still tossing at the end will win a $100 cash prize.

"It's a celebration of life and for people to meet each other and promote culture," Moua said. "We are extending our hands to reach out and we would hope others do the same."

Hmong New Year takes place from 10 a.m. until an unspecified evening closing time, Thursday through Sunday at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd. Click here for the full schedule.

Photographs credit Lou Lo Photography. Photos show My Tzer Lao, last year's Miss Hmong California.

Hmong rally for accused conspirators

2009-10-06T03:44:01Z

"What do we want? Case dismissed! When do we want it? Now!"

Tria Vang, 25-year-old Hmong activist and part of the Hmong American Ad Hoc Committee, led a spirited crowd of nearly 1,000 through cheers as well as a march around the Matsui Courthouse building.

Organized by the Ad Hoc Committee, Hmong Americans and their supporters protested an indictment against 12 Hmong men accused of conspiring to overthrow the Laos government. It mirrored a similar rally in May of this year for Hmong leader and former general, Vang Pao, 79, who was recently dismissed of the same charges on Sept. 18.

Only one day earlier, Sept. 17, brothers Jerry Yang, 58, and Thomas Yang, 47, were added as conspirators with the 10 others indicted nearly two and a half years ago. According to The Sacramento Bee, there will be very little movement in the case until March; U.S. District Court Judge Frank Damrell Jr. wants to allow the defendants time to review the government's evidence against them.

Vang, who also emceed the Pao protest in March, said more people showed up than he expected.

"(The protest) turned out good, considering it was very sudden," Vang said. "We only talked about it since last Friday. We hope they throw out the case. There's not sufficient evidence to charge the (defendants)."

Some of the speakers included Vaming Xiong, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, committee member Thomas Lee and lawyer James Brosnahan all spoke to the crowd.

"We've been betrayed by this case," Lee said. "There are 12 innocent defendants entrapped; they have no capability to overthrow a government."

Lee added that the previous Vang Pao rally brought good publicity to the case. "It does send a clear message not only here but throughout the world that (U.S.) foreign policy is not fair. We feel that the U.S. is using us as bait to work with the Lao government.

"We don't want to fight the government, but they want to arrest us," he said.

"There is no conspiracy here," Brosnahan said.

"The charges are stupid," said William Thomas, a veteran from Sacramento. Thomas was passing by when he was drawn into the rally by American flags, he said.

Thomas said he supports the Hmong and opposes the indictment. "Give them the benefit of the doubt and drop their charges, too," he said. "The case is a waste of money."

A status conference, or meeting between attorneys, is scheduled for Mar. 15, 2010.

Ruling postponed in Hmong conspiracy trial

2009-05-12T04:05:42Z

A federal judge on Monday ordered prosecutors to turn over the remaining evidence against Hmong defendants charged with an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the communist Laotian government.

Presiding over a packed courtroom in Sacramento, U.S. District Court Judge Frank Damrell Jr. of the Eastern District of California deferred ruling on the defendants' motion to dismiss the case until all evidence is in.

"I much prefer to make my findings on a complete record, and that's what I intend to do," Damrell said.

Prosecutors have provided the defense with about 70 percent of the evidence since the indictments were handed down in June 2007, said defense attorney Mark Reichel.

As the court proceedings continued, thousands of ethnic Hmong, estimated at more than 5,000 by Sacramento police, rallied outside the federal courthouse to support the dismissal of the case against 79-year-old former Royal Lao Amy General Vang Pao, considered the "George Washington" of Hmong throughout the world, and 10 other defendants. Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Harrison Jack is the only defendant who isn't Hmong.

The case has been a rallying point for Hmong throughout the world. Hmong communities from throughout the U.S. and as far away as France and Australia pooled money to send supporters to Sacramento Monday. Countless Hmong in Laos, Thailand, China, Vietnam, the United States and elsewhere in California tuned in via cell phones and radio stations that patched into the rambunctious yet peaceful rally via conference calls, said Wang Vang, national chairman of the Fresno-based Hmong-American Ad Hoc Committee, which organized the protest.

The defendants are charged with violating the federal Neutrality Act by planning a military attack to oust the Laotian government.
Defense attorneys led by John Keker, who once prosecuted Oliver North, asked for the case to be dismissed due to government misconduct -- which the judge said was an "unprecedented" motion.

The defense contends that an undercover agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) committed entrapment by telling the defendants he worked for the CIA and that the CIA would support a coup against the government of Laos.

"That's outrageous misconduct," said defense attorney Jim Brosnahan. "We're asking for a lot here (in asking for a dismissal). But after 15 years of fighting for this country, these gentlemen are entitled to it."

Prosecutor Robert Tice-Raskin said the agent did indicate to the defendants that the U.S. government would support a coup. But he also said that the defendants believed the man was an arms-dealing criminal, rather than a U.S. government agent. The agent was simply reacting to a question posed by Jack about how "world powers" would react to a coup, he added.

"Are you troubled by the fact that the agent said the U.S. government would back this?" asked Damrell.

"If that were indeed the situation, I guess I would find that somewhat troubling, yes," said Tice-Raskin.

The defense also contends that the ATF agent's testimony, which led to the indictments in June 2007, was not backed up by transcripts of wiretap recordings. Defense attorneys also said the recordings picked up Hmong discussions that haven't yet been translated into English.

Hmong protesters outside the court said they don't believe the defendants are guilty of the crimes they've been charged with. They also said they believe due process of law hasn't been followed for the Hmong -- in part because the case has taken so long. An estimated 15,000 Hmong veterans are believed to live in the U.S. after fighting under Pao for the U.S. during the Vietnam War.

"Americans came to Laos and asked Hmong to join the secret war to fight the Viet Cong," said Kou Vang, 27, of Taylorsville, N.C. He accompanied his 70-year-old father, Chi Vang, who served under Pao in Vietnam.

"Now the Americans have turned their backs on Vang Pao and they're making him out to be a bad guy," Kou Vang said. "That's why everybody's here today -- to say it's false accusations. Vang Pao is a hero to the U.S. and to the Hmong."

An estimated 85,000 Hmong now live in California, said Paula Yang, spokesperson for the Hmong-American Ad Hoc Committee in Fresno.

Thousands of protesters wearing white to symbolize peace shouted "Free Vang Pao! Free Vang Pao!" while hoisting American flags and signs such as, "Liberty and Justice for All."

American veterans also turned out for the hearing and rally. The Laotian government has been making war on the Hmong ever since the Vietnam War ended, said retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Jim Cook.

"We must send a strong message (to the Laos government and U.S. President Barack Obama) to stop the genocide against the Hmong, " said the 55-year-old Elk Grove resident, who served during the Vietnam War era.

"Veterans are saying, 'Enough of this garbage. Let's do what's right. They're human beings,' " said Korean War veteran Charlie Waters, a judge advocate for the California chapter of the American Legion. "If this goes bad, we are going to raise all kinds of hell."

A status hearing has been tentatively set for early October.