Hmong, Laos Community Honors Tragic Mountains, Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt

FRESNO, Calif. and WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –
Thousands of Hmong-Americans from California and across the United States will
gather in Fresno for special ceremonies on December 27 at the Hmong and Lao
veterans monument at Fresno County Courthouse Park and the Hmong New Year at
Fresno Fairgrounds. The ceremonies will honor author and human rights
activist Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt and commemorate the 15th anniversary of the
publication of her book Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans and the
Secret Wars for Laos (Indiana University Press).

“We will recognize our fallen soldiers, their families, and honor Dr. Jane
Hamilton-Merritt,” said Lt. Colonel Wangyee Vang, President of the LVAI. “Dr.
Hamilton-Merritt was a Nobel Prize nominee … the 15th anniversary of her
book ‘Tragic Mountains’ which details the Lao-Hmong contribution during the
Vietnam War, will be acknowledged and honored.”

A Lao Hmong veterans ceremony will be held from 11:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.,
at the Hmong and Lao Veterans Monument at the Fresno County Courthouse Park.
A special evening commemoration ceremony will be held from 7:00 P.M. to 11:30
P.M., at the Fresno County Fairgrounds.

The Lao Veterans of America (LVA), Lao Veterans of America Institute
(LVAI), the Center for Public Policy Analysis (CPPA) will cosponsor and
participate in the ceremonies.

“Many Hmong and Lao-Americans will be gathering in Fresno to celebrate the
Hmong New Year and commemorate and honor the 15th anniversary of the
publication of ‘Tragic Mountains’ as well as Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt’s crucial humanitarian work,” stated Philip Smith, Executive Director of the
CPPA in Washington, D.C. “Dr. Jane Hamilton Merritt’s pioneering book and
critical humanitarian and human rights work have helped to save the lives of
many thousands of suffering Hmong and Laotian refugees over the years.”

“In celebration of the 15th anniversary of its publication, a revisit to
Tragic Mountains is a must,” stated Indiana University Press. “Tragic
Mountains is her account of the historic struggle of the Hmong and of their
betrayal by the United States.”
http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=21032

Currently, some 7,000 Hmong political refugees are in danger of forced
repatriation from Thailand back to the one-party authoritarian regime in Laos
which they fled. The refugees are being detained at Nong Khai and Ban Huay Nam
Khao, Petchabun Province, Thailand. http://www.tragicmountains.org

www.centerforpublicpolicyanalysis.org

SOURCE Center for Public Policy Analysis