Board to reconsider naming Madison school after Hmong general
(Published Tuesday, June 5, 2007 10:41:40 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - The school board will reconsider naming a new elementary school for a former Hmong military leader after federal prosecutors charged him with plotting a violent takeover of Laos' communist government.
General Vang Pao was among nine Hmong leaders arrested Monday and charged in federal court in California with conspiracy to topple the Laos government by killing communist officials and reducing government buildings to rubble.
Prosecutors called Vang Pao the mastermind of the plot, which involved raising money to recruit a mercenary force and equipping a small army to pull off a coordinated set of attacks with anti-tank missiles, grenade launchers and C-4 explosives. One prosecutor called it "conspiracy to murder thousands and thousands of people at one time."
The charges came just 12 days after Madison school officials broke ground for the school on the city's west side and controversy continued to rage over the school board's April vote to name it General Vang Pao Elementary. The school is expected to open in fall 2008.
Supporters say the name will honor the large Hmong community and recognize Hmong contributions as allies during the Vietnam War. Hmong leaders lobbied fiercely for the name, saying it's the first time their most prominent leader has been honored that way.
Vang Pao led CIA-backed Hmong forces in Laos in a so-called secret war against communists in the 1960s and 1970s that claimed thousands of lives. Many Hmong credit him with freeing them from oppression in southeast Asia and helping them build new lives in the U.S., where he emigrated in 1975.
But a vocal group of parents protested the board's decision, citing allegations that Vang Pao ordered executions of his own followers and enemies during the war and was involved in drug trafficking with the CIA.
Several dozen protesters showed up at the school board meeting Monday - even before they knew of the charges - holding signs calling Vang Pao a "war criminal" and a "killer."
School Board President Arlene Silveira said the board will begin to investigate the nature of the charges on Tuesday and then determine the next steps it will take. She said the board might back off the name if the federal investigation uncovers damaging information about Vang Pao.
"Obviously, if there is something that is negative and we would like to have a discussion, what we will do is have a reconsideration," she said.
Parent Heidi Reynolds has helped collect more than 500 petition signatures urging the board to reconsider the name.
"Please, do the right thing," she told the board Monday night. "Open this back up."
