Laos

B

French Colonization

France seized control of most of present-day Laos from Siam in 1893 and gained the rest in 1907. The French administered the kingdom of Louangphrabang indirectly through its king, while French officials directly administered the rest of the country. They did little to develop Laos, which became the sleepy backwater of Indochina.

During World War II (1939-1945) Japan stationed troops in Indochina under an agreement with the French, who maintained their administration throughout most of the war. In the last six months of the war the Japanese seized control of Indochina and interned French officials and troops. The Japanese granted Laos nominal independence in 1945.

After Japan and its allies lost the war, a nationalist movement known as the Lao Issara (Free Laos) formed an independent government in Laos. However, France reoccupied Laos the following year, and the nationalists fled to Thailand. The French unified their Lao territories into a single country with the king of Louangphrabang, Sisavang Vong, as head of state. Under French supervision, the new government adopted a constitution and joined the French Union. In 1949 France granted Laos partial independence and extended an offer of amnesty to the nationalists in exile, most of whom returned to the country. A few dissidents under the leadership of Prince Souphanouvong, however, allied themselves with the forces of the pro-Communist Vietnamese liberation movement known as the Viet Minh, who were still fighting the French. The Lao dissidents called their movement Pathet Lao (Lao State). When Viet Minh forces invaded Laos in 1953, they handed over large areas of the country to the Pathet Lao. France accorded Laos full independence in 1953 as a constitutional monarchy, the Kingdom of Laos. Delegates to the 1954 Geneva Conference, who were negotiating France’s withdrawal from Indochina at the end of the First Indochina War (1946-1954), endorsed the country’s independent status.

C

The Kingdom of Laos

By 1954 the Communist and non-Communist blocs of the Cold War era had begun to take shape. The United States, as the leader of the non-Communist countries, was particularly concerned with limiting the advances of Communism in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, France wished to maintain the power of the Lao elite who had cooperated with the French colonial government. Under the terms of the Geneva Accords, the Pathet Lao and the territories they controlled were to be integrated into the rest of the country under the rule of the royal Lao government. The accords declared a cease-fire between the forces of the French Union and those of the Pathet Lao, and called for the Pathet Lao to withdraw their forces to the two northern provinces under their control. An International Control Commission was set up to monitor the truce. Meanwhile, negotiations were begun to include the Pathet Lao in the political life of the country. In November 1957 the neutralist prime minister, Prince Souvanna Phouma, at last reached an agreement with his half-brother, Prince Souphanouvong, to form a coalition government that would include two Pathet Lao ministers. The two Pathet Lao provinces were returned to royal government administration. By this time French influence in Laos was waning, and the United States, opposed to any accommodation of the pro-Communist Pathet Lao, backed a right-wing, anti-Communist group that ousted Souvanna Phouma’s government and rigged new elections. The ouster led the Pathet Lao to resume guerrilla warfare in 1959.

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In the renewed fighting, the Pathet Lao enjoyed the support of Communist bloc countries, while the United States supplied military aid to the right-wing forces. As the political situation deteriorated, a Lao army paratroop commander in the neutralist camp, Captain Kônglae, overthrew the U.S.-backed government and brought Souvanna Phouma back to power. The United States encouraged a rightist Lao military strongman, General Phoumi Nosavan, to drive Kônglae’s forces out of Vientiane and establish a rival government. Kônglae thereupon allied with the Pathet Lao, and together the neutralists and Communists soon gained control of more than half the country. Faced with this catastrophe, U.S. president John F. Kennedy agreed to accept the neutralization of Laos. A cease-fire was arranged, and a new 14-nation conference convened at Geneva in 1961. After prolonged negotiations the leaders of the three main Lao political factions (Pathet Lao, neutralist, and pro-Western) agreed to form a second coalition government led by Souvanna Phouma. The coalition government took power in 1962.

During the next two years Souvanna Phouma’s government came under increasing pressure from both the left and the right. Consequently, the neutralists themselves split, left-wing ministers left the government, and by 1965 the country had returned to civil war. As the war in Vietnam escalated, Laos became increasingly important to both North Vietnam and the United States. Both sides violated the neutrality of Laos: the North Vietnamese by infiltrating troops and supplies down the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail through eastern and southern Laos; and the United States by secretly bombing the trail and by recruiting, financing, and training a mercenary force of Hmong tribesmen to fight the Pathet Lao in northern Laos (see Secret Bombing of Cambodia). As the war dragged on, the bombing of Laos became heavier and the Hmong 'secret army' sustained terrible casualties and had to be reinforced by Thai mercenaries. Both North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces also suffered terrible losses.

As the United States sought a way to end the Vietnam War, the Pathet Lao strengthened their position in Laos and negotiations began for a cease-fire. Early in 1973 the Lao political factions agreed to a cease-fire and, in April 1974, formed a third coalition government, this time with equal representation from the right and left. Soon, however, the Pathet Lao gained political dominance. After Cambodia and South Vietnam fell to Communist forces in April 1975, the Pathet Lao used the opportunity to seize power in Laos.

D

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic

In December 1975 the Pathet Lao made their move. They forced the king to abdicate and proclaimed the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, modeled closely on other Communist states. Continuing the tradition of close cooperation between the Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese, the new regime developed a “special relationship” with Vietnam, depending heavily on their larger neighbor for military and economic aid and closely coordinating their government policies. Vietnam also stationed troops in Laos to bolster the new regime. Souphanouvong became president, but real power lay in the hands of Kaysone Phomvihan, the secretary general of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), which had guided the Pathet Lao to victory. As prime minister, Kaysone moved quickly to create a one-party Communist state. The government collectivized agriculture and nationalized industry. As peasant resentment grew, tens of thousands of Lao fled to Thailand to be resettled in the United States, France, and Australia. With the economy collapsing, the government halted collectivization, and in 1981 it launched the country’s first five-year plan. The plan, however, failed to meet its targets, and in 1986, after intense Party debate, Laos decided to liberalize the economy and allow foreign investment. The Communist economic model of centralized planning gave way to an open-market economy in which the government did not control all prices and production.

In the late 1980s the LPRP was disconcerted by the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which had been an important ally, trade partner, and source of economic aid. Around the same time, Vietnam decided to withdraw its troops from Laos, due in part to reduced Soviet support and internal reforms. To secure new sources of aid and investment, Laos began working to improve relations with foreign countries such as Thailand, China, and Japan.

The LPRP, however, held firmly to power. In 1989 the government held the first elections for a National Assembly, whose first task was to endorse a constitution. After the new constitution came into effect in 1991, Kaysone gave up the office of prime minister for that of president. At the same time, the LPRP office of secretary general was abolished, and Kaysone became party president. When Kaysone died in November 1992, a smooth succession divided his power between Nouhak Phoumsavan as state president and Khamtai Siphandon as party president and prime minister. Sisavat Kaeobunphan was appointed vice president.

In the 1990s Laos freed itself from its “special relationship” with Vietnam. Laos continued its drive to open to the outside world, joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), normalizing relations with the United States, and participating in regional integration projects. The economy grew rapidly throughout most of the decade. In 1998 Khamtai replaced Nouhak as state president and Sisavat became prime minister. Only the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s marred an otherwise hopeful future.

The Culture section of this article was contributed by Dawn F. Rooney. The remainder of the article was contributed by Martin Stuart-Fox.