12 Years of US Imperialist Intervention and Aggression in Laos

7/29/2019 12 Years of US Imperialist Intervention and Aggression in Laos

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~ ~ U . S ! : S TINTERVENTIONandAGGRESSION


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TlVELI" l \ } " / ~ A R SOF A.lIERICAN IXT ERVEXT IO.Y

AX]) AGGRf.


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e .- c:.-. 02 9 J ~ J l n : W C l 9 1 G.lJ@n1


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TWELVE YEARSOF AMERICAN INTERVENTIONAND AGGRESSION IN LAOS

:'lEO LAO HAKSAT PUBLICATIO:'IS1966


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011 the occasion o f the 4thdllllit'uSal]' o f the Slgllillg o f tli,'1)62 Gellet'a rlgreelllellt 011 Laos


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MAP OF LAOS

L E ~ DN"fionsI6oundar,.esBoundariesofflrovincesProVisioIJslm;/ifary detnarcalion/lne

P r o ~ " ' n c i a / lown


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CO TE TS

Pne;e

I. \merican neo-colonialism and "special \\"arfare"in Lnos 15

II .\\nin po!icirs of thr United Statl's' nco colonialismnnd mninstnY of its "special wndarr" in Laos 51

Ill. lneyitable bnnkruptcy of the United States' poliC\' ofintenention nnd aggression nne! ne\\" \\ar adventuresin Lans 93

1\ The Lno peoplr nre rrsolu!e to dcfrat the UnitedStates' intl'f\Cntion and aggression, and s!riye for IIpeaceful, neutral, independent. democratic, unifiedand prosperous Laos 123


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FOREWORD

Un[olding in close relation with the national-liberationstruggle o[ the fraternal Vietnamese and Khmer peoples, theright [or liberation waged by the Lao people over the lastIrunty years led to the conclusion in Geneva of the 1954 and1962 international agreements which recognize and reaffirm the


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That c O I 1 ~ t i t u t e s tilt immediate al1d uwlerl!lil1[{ cause of tht!statt! of war which is unceasin[{ly aggrav:llil1[{ Iht! situation inour country al1d the SU[Jt!rtI1RS of our pt!ople. al1d ha, il1crea,edthe dal1.!fer 0/ a major conflowation In 1l1dochina lind Southeast;1 ~ i a .

For tri'el1.'e !/NlfS nOri'. ill ~ p i t e oi the international afIrrpmel1ts so/rmnl!l [{uaral1teeing their indeprndel1ce. sovereigl1tyand right to huild their country ill peace. our people havr herl1iorced to defel1d, arms ill hal1ds, their existel1ce as a sovereign/latiol1. For twelwe !lrars 110W, ill racr of thr impudi'l1//!I il1tel1,ified aggression or the Unitrd Statrs, our people have shown(Ill unshakable de/prmil1atlon al1d all ever-clearer cOl1sciousl1essthat their ~ t r u g g l e agail1s1 /1merican imperialism in defel1ce oftheir natiol1al i l1terest, is closely linked to the ~ t r t l . l t g l e s of otherpeoples ill the world-wide l1ational-liberatiol1 movemel1t, 1I11dthat, heyond the l1ational i n t e r e s t ~ , it st/el1gthel1s all forc!'sfifIhtil1g for democracy, peace and social p r o g r e s ~

That is why we are rully confidel1t that with the ever-wid( '/ 'awareness or tht! danger posed hy Americal1 imperialism to theworld, and the joint action of our own forces resolved to figfttagainst the /1merican neo-colol1ialist war ill Laos. al1d of thejustice al1d peace-lovil1!? peoples ill the world, first al1d ioremostthe peoples al1d g o v e m m e l 1 t ~ of the participatil1g CO/Ill tries ofthe 1962 Geneva Conrerence on Laos, we shall he ill a p o ~ i t i o l 1to foil the Ullited States' adt'el1turous plans.

I I is in Ihis spirit Ihal in commemoralion or the conclusiol1of the 1962 Geneua Agreement 011 Laos, the ,Yeo Lao HaksatPuhlicatiol1s. in ~ p i t e or l1umerous di[Jicuft ies due to a prolol1gedwar imposed 011 Ihe Lao people. h(we taken the il1itialive ofpuh/ishil1g the presel1t document I t our hope that, 110twith

~ / a l l d i l 1 f . { ul1at'oidahle ~ h o r l c o m i n g s . Ihis document will helpenlighten to a ceria ill exlenl public opiniol1 and thereby promotea joint action in support or the Lao people12


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Though presented with stil i III complete matertals, t i l lS dow//1,,"1, we believe, casts a reL'ealillg l ight Oil the frue feafures ofl ' , I I ' I /UI I I lIeo-culOlialis//l as well a,\ the form of violellce if hasnsor!ed to ill Laos "speclUl !Carfare".lur lh"r , il is IlIlellded 10 gIVe a broad aCCOl/llt of fhe victories

'cor"d liy Ih, Lao people ill thetr pafriotic sffllggle, fhetrtllJproaell 10 Ihe Luo problem, fhe !C'ay to defeaf U.S. uggres

~ ' O ' lur Ihe I rilllll/ih ul fhe cul/se of a peaceful. lIeufral,",de!'eJl(!< III, dell /Uual,c, l II l if led Ulld prosperous Laos

Llb,. ..atrd Zonr oj litO" Jnly 196(,1\LU L.\U II.\I\SAT PLBLlCATlOI'S

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AMERICAN NEOCOLONIALISl\1 A D"SPECIAL WAFARE" I LAOS

.\fter \\urld \Var II, \merican imperialism has become theringleader of world imperialism. E\ er since, it has been makinge\er) effurt tu fulfil its dream uf ruling tile world.Its global strategy aims at encircling the socialist c o u n t r i e ~ ,checking the national-liberation movement, and preparing a

new world war. It is materialized by a network uf militar)bases, a liS-masterminded system of military alliances, andpreparations for a nuclear \\ar. The American imperialists havedriwn out til' other weakened imperialists one after the other110m their colonies and replaced them in enslaYing the peopleof ,\sian, .\fnc3n, and Latin .\merican countries, thus turningt lese countries into U.S. new-pattern colonies and war bases.But the JIlternatlUnal situation after World War !I has unde.gone great changes with the formation and increasing growth

of the socialist system, the c\'er-weakening of the imperialhts)stem, the collapse b) lumps of the colonial system, and t!leemergence of a series uf JJldependent countries.Confronted with this situation, the imperialists with :\merican

imperialism at the head, realize that the era of old colonialismis gone, and the despatch of an expeditionary force for colonialaggression in the uriginal sense of the term is out-of-date.

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1hel dare. r e l ~ Illg on its ltoIJUllIlC strengh, American imperialIsm has resorted to a ne\\ form of e\ploitatiall, ie. neololoillal!sm, In order to cf)llCeaI its true aggressive features.

\s e a r l ~ as it began to Ilurture e\pansionist schemes in Southeaq.\sia,.\mcrican nco-colonialism had cO\'c!cd the Indochinesecoulltrres. On .Ianuan I : ~ , 1 9 5 ~ , si\ mOllths before the conclusion of thc 195-l Gel;c\'a .-'lgrcemcnts, wbich restored peace inIndochina, l ' ~ Secrelar\ of State .I.F. Dullcs declared: "C.Sintcrcsts In thc Far East. from a strategic point of ,ie\\', arec10sch connected \\ith \\"hat is called the 'chain of littoralislands'. This dwin comprises 1\\0 continental bases: Korea illthc North


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war of dg-grcs-lOn in Indochina, aYailIng themselyes of the e\er-1 I 1 L r e a ~ l n J exhaustiun of the french, they haye gradually takenlOot in tIC Indochinese countries.

By nud-J9-!9, conceding to the United States' demands, su asto od more"l.: S aid" to cupe with their difYiculties and defeatsin "0 eir "dirty \\ar", the Prench were compelled to proclaimL,os, \'ielnam and Cambudia "independent States", which thus1)( me t It.' " a ~ ~ ( l l ' i d t e d Stales" of Induchina.

I I Jlue 1%0. L S. President 11. Truman declared lhat urdersI,ad bl'(l g-i\L 1 to incrt'ase mili!


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In August 1953, explaining lhe reason for U.S. intensifiedinlerference in Indochina, President D. Eisenhower declared lolhefederated Slates gO\'ernors lhat, in case Indochina would be lost,"the lin and lungslen of lh is region which \\'e greally ",due willslop coming to us".

The American imperialisls endea\"()ured to all-out assist-ance for the French colonialists 10 pursue "dirty war" andbecome day by day the "actual commander" in Indochina, moreand more reducing the French 10 the posilion of "simple mercenaries", as General II. I\'a\alTe, Comm'lnder-in-Chief of theFrench expeditionary force in Indochina,admilteditinl953 (2).

In 1954, in the face of the unavoidable defeal of the Frenchin Dienbienphu, the United States had to attend the GenevaConference on Indochina, but it kept on seeking all means 10sabotage this conference. At lasl, seeing lhat it \\'as impossibleto preYent the conference to come to success, the United Slateshad to let France sign the Agreement on the Cessation ofHostililies in Indochina. But in doing so, France had to complywilh seven conditions laid down by the United States. Some ofthese condi lions were related to Laos, for inslance:

- The integrity of Laos and Cambodia should be presened.-N o restriction could be accepted on the right of Laos,

Cambodia and South Vietnam to build up their forces, to importarmaments, and 10 call for foreign advisers (3).

These conditions show lhat though the American imperialistshad to step back, they did not yet reconcile themselves to g iv ingup their dark and long-range schemes againsl the Indochinesecounlries in general, and against Laos in particular.

The signing of the 1954 Geneva Agreemenls evidences theinlernational recognition of the slruggle for national liberation

General II. "a"arr , , ' , report to Paris. IUS;l(3) La f in ([' line gllcrre, J. Lacouture et Ph Devillers, Paris 1960

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~ r ~ I ~ ~ ' ~ 1 \ h ~ ~ e ~ ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I o[n I h t ~ l i ~ n ~ ~ ~ : l l ~ I ~ ~ : e ( 4 ~ ~ u ; ~ t r ~ : r ~ ~ ~ t ~ l : t g ~ I ~ ~ ) ~the cumplete failure of French colonialism, but also a bitterdefeat oi the L S inte[\'entionist policy in Indochina,Si'lcl' then, ho\\'el'er, the American imperialists' polic)

l U l l a r d ~ Llos h;;s shifted to a nell' stage, that of direct interI enlion and aggression, the beginning and gradual del'elupwent 'If "spel'i,1l lIariare",,, form of I'iolencc b)' ,\merican neo

L o l o n i a h ~ m ,

rIe l!j;jl Genl'la \grecml'nts stipulate that:In their relalions \lith Cambodia, Laos and \'ietn


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- The go\'ernment of Laos undertakes that "it will not joinill any agreement "'ith other States if this agreement includesthe obl igat ion to participate in a military alliance not in conformih \\ith the principles of the Charter of the United Nat ions01: \\ith the principles of the ,\greement on the Cessation ofHostilities in Laos or, so long as their security is not threatened,the obligation to e tablish bases on LlO territory for the milit;,ry forces of foreign powers (9).

Whereas on July 21, 1 9 5 ~ , the llead of the U.S. delegation,\ \ . Bedell SlJlith, had solemnly pledged at the last meeting ofthe Geneya Conference on Indochina that the U.S. GOYernmentwould refrain from resorting to the threat or the use of yiolenceto hinder the implementation of points frolJl I to 12 of the Conference Final Declara tion and the proYisions of the .\greement011 the Cessation of Hostilities in Indochina, U.S. PresidentD. Eisenho\\er declared: "The United States has not it sel f beenparty to, or bound by, the decisions taken by the Conference ...The .\greement contains features which \\'e do not like ... "

Eight years later, having sustained defeat after defeat in their"special warfare" in Laos, the American imperialists werecompelled to accept the 1962 peaceful settlement of the Laoquestion. This settlement included the agreements reached in1961 at Zurich, and in 1962 in the Plain of Jars, by the threepolitical forces in Laos, and the 1962 international agreementon the Lao question signed by fourteen countries in Geneva.

The 1961 and 1962 Tripartite Agreements determined thepolicy oi peace, neutrality and national concord of Laos andprovided for the formation of a Lao Tripartite National UnionGo\ernment which took the unanimity of the three parties asprinciple for set tl ing major State issues.

Set up in June 1962 on the basis of these tripartite agreementsthe National Union GO\'ernment put forward a political programwith a view to leading Laos on to the path of peace and neu

(9) Point 5 of the Conrerence Final Declaration.20


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t1alih' and to building a pcaceful. neutral, independcnt, democ r a t i ~ , unified and prospcrous Laos, In the diplomatic field, thelolic\ would he to implement thc fiyc principles of peacefulCf, existence to rdrain from joining any military alliance orbll'c, to forbid form of foreign interferencc in thc interll'll,!Tail's of Laos, to receiye aid without binding conditionsdJreclh' from all countrics. The internal policy would be resolutel\' 'to defend the independence, neutrality, sovereignty andterritonal i n t e g r i t ~ of Laos, to ensure all democratic liberties,to assure s e c u r i t ~ for a II citizens and equality for all nationalities in t II l ' O l l n t r ~ , to deYelop national economy and culture,t,l impro\e the liying conditions of the people, The politicalprogram of the Trirartite \Jational Union Government was infull accord,nce \\'itl' the Lao people's interests and aspirations,11 e prcsent aclua I situa tion in the coun and abroad, and thedeSire t'le KlIlg 0' bos llad expressed during the il1\'estitureceremol1\ of the go\'('rnmenl

The 1962 Gpl1('\a \grcl:'mpnt on Laos pro\'ides that:- The signatories to the .\greement recognize and will

ru:pect and obsen'e in eyery \\'ay the sO\'l'reignty, independence,neutralih, lIlity .Inc! territorial integrih' of the Kingdom ofLaos ( 1 0 ) ;

The signatorie, to the .\greement undertake that they willnot commit or pnrticipate in any way in any act which might

c ! i r c c l l ~ or i ] ( I i r e c t l ~ impair the sovereignty, independence, nelltraIity, u n i t ~ and territorial integrity of the l'ingdom of Laos ( I I) ;- The signatorit's to the _\greement undertake that thev will

not resort to the lise or threat of force or anv other m ~ a s u r e\\'hich migJot impair the peace of thp Kingdom Laos (12) ;

(10) Point I of the Declaration on t h ~ n e u t r a l i h ' of Laos,(II) Point 2a of the Decl arat i on al l the ne lltra iity of Laos,(12) Poi nt 2b of t h ~ Declaration on the n eu trality of l.aos.

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- The signatories to the ,\greement undertake that they willrefrain from all direct or indirect interference in the iniernalaffairs of the Kingdom of Laos (13);- The signatories to the .\greement undertake that they willnot attach conditions of a political nature to any assistance\\'hich they may oiTer or \\'hich the Kingdom of Laos ma\seek(J4); .-The singatories to the .\greement undertake that they will

not bring the Kingdom of Laos in any way into any militaryalliance or any other agreement, whether military or o t h e r \ \ ' i s ~ ,which is inconsistent with her neutrality (15), that they willrespect the wish of the Kingdom 010 Laos not to recog'nize theprotection of any alliance or military coalition, includingSE.A.T.O. (16) ;- The signatories to the Agreement undertake that they will

not establish in the Kingdom of Laos am foreign military base,fOleign stronghold or other foreign military instal lation of anykind ( I i ) ;- The signatories to the .\greement undertake that they \\'ill

not use the territory of any country, including their o\\'n forinterference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Laos (18);- .\11 foreign regular and irregular troops, foreign para

military formations and foreign military personnel shall be\\,ithdra\\'n from Laos (19) ;

(13) Point 2c of thc Dcclaration on thc nelltrality of Laos.(14) Point 2d of thc Declaration on thc nClltrality of Laos(15) Point 2e of the Declaration on the nClltrality of Laos(16) Point 2f of the Declaration on the neutrality of Laos.(17) Point 2h of the Declaration on the neutrality of Laos.(18) Point 2j of the Declaration on the neutrality of Laos.(19) Point 2 of the Protocol to the Declaration on the neutrality

01 Laos.

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-T i e ntrr,luetion of ioreign regular and irregular troops,f ~ ; ( : I ~ : ~ < 1 : ~ ' I ; : ~ \ ~ ~ ~ i t e ~ O ~ ~ ~ ) a ~ i o n s and foreign military personnel

T'le mtro(l[ tion into Laos (Jf armaments, munitions and1I,lr matt'ri.1 IS prohibited (21).

Tile 195-l and 1962 (Jenera Agreements constitute greatlietories for till' people of Laos and other Indochinese countries,and for pearl' 101 ing peoples allover tile world, T h e ~ confirmtill' status of a peaceiul :111(\ neutral Laos, recognize its SO\'

~ ~ l e t ~ t ; e ~ 1 ; : ~ d ~ ; e ~ , I ; ~ ~ : 1 ~ 1 ~ ' 1 : ~ ~ I I ~ ; ' i ~ : ~ : I ~ ' ~ u ~ ~ : , ~ ' ~ I ; ~ l ~ : ~ ' ~ I : ~ ~ e i ~ ~ t e ~ ~ i t ~ ~gelll,lIldl pI Ie II, 'H'utral, inrlependent, and democratic Laos.

The correct and strict implementation of tlleir obligations blall countries participating' in the aforesaid Gene\'a Conferenceshas an e " t r e l 1 1 e l ~ important significance,

\\"hrreas tile socialist countrie and sereral other membersof the G('nl'\.1 Conferences, as \I'ell as the patriotic forces inlaos, Ian- allln\s acted in accordance with the Gene\'a :\greements, th . \ '1'rcau imperialists han> taken a renrse courseofnctillJ1

[n l e ~ s tI .In ten \ ears, the ,\merican imperialists had beenrompelled te attend hl'o conferences held in Gene\'a, but the.,betrayed all tllat the\' had solemnly undertaken and signed 1tboth of them. The reason was that their scheme to enslave the

(20) PI nl of th . ProtOl'll1 to the Declaration on the nelltralitvo i laos -

(21) Point r, I ti,e Protocol ti l the Declaration on the nelltrality, fLaos

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Lno people, to tum Laos into a U.S. new-pattem colony and amilitary base in Indochina and in Southeast Asia remainedunchanged.

Only t\\'o months after the signing of the 1954 Gene\'aAgreements the ..\merican imperialists instigated a number oftheir allies and satellites to found the S.E.A.T.O. aggressivemilitary bloc and deliberately put Laos, South \'ietnam andCambodia into the "proteeti\'e umbrella" of this bloc, which wascompletely at variance \\ith the Gene\'a Agreements and resolutelyrepudiated by the peoples of the Indochinese countries.

Hitherto, the above-mentioned international and tripartiteagreements have been ceaselessly undermined. The peace, neutrality, sovereignty and independence of Laos are being trampled underfoot. The Lao people have not yet been able to enjoy[1 peaceful life and to build a peaceful, neutral, independent,democratic, unified and prosperous Laos \\'hich con tit utes theirgoal of struggle and their deepest nspiration.

As has been pointed out in the July 23,196-1 Declaration bythe Central Committee of the Nco Lao I-laksat on the occasionof the second anni\'Crsary of the conclusion of 'the 1962 Geneva.\greement on Laos, the only origin of this situation was theneo-colonialisl policy of intervention and aggression pursued bythe American imperialists towards Laos during the past years.

The Western press has long since remarked thai Laos hadfallen into chaos due to the U.S. interference in the internalnfTairs of this countrv ... In the eves of all Asians, the UnitedStates is the aggress'or in Laos (22). The \\'ell-kno\\'n .\mericancolumnist \\'. Lippmann \\'I"ote: "By methods which ha\'e neverbeen properly reported or explained to the American people,the present administration (of the U.S.A,) has deeply interferedin the internal affairs of Laos" (23).

(22) Eas tern Wor ld , January 1961.(23) Le mOflde, December 31, 1960 and The Observer, January 1st.

1961.

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The l" S. inlenl'nlion and aggression in Laos has been carrieclouli'l1J ne \\,jnlernalional j unclureafterWorlcl War II. :1sfaras L105 "as concernecl, after the \'ictory 0\'1'1' the French colo-ni,di,ts, it nominall) became a so\'ereign State, recognizecl bytill Gene\'a \greements; the people's national spirit surgedup \'igorously Therefore, to conceal their aggressh'e features\dth f l ~ a r r l to Laos as well as other countries in Asia, Africaand L tin \mrrica. the J\merican imperial is ts resorted to neo-cololl uI'\1 mlt/rods IIl/dl'r dec('ptiue political and economic

~ i g l / I ) n a r d ,

Thl' gl'a,[ual ~ l ' l I i n ~ - l I r of lhl' \ml"rican nco'colonial is lrule in Luo'

II' c!e",m.' of llIe pro\'isions of the 1934 and 1962 Gene\'a\gTl't'JI1l'nh. the lmerical/ imperialists haue kept 01/ giuingIIl il ilUI'lI (/lId ecnllomic aid to the pro-American faction iI/ Laos,no lilt: btl,', n; the 1950 ul/eqllal fiue-partyagreement , ) I t'l1;lItIlOI dl/encl' " and the 1951 bilateral agreement 011 "('conomic((operation"\ccording to figures published by U.S. sen'ices and by thepro .. \IT'erican UO aclminislration, U.S. aid to Laos o\'er the pastre l ic I \\ '1S ,s follo\\', (in million c1ollars).

_ Tr,tol amollld 0; US. aid ouer eleven years (from 1955 to1.%,i) about 830a) for the penod 1955 - 1962 o\,er 480il) fortlIeperiod 1963-1965 344(21)_ \l i l itary aid over eleuen years: about 600 (representing

noor, tI,m 70 per cent of the total amount of U.S. aicl o\,er theseel('\('n)ears).

.I) lor tI (' period 1955-1962: about 370 (nearly 80 per centoi tI'e amount of L.S. aid 0\'1'1' this period).

(2.1) According to data gi\'cn by thc U.S. Presidents office: 1963: 102million dollars 1964: 112 million dollars-1965: 130 million dollars.25


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b) for tile period 1963 - 1965: about 230 (2Ib) (representing70 per cent of the amount of U.S. aid oyer this period).The amount of annual aid (U.S. aid in general, military aid

in pl1rticularl for the period 1963-1965 increaserlIJy 1.5 and2 times, as compared witl1 tile period 1955-1962.The aforesaid published figures are still very far from the

trutl1 because t h e ~ l1ave not included the huge amounts of secretmilitary aid, the money and ml1terial directly allotted to proAmerican groups, to U.S. controlled "special forces" and tomilitary regions without passing til rough the pro-.\mcricancentral administration.

,\s 11 matter of facl, U.S. aid to Laos is much more importantUlan as re\ealed b\ published data..\ccording to tlIe Frenc'lweekh' La Trihulle des Salions of Jul\' 26, 1957: "OlTiciallyspeaki'ng, U.S. aid to Lads amounts yeariy to 74 million d o l l a r ~ ,allotted as follows: 7 million for the police and security senices, 7 million for the administrative sen'ices, 50 million for the25,000-man strong army, and finally, 10 million for the maintcn:lIlce of 250 U.S. advisers and technicians". The Journal deGplleve of .\ugust 13, 1960 wrote: "There is no other countryin the world \\'here the Americans spend more money per capital'nder the form of economic aid, and military l1id palticularly.To spend 25 million dollars a month for a country of 3 millioninhabitants is a very high ratio indeed".

U.S. aid to Laos, primarily aimed at serving tile U.S \\'ar ofl1ggression, is therefore mainly military.

l\\eeting the requirements of the intensificl1tion l1nd expansionof its war of aggression, the United Stl1'S lIas greatly increasedmilitary aid to its Lao agents. In .\ugust 1959, the Eisenho\\'er.\dministration urgently gave 34 million dollars for the Phoui

.Sananikone Administration to expl1nd \\ar to the whole country.

(24b) From the same source: 1963: 74,5 million dollars - 1964 : 74million dollars.26


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B\' tI e end of 1960, the lnited States allotted" supplementarym - i l i t a r ~ aId of 16 million dollars for the Boun Oum-Phoumi'osa\an \dministration to step up the war. By mid-1963, tointhrr till" plan of occupying the strategic region of the Plainof .Jars dlHI Xiengkhoang, til(' Kennedy Government o p e n l ~ andm


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destroys the exch:lI1ge yalue of the "kip" and makes it dependent upon the dollar, gi\'es the United States the right to reduce,to suspend or to cut off its aid at will, \\'henever it deems that"its interests are menaced". That is why, U,S, aid creates apermanent pressure on Laos' economy, ~ \ s the French paperLiberation remarked on October 10, 1959: "The U,S. interferencein Laos' foreign policy and the closer control of U,S. aid arealmost simultaneous",On the other hand, the modalities and conditions relating to

U.S. aid ha\'e enabled the United States to grasp monopoly in(he Lao economy and tnrned Laos into a market for U.S. il1\'estments and U.S.' sllfplus goods, thus strangling the Lao nationnleconomy. That is why "before 1953-1954, Laos \\'as a rice pro,ducer but in 1955 it had to import 16,000 tons of rice from Thailand. In the past, it could turn out cotton fabric and no\\' ithas to buy this material from Japan, from the United S t a t e ~ .or from Hongkong. It has to imporl eYen part of its needs infish, vegetables ..." (26), and "nearly 60,000 tons of riceannually" (2il.

According to an A.P. dispatch of June 20, 1965, e\'Cry year,the \'alue of Laos' imports from the United States amounts to20 million dollars, while its exports account for less than onemillion dollars only

Throngh Lao comprador capitalists, the ,\mericans haveinvested O\'er 80 per cent of the capital of o\'Cr 100 companiesno\\' operating in Laos. By founding a number of loan banks,joint enterprises, monopolistic trade companies in particular,they have nurtured a section of Lao people \\'hose interests arecloselv associated with the United States and whom theY liseasa poJitical tool. -

We can say that C.S. dollars haYe created in Laos a proAmerican faction endowed \\'ith economic and political profits

(26) French re\'iew Democralie nouvelle, February 1957 issue,(27) V.P.I., June 19. 1966.

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and pri\ileges. This faction grasps import and export monopolies and foreign currency distribution. It has enriched YeryC u ~ c k I \ ~ I ~ ~ a : ~ ~ ~ ' s ; , ~ ~ ~ ~ a ~ : ~ l ~ ~ : ~ ~ i ~ : L : r ~ : ~ 1 \ \ ~ ~ ~ ' : - ~ I ~ ~ ~ ; ; ~ i \ i ~ ~ S i 9 ~ ~ ~'TherL


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fall, and there is a serIOUS excess of imports over exports(according to U.P.I., June 2, 1966, the area under the control ofthe pro-.\merican administration had to import about 31 milliondollars of foreign goods and could export through legal channelonly 1.6 million dollars of goods). That is \l'hy the pro-American administration budget is in permanent deficit (for the1965-1966 fiscal year it "'as about 11,000 million "kips" and hasto depend upon foreign "aid", mainly upon U.S. aid. ,\loreover,lhe administralion has to indulge in serious inflation, the "kip"!Icing devalued day by day. Since the end of 1958, the UnitedSlates and its agents have !\"ice devalorized the "kip". Thismeasure olTered an occasion for the Americans and their lackeysopenly to plunder the Lao people's money, and for a clique of"privileged" people 10 indulge at will in currency blackmarketing. speculation and hoarding, to raise goods' price, and10 exploit the people.To "sa"e" the "kip", lhe Cnited Stales and a number of other

Western countries eslablished the "Foreign Exchange Operations Funds" (F.E.O.F.) allegedly in view of its stabilization.The United States contributed half of the capital. This moveallo\\'ed the nited States and the Western countries "eITec-tively to control Laos' c u r r e n c ~ and banks" (of the pro-Americanadrninistration)(28 l.Since 80 to 90 per cent of the country's income derive from

tnxes, the puppet administration has applied many measures toincrease taxes so as to partly make up for the deficit of thebudget. For the period 1956-1960, taxes of \'arious kindsincreased twofold. ,\\oreo\'er, gambling houses are publiclyopened in Vientiane and other cities for taxes. Besides, casinos,night-clubs, dancing halls, opium-dens are rife: filthy books,magazines, illustrated papers and films flood in, ad"ertising"the American way of life".

(28) U.P I. , June 2,1966.

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As i l result of this disastrous influence, in the area controlled b ~ the puppet administration, the labouring people livemore and more miserably, the economic and social situation\ I ' o r ~ e n s dal' by day. As many "deputies" expressed in recentsessions of the puppet "national assembly", in Vientiane, as aresult of C.S. aid over the last twelve years Laos "has now tobuy c\'erdhing from abroad", "in the whole country there

a r ~ S O I 1 l ~ fifty doctors, that is to say one physician fore\en 50,000 inhabitants", "the cost of living doubled in 1958and'increased tenfold in 1965, as compared with that of1953" ... Iloumphan Saignasit, "deputy" and head of theStatistics sen ice of the Vientiane Administration complained:"The c c o n o l 1 l ~ of Laos is rotten because its fa\,ade prosperitycomcs from foreign aid; the whole national economy isshaken ..."

The ,\merican press and news agencies have described thissombre picture of Laos under the power of the dollar during thepast years as folloll's: "The supply to the puppet army has ledto an aid program which destroys all political and economicstabilih" ('29); "over the past eleven years, the United Statesha\e spent 45 million dollars yearlyt; keep its adopted childalive ... ; to cut off or considerably to reduce U.S. aid to Laosmeans to lead this country to collapse" (30).Under the signboard of "aid", the American imperialists have

spent a lot of money and effort to build up in the area con-trolled by the puppet administration a network of roads andmilitary bases backing on Thailand for the purpose of their long-range scheme of aggression in Laos and in Indochina.Since 1957, they ha\'e stepped up the construction of strategicroads linking upper Laos to Northeastern Thailand, Lower Laosto Thailand and the regions of Upper, Middle and Lower Laosto South \'tetnam, along the Laos - Thailand border.

(29) Wall Street Journat, August 14, 1959 issue, quoting the 1959 reportof the Congressional Inquiry Commission on aid to Laos.

(30) AP., June 20, 1965.

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Formerly, the Amencans had built up, repaired and widenedmany sections of strategic road ..\i! 13 from Luangprabang toPakse, of national road ..\i! 9 connectJng Sa\'annakhet withQuangtri (South Vietnam), of national road ..\'2 7 connectingPhoukholln with the Plain of Jars, of road J"2 4 linking Paksane,Xiengkhoang to Samneua, those linking Luangprabang, Sayaboury to Northern Thailand, Pakse, Saravane to ,\ttopell, thatbe!\\'een Vientiane and Thadcua which is part of the strategicroad linking Vientiane to Nongkhai-Udorn (Thailand). On July31, 1958, at the ceremon) inaugurating the ferry of Thadeua\'ientianc and the railway station of Nongkhai, Horace Smith,L.S. ambassador to \'ientJane, pointed out that \\'ith the completion of this project, traffic would increase tenfold and it\\ould be possible to go directly from ,\\alaya to the ,\\ekongrhcr bank. When the plan for the construction of the Pakhinbun- Pakkading section on national road .\i! 13 was publishedthe .\merican press remarked that: "In the field of defence,this road would enable the Lao Government quickly to move itstroops from one region to another. .. ", and "would be part of theinternational road linking Luangprabang, Vientiane and Paksein Laos to Saigon in South Vietnam" (31).O\'er the last three or four years, the L'nited States hasrepaired or newly built nearly 400km of road. Recently for theconstruction of the Xiengngeun-Hinheup and Vientiane-Thakkheksections of road ..\i! 13.and a road linking Thailand to j orthernLaos, the .-\mericans have in\'Csted respectJvely 2,8.5 and 7million dollars. The construction of the strategic road linking

the Boloven base in Lower Laos to Thailand and to the Hig!lPlateau base in South Vietnam, from Udorn (Thailand) toI\ontum (South Vietnam) via Pakse - Attopeu which had beenpreY'iously begun on the Phiafay-Attopeu section, was relinquished afterwards when the war extended to Laos. It is nowbeing resumed by the United States on many sections betweenPakse and .\ttopeu.

(31) XeU.' lurk Times, July 25, 19GO.

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A S)stem of airfields has also been actively built up o \ ' ~ r theast years, 48 of them ha\'e b ~ e n e n l a r g . e ~ or c,onstructed III the

~ r e a controlled b) the Vientiane Admlllistra!lon: two secondclass (\\Taltay in \'ientiane and Seno in Savannakhet), 22 thirdclass and 24 fourth-class, not counting a few hundred small onesfor helicopters and light transport planes. All of these form ane!\\'ork backing on Thailand and serving the military airtransport and other acti\'ities of the United States and itsagents, The Waltay airfield is being hectically built up into amodern air base with strengthened installations and prolongedrUI1\\'avsaccessibletojelplanes.

The'LJmtl'd States has also built up a system of secret militar)stores and bdses along the Laos - Thailand border. Up toH,60 - 1961, it has constructed for the Rightist faction's armya general tore house at Seno (Sa\'annakhet), a number of mainwarehouses at Vientiane, Luangprabang, Savannakhet, Pakse.,.,a fourth-class repairing workshop at Vientiane and a number ofsubsidian dumps in various militar) regions, Important baseshave b e ~ 1 l created at Sayaboury, Vientiane, Pakse, Boloven,(Sara\ane). Sello, with garrisons, magazines, airfields, trainingcentres, radio-communications establishments.

According to the 1954 Gene\a Agreements, the French \\'ereallowed to maintain the Seno military base, and under the 1962Gene\a .\greement, this base would be transferred to the Tripartite I 'ational Union Go\ernmenl. In February 1961, "with19.5. means and partly together with U.S, technicians" (32), thePhoumi ~ o s a \ a n troops occupied part of the Seno base, thusc(1lTImitling an "illegal ael which was at variance \\'ith the 1954Geneva Agreements" (33), In June 1963, while the FrenchGo\ernment and the Tripartite National Union Government werepreparing respecti\'l'I) to transfer and to take over Seno, infurtherance of U.S. plan and putting to avail the compromise of

( 3 ~ ) La Tribulle des \ aliolls, February 10, 1961.(33) Liberatioll, February 8,1961, communique of the f'rench cmbass Jin Vientiane

3 T.Y. 33


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Prince Souvanna Phouma, General Phoumi Nosavan, in thename of the Tripartite National Union Government, sent troopsof the Righlisl faction to occupy the base completely.Now, Seno is the main base for the puppellroops and airforce of the Rightist faction. It is being actively transformed intoa modern one in the s\'slem of U.S. bases in LO\\'er Laos. As alink tn this s\'slem, a s'ecret base on lhe Bolm'en Plateau is alsobeing built up. This is a slralegic base nol only for Luwer Laos,but also for the whole area of SoutherIl Induchina .J/ong with the power of the doUar, the U.S. aid and adviser

machinery is actually an administratit1e one, dominating thepro-American government .

Since I95-!, in spile of the pro\ isions of the Gcne\'a Agreement.the United States llas set up in Laus such urganizalions formilitary purposes as:I. The Programs Evaluation Office (PEO.). - During lhefitst ) ears 10 avoid 100 brazen violations of the Gene\a Agreemenls wilh the formation of a military advisory mission, the

Unifed Slates eslablished the Programs Evaluation Officeaffiliated to the State Deparlment, which \\'as essentially anorganization of military advisers. I t was in charge of themilitary aid program, the distribution of arms and the supervision of their use, the logistics service, the training of theRightist faction's army, commandos and militia.The PEO. posted advisers beside the Militia and CommandoGeneral Inspection Service of the army, dispalched to eachmilitary region a technical advisory group and a trainingadvisory group, under the command of an American colonel; italso sent advisers even to a number of battalions.2. The Military Assistance Advisory Group (M.A.A.G.).-Set up in 1961, the M.A.A.G. was simply the transformation ofthe P.E.O .. It was headed by an American major general, arid

had a large-scale structure, capping over the army of the proAmerican government. I t comprised mililary a d v i s ~ , experts,34


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technicians, i n s t r u c t o r ~ on the one hand, ~ ~ d officers and , ~ e nof S. commando units b e l o n ~ m g to the U S. task force onthe other. It \\'as dl\'lded mto vanous departments: staff,logistics, training, air force, etc.

The ,\I...1.1.G. had representati\'Cs and addsers beside theDcience . \ \ i l l l s t r ~ and the Command of the puppet army. ThestalY organs, the intelligence, logistics, technical and otherservices, the officers' training schools, military training centres,and commandos formation centres had also advisers from the\/..1..1 G. In the m i l i t a r ~ regions there \\'ere M.A.A.G. advisers'"roups, Eacn mobile grouping, battalion, paratroop unit and:pecial unit of the puppet a ~ ' m y received a team with five to tenad\'isers commanded by a lieutenant or a captam. The M.A,.I.G.also had its olTicers and commandos from the "U.S. task force"posted In almost all areas where the local bandits and commandos of the puppet army were operating.

In faet, the M...1.A.G. played the role of an American stalTcontrolling all the staff ,,'ork, the operations and the intelligence,training and logistics activities of the Command of the puppetarnl\'. It also elaborated the plans of operations and diractedall ~ l i l i t a r y activities of the puppet regular and irregular forces.Speaking of the M.A.A.G. in Laos, the New York Herald Tri-bune, in its issue of February 19, 1962, pointed out that the'nited States' t'lYorts had succeeded in building up a considerable Lao army, that a group of U.S. instructors had been senlto Laos, and C.S. officers went down to the battalions or evento smaller units. It remarked that formally speaking, the method\ \ ~ s just like in South Vietnam.

3. Beside the ,\L1.A.G. \\'as the United States OperationMission (US.O.M.). - :\'ominally, this organ was in charge ofthe management and distribution of US. aid in Laos, examining and appro\ ing the military aid programs proposed by thelS . military advisers missions.

In fact, the U.S.a.M. looked after the equipment, supply andtransport of the puppet army and U.S. military personnel in

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Laos. It played the role of the logistics service beside thj lL 1..1.G., catering for the material needs of the U.S. aggressiv\ \ a f .

The u.S.a.M. posted it::; officers in all major branches of thpuppet administration. It had branch offices in the province\\here its officers directed and controlled the use of U.S. aidIH:rtil'ularly the supply of the local bandits-commandos, dubbe'"refugees".

-I. The United States Information Service (U.S./.S.). - Underthis name, this organization ga\e advices to the Rightist factionin the field of "psychological warfare" aimed at suppressing theLio people's patriotic mO\ement. I t furnished finance and111eans to reactionary organizations in the sen'ice of the UnitedStates. It had its branch offices in the provinces and large townsoj Laos. Its personnel was composed mostly of disg-uised intelligence officers.5. . .\fter the signing of the 1962 Gene\'a Agreement, for the

purpose of camouflage, the Americans changed the various mis~ i o n s p.E.a., M.A.A.G" U.S. a.M. and others into a new organization called the United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment (U.S.A.I.D.) in Laos. The activities and the machinery of U.S.AID. differ in no \\ay from those of its predecessQrs. It is composed mostly of disguised officers posted inmajor branches and specialized sen'ices of the puppet administration and armv, in base areas of the local bandits-commandos,so-called "rural' developement zones" and "refugees centres",which are none other than concentration camps.Like the U.S. a.M. and the M.A.A.G. the U.S.A.I.D. has branch

offices in the pro\'inces and large to\\ ns to manage and supervise the usc of U.S. military and economic aid there, and tosupply to the local bandits-commandos. In a word, it is secretlycarrying out activities of a military character, and maintains therole of a staff olTice and a logistics service.36


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6. Air AI1lNica is now an air transpo:l organization d i r e c ~ l yaffiliated to the U.S.A.lD. In the prenous years, Air Amertca\\'a. a logistics orgal1lzatlOn dependent th.e U.S.O.M. nnd hadefficiently sened the C.S. war of aggressIOn 111 Laos.\ftN the conclusion of the 1962 Geneva Agreement, AirAmerica did not withdraw from Laos ..\l present, it is based inThailand and keeps on making flights for the transport of militan supplies to the puppet troops and local bandits-commandos.

~ n September 5, 1963, in the course of a supply-flight to apo.t of the puppet army in Eastern S!l\'annakhet, a C. 46 planeof ,Iir Amertca was shot dO\\"l1 by tile Lao patriotic armedforces. The crew including .\nll'ricans, Thais, and Taiwanese,\\'ere captured with proofs. The Reporter in its issue of AprilIS, 1965 re\'ealed that the C./.,1. had used ,lir ,lmerica whichhad 50 transport planes manned hy .\merican, Thai, Lao ande\l'n South Vietnamese pilots, for the transport of supplies,medicines and armamenls to the commando groups of the pro.\merican faction in Laos.These are undeniable proofs of the military activities of AirAmerica as wrll as U.S .. 1.1.D. in Laos, proofs which take ofT the

"ci\'ilian" disguisr of tile aforesaid C.S. para-military organizations.With the establishmenl of its organizations, the number of

technicians. af1(l militarv ndvisers of the United States introducedinto Laos incrt'ase day iJY day.According to the BlIllptill de Paris of :\'ovember 13, 1959,up to 1959, the number of L'S. military personnel in Laos hndamounted to 300 - - 200 belonged to the PEO. and 100 instructors for the training of the puppet army-and "to avoid toobrazen a \ iolation of the Gene\'a ,\greement, all these U.S. military men earn' out their acti\'ities in civilian capacities but underthe command of a Brigadier". The annual expenditures for the

C,S. ac!\'isers and technicians occupy 10 per cent of the U.S. aidto Laos. B ~ 1961-]962, according to .4.P., September 17, 1962, thenumber of U.S militnry personnel increased to 1,500,37


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After July 1962, pretending to respect the 1962 Geneva Agree.ment, 666 men of the U.S. military personnel were formally with.drawn from Laos. But aftef\\'ards they \\'ere secretly b r o u ~ h tback, along with many new-comers.Now, the total number of Americans \\'orking in various U.S.01 ganizations in Laos, has amounted to over 5,000, most of themart disguised military personnel. They are seen in all importantbranches and services of the pro-American administration andarmy, in all military zones, in the command post of a numberof military units and local commando groups, in all trainingcentres, in secret militarv bases and even in a number of "ruradevelopment zones" and- "refugees centres" now in construction.

Disguised as civilian personnel, U.S. military ad\'isers assumethe task of training and commanding the Lao puppet' regularforces, the police, the local bandits-commandos.U.S. advisers draw up operatignal plans of the puppet army.The Times, in its January 20, 1961 issue, inrlirectly admitted

this when it wrote that General J.A. Heintges, head of the p.E.a.in Vientiane, had to look after U.S. weapons until he supervisedwhat he called the "final decision", Le. when guns began firing.On January 21, 1961, by evasive statements, General A. Boyle,new head of the P.E.G., admitted the U.S. advisers' participationin the military activities of the puppet army: "Since we ha\'e toteach them (the puppet troops) ho\\tousethese (American) weapons, we want to supervise how they u.e them in the battlefield.For this purpose, we have to send observers to the fran!."

In the course of the puppet army's offensives against theliberated areas controllerl the patriotic forces of Laos, U.S.military personnel were present at the operational commandpost, and frequently went to prepare for and to observe thebattlefield.

At present, officiall), the U.SA.I.D. and the U.S.l.S. are themain U.S. organizations in Laos, coming under the U.S. em38


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hasS\. Their highranking officials enjoy diplomatic privileges.Thei; offices and warehouses occupy big bu ildings in Vientianeand other main cities. .

TIll' hra{n of all t h i ~ machinery .is the U.S. embassy in Vien-U[dle. With a stalT of over 400 persons, among them many dis-cruised highr,lI1king officers, the U.S. embassy now plays the;ole of an 'Idual commander.'Replying to a correspondent of the I'oice of America, in anirteniew b ~ the end of l'\o\'ember 1964, "'hen he was newlyappointed U.S. ambassador to Vientiane, \V.H. Sullivan dis tortedthe truth about Laos in a Jperfidious and condescending lan-guage . "In ordl'r to define the U.S. objecti\'es in Laos, we musthave a broader understanding of the objectives of our foreignpolicies all over the world", and "assume great responsibilitiestowards small countries such as Laos" (34). The U.S. ambass, dol' playing the role of a master in Laos is a typical evidenceoj the remark made by the former French CommanderinChief111 Indochina, General H. Navarre on "the colonialism of thedollar": "TLere is no governor general, no resident superior,no high c o m r n i ~ s i o n e r from the United States, only an American,;mbassador, but nothing can be carried out without hisappro\'al" (3r,).Ou the "tnH'" role of the U.S. organizations and personnel in

Laos, the foreign press has since long pointed out, "It is obviousthat the U.S. mission in Laos has set about undermining thenrutrality of this small country" (36); "the Americans behave inLaos as in an occupied countn" (37); "it can be said that theactual go\'rrnment in Laos is th'e U.S. embassy (38).

(34) I S I S . :'\o\'Cl11ber 196-\.(.'0) ,1gollie lit: l ' lnl!ochillc, Henri l\avarre, Paris 11>56.(36) British paper Tribulle, September II, 1959.(37) B"lIet in de Paris, i\oHl11her 13,1959.(38) Freneh paper Le Figaro, December 4, 1960.

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On this score, the October 13, ]965 Declaration of the NationalUnion Political Conference between the Neo Lao Haksat and thepatriotic Neutralist forces, was also explicit: Under the grip ofthe dol/or and the U.S. disguised ruling machinery, the areaunder the control of the pro-American administration has in factbecome a US. new-pattem colony and a military base.

" Special warfare" in Laoli, an Amer ican neo-coloniali .tWar of aggreliliion

With their dollars and camouflaged ruling machinery, the,\merican imperialists have been stepping up their scheme oftl'rning Laos, \\'hich the Geneva Agreements and the TripartiteAgreements had stipulated to be a neutralist country, into a"pro-American neutral country", a "bulwark of the free world inSoutheast Asia". The Weslern press remarks that with regard toIhe Lao question, the Kennedy Go\'Crnment had the slime attitudeas the Eisenhower Government, thaI the U.S, scheme in Laos hasal\\'ays been to "found a free, independent, unified and nonaligned Laos, on condition that it should be n Westerninclined neutrality. And the Uniled Slales sees no paradox inthe acceptance of American m i l i t a r ~ aid by a non-alignedLaos" (39).

In furtherance of this scheme, the American imperialists haveresorted to all means, political, diplomatic, economic, andm i l i t a r ~ . An out.standing feature of their neo-cotonialist policyin Laos is the close combination of military, political, and diplomatic methods, the simultaneous application of the policy offorce and the method of "peaceful evolution" and peace negotiations. But the policy of force remains their fundamentalpolicy.

This dual policy of the American imperialists has broughtabout very complicated developments in the Laos situation O\'er

(39) French papcr Lo Croix, February 6, 1961.40


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the past twehe years. 'ow the s i t u a t i ~ n becomes very tense,noW it temporarily calms dO\\'n, but Its general trend IS tobecome increasingly serious. rhe New York Herald Tribunebluntly \\Tote in its issue of February 19, 1962 that "The U.S.Government adopted two courses of action in Laos, parallel to

e ~ i c h other, and complementary to each other: on the one hand,it tried to a\'oid leading Laos onto the Communist path by forming a coalition go\'erlllnent with the participation of all politicalparties, on theotherhand,it endeavoured to increase the antiCommunist forces in Laos and to equip them with all they mightneed to cope with every emergency".

In the last twel\'e years, the American imperialists and theiragents ha\e been twice compelled to accept a peaceful solutionat the Geneva Conferences of 1954 and 1961-1962. Twice theyha\e been compelkd to accept the formation of a coalitiongovernment \\ith the participation of the Lao patriotic forces,in 1957 and in 1962. But each time, they plotted to use the political method of "peaceful e\'olution" to wipe out the Laopatriotic forces, to materialize the objectives which they failedto reach hy armed violence. This constitutes their greatest political schemps,

By participating in peace talks, by using bribery and inducement, and by resorting to political and economic pressure, theyhoppd t h e ~ \\olild make the Lao patriotic forces slacken vigilance, 50\ \ di\ision among their ranks, and weaken them in orderto wipe t1H.'m out by political means or to suppress them byarmed forces.

On the other hand, they carried out frantic "anti-communist"propaganda. In its issue of ,\lay 1955, the U.S. review ForeignAffairs wrote: "We (.\mericans) covered up our objectives byslogans of defence against Communists. No doubt, we admittedthat this was a deceiful expedient". They trumpeted about theso-calleo "aggression b\' the Pathe! Lao Communists ano the:\orth \'ietnamese Communists" to slander the Lao patrioticfcrces and the socialist countries, particularly the Democratic

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Republic of Vietnam, a signatory party which has al\\ays beenrespecting and correctly implementing the Geneva Agreements ,The:- thus attempted to isolate the Lao patriotic forces politically, to deceive public ORiJlion, and to conceal their own ignominious face. The British Daily ~ ' f o r k e r exposed this U.S,mancrU\Te in it s issue of January 2,1961: "The criminals inWashington and in the Pentagon were contemplating a directarmed inter\ 'ent ion in Laos, The pretext for them to intervenewas a completelv fabricated tale about North Vietnamese interference in Lao. . This \\'as an obvious trick which no commenta tor ha \'ing a sense of responsibility could belie\'e. ,\11 interference in the internal a!Tairs of Laos comes from the UnitedSlides side",The experience gathered over the past twelve years has sho\\'n

that whene\'e r the .\merican imperialists sustained defeat on thebattlelield, they and their a?;ehts a!\\'ays temporarily steppedback, shifted to political methods, and accepted a peaceful~ o l u t i o n ,

HO\I'el'er, as they still possess strong forces and stick to theirwill of aggression, they do not reconcile themselves to defeat.Realizing on the other hand tbnt they c"nnot peacefully eliminatethe Lao patriotic forces by political methods and after consolidating and priming their forces, they \\'ent on brazenly sabotaging this peaceful solution by both attacking the Lao patrioticforces and undermining the Lao coalition gOl'ernment withsubHrsive methods, r\nd whenever t ~ e y resorted to force theyfurther aggravated the situation in Laos,The reality of Lao histo ry o \'e r the past twelve years is that

the .-'\merican imperialist agg ressors' guns have never stoppedIiring in this countr:-, in spite of negotia tions and agreements,.\s pointed out in the October 13,1965 Declaration of the:'\Iational Union Polit ical Conference, the American imperialists'fundamel1tal policy has always been a policy of force becausethey have not given up their consistent scheme of annihilating42


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the Lao patriotic forces and turtling L a o ~ into a U.S. nl'w-pattern co/any and a war base in Indochina and in SOll/h('astAsia.

It is kno\\'n to eYer) body tbnt in thr press conference hcldon ,\Iarch 23.1961,1\\'0 months beforr thr opcning of thc GencvnConference on Laos, President J.f. Kennedy demanded, as acondition for' the peaceful solution of the Lao qurstion, that anend be put to \\ hat he called "Communist attacks with foreignassistance", noisily thrratened that "in case these nttacks \\'rl"('not stopped, the United States would ha\'e to consider ho\\' toreacl .. The form of the U.S. reaction would be carefully studirdnot only in Washington but alsoM S.E.A.T.O. conferences withour a l l i ~ s " , and "let no one have any doubt about our detrrminntion in this connection". During the last dnys of the Genc\'aConference on Laos, the Manchester Guardian of June 12, 1962\\Tote: "The enemy of peace in Laos was linking his dark schemes with the plans of the reaction in Laos. Those reaction:lryelements haw craselessy pinned their hopes in undermining theefforts to form an independent and democratic State in Lnosnnd rrlied on the support of U.S. arms". This objective remarkmight be considered a very correct evaluation of the policy offorce the American imperialists' had hitherto pursued in Lnos.For the past twenty years, the Lao patriotic forces hay(' grownup The) hnve led the resistance war against the French to\ ictory and become the main force of the Lao people's strugglrfor national liberation.

Considering the Lao patriotic forces the main obstncle 10 itspohcy of intervention and aggression, American neo-colonialism,cruel bv nature, did not hesitate to use force to annihilate atnm' c o ~ t the Lao patriotic forces and to crush the Lao people's

s t r u g ~ l e for liberation as early as it entered Lao' to replacedefeated French colonialism. Using the reactionary forces, on thcone laml it has ceaselessly launched military offensives againstthe Lao patriotic forces, on the other, through mopping-up operations, it has ruthlessly oppressed thepopul


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Over the past !\n'ln' years, with the puppet forces as aninstrument and using prisons, detention camps, bombs and eventoxic chemicals, the A.merican imperialists ha\'e perpetratedinnumerable crimes. T h e ~ ha\'e jailed and massacred so manypatriots, killed and crippled so many innocent people! They haveindiscrimin:ltely destroyed pagodas, hospitals, schools, ricefieldsand gardens, \'illages and t0\\"11S. They haH plundered andkilled many thousands of domestic animals, and devastatedlarge populated areas.

In fact, OVN th e past twelve years, t he A mer ica n i m p e r i a l i s t ~hat'e been waging a neo-colonialist war of aggression in Laos,g ra du al ly c ar ry in g out th e so-called "special warfare", a formof violence IiIf American neo-colonialism."Special warfare" is the third type of warfare in the "flexible

response" stratefly elaborated by the Kennedy-Taylor clique inrecent years. It is essentially a neo-colonialist \\'ar of aggression.This is a kind of aggressive war in which the aggressors assumeth e role of 'behind-the-scene c om ma nd er s t hr ou gh a system ofadvisers, prOVide money and equipment, whereas tile nativere ac tio na ry pu ppe t forces prettified by signboards of sham"independence", "State", and "democracy", are used asinstruments.

In this sense, \\'e can say that in the recent period, the American imperialists ha\'e been \\'aging in Laos a kind of \\'ar in\\'hich "Asians are used to fight Asians" and "Lao people tofight Lao people".

In fact, no sooner had the 1954 Gene\'a Agreements beensigned than the American imperialists' scheme of aggressionagainst Laos was laid bare by the United States' pressurebrought to bear on the S.E.ATO. to the effect that Laos bedeliberately put \\'ithin its "zone of protection" and by the visitof the U.S. Secretar\' of State J.F. Dulles to Vientiane inFebruary 1955 to pre;s the pro-American Katay Don SasorithAdministration "to take more drastic actions against the Pathet44


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Lao" (40). Later on, Amencan high-ranking officers such asGeneral L Collins, \dmiral A. Radford ... rushed to Vientianeand dre\\ up plans for their agents to launch an offensive onthe Pathet Lao iorces ( I I ) .Earlv in 1955, half a )ear after the conclusion of the Gene\a

A g r e e ~ e n t s on Indochina, and a few months after its cominginto force. the Katll) Don Sasorith Government, on Americanorders, ::.tarted an olTensi\e on Samneua and Phongsaly, theh\ 0 regrouping pro\ inces of the .eo Lao Haksat laid dO\\'11 inthe 1954 Gene\'a l\greements. Thus, a protracted "civil \l'ar",actually an ;\merican neo-colonialist \\'ar of aggression \l'askindled. Kata) Don Sasorith explicitly stated that: "The firsta::.piration to be materialized was to compel the Pathet Lao toput do\\n their arms and to dissolve their armed forces" ( 4 ~ ) .In an attempt to seize at any cost the regrouping zone of the, eo Lao Ilaksat, the Katay Don Sasorilh Administration mobilIzed half of its armed forces into the offenshe. U.S. planesas::.ured the transport of the attacking troops while U.S. advisers

took their command.In .\pril 1957, the United States and a number of other Western governments simultaneously sent notes to the SouvannaPhouma Government "protesting against the participation of thePathet Lao" in an) Lao Government. Nevertheless, the 1957 Vientiane agreement on the formation of tlIe first coalition government including the leo Lao Haksat, \\'as signed. This markedthe defeat of the three-year military campaign against theregrouping zone of the Neo Lao Haksat, the first defeat of the

L.S. "special warfare" in Laos. Soon after this, on November20, 1957, the spokesman of the State Department declared,"The United States thinks it dangerous to form a coalitiongovernment including representatives of the Pathet Lao".PO) ,\ew Fork l Ierald Tribllne, F e b r l l ~ r y 1955.(11) The appellation "Pathet Lao" was lI"es in the 1954 Gene\a Agree

ments to designate the Nco Lao lbala Resistance Forces, the predeces-"ors oi the , 'eo Lao Haksat.

(42) Radio I'icntianc, October 4. 1955.

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Less than one year after, in August 1958, with Americansupport, thePhoui Sananikone's reactionary factiono\'erthrewthecoalition government and seized power. In February 1958, the\'rcpudiated the 1954 Gene\'a Agreements. Then, the state Department declared that the United States "supported the determination" of the Phoui Sananikone Government and that now "Laoscould join the S.E.A.T.O.". The New York Herald Tribune inits j\\arch 9, 1959 issue bluntly wrote that this action by thePhoui Sananikone Government "endo\\'ed the United States \\'ithmore possibilities in organizing the defence of this highly important cOLintry". By the middle of that year, in furtherance of U.S.plans, the PhoLii Sananikone Administration ordered their troopsto disarm, encircle and attack the Neo Lao Haksat battalions\\'hich \\ '( 'I 'C garrisoned in Upper Laos, awaiting the integrationof the two armed forces in accordance with the 1957 Vientiane.\greement. Later on, they illegally imprisoned leaders of the:\eo Lao Haksat, members of the Coalition Government. This" i IS an extremely serious act o( pro\'ocation and sabotage b\'the .\merican imperialists and their agents, who ha\'e graduallyexpanded the war throughout the country.B) "resting from the French the right to train the puppettroops, .by setting up organizations of U.S. military advisersand by granting emergency military aid to the Phoui Sananikoneclique, the Americans rapidly built up an arm) of mercenariesas a tool of their neo-colonialist war, the direction of whichUley grasped more and more firmly.In this period, the United States changed puppet governmentsone after the other and rigged up new ones as a more effectiveinstrument for carrying out their policy of intervention andaggression.After the SOlllsanith Government was overthrown by thosearmymen, who stood for peace and neutrality and \dlO staged

up the r\ugust 1960 coup d'Etat, the United States helped by allmeans the Phoumi Nosavan clique establish their "headquarters"and the so-called "Revolutionary Committee" in Savanakhet,Lower Laos. In December 1960, they founded the Soun Oum-4fi


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Phoumi Nosa\'an reactionary government, in open oppositionto the legal government which had been formed and invesledafter lhe August 1960 coup d'Etat. Then, in furtherance of the

~ 1 ~ 1 A , ~ ~ ~ b O ~ ; ~ ~ i ~ a r ~ b ~ a d ~ i ; ~ r s G ~ l l ~ e r ~ a l ~ ~ ~ k , L a ; I ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ : s a \ : ~ I ~tlOOpS, in coordination with those from Thailand, were broughtfrom Lo\\'er Laos to storm and seize Vientiane, the capital, inan aUempt to crush, the legal go\ernmenl. ",1,. s\\ 'ann of l\\'el\'eseat helicopters wilh insignias of the U.S. Na\y carefullypainted 0ut and a' number of six-seat BeaYers \\ere used totransport troops to the concentration area, .." (43) Dozens Df\l1lerican advisers directly commanded the streel baltle in\'ientiane.In 1961,1962. in the face of great military \ietories, partinl'

lalll the resounding victory at Namtha, recorded by the Laopatriotic forces and people, and in the face of the impendingdisintegration by lumps of the puppet army, the .1,.merican imperialists hastilv ordered marines units to land in Thailand andto be ready ror participation in the war in Laos, brought theU.S. Se\enth fleet to the China Sea for a show,off of slrength,,nd manoeu\ red to induce a number of their S.E,A,T.O. siltellitesinto a collectiye armed inten'ention in Laos.The signing of the Tripartite Agreements in 1961 and 1962

and the Geneva Agreement in 1962 stayed these U.S, militaryadventures, marking the second m


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June 2J, 1963, General Phoumi osavan, the leader of theRightist faction, openly stated that: "From now on, the ,,'ar hasblazed up again in the country",Oyer the past four years, the American imperialists continuedto pour into Laos hundreds of millions of dollars, tens of thou

sands of tons of arms and ammunition, thousands of militarypersonnel from the United States and its satellites, many unitsof combat troops and commandos from Thailand and SouthVietnam, to help their agents intensify and extend the war,Meall\\'hile, apart from the encroaching operations involvingnearly two mobile regiments, the puppet army under the com

mand of U,S, advisers, continuously launched eight big offensives on the liberated areas of the Lao patriotic forces, fromUpper Laos to Middle and Lower Laos, mobilizing from six toIIvent) battalions of regular troops ,,'ith artillery and air support,in each campaign, such as the amtheun campaign in the areaof road.\'1! 8 and road Xg 12 (,\\iddle Laos) in 1963-1964, thePlain of Jars and the "Samsone" (Three Arrows) campaigns inthe area of road.\11 7 and road Xg 13 (Upper Laos) in 1964,the Sonsay (Victoriolls Arrow) campaign in the area of road.\11 9 and road Kg 12 (Middle and Lower Laos) in 1964-1965,the Phoukout (Xiengkhoang) campaign in 1966, etc,On April 19, 1964, to complete the sabotage of the 1962 peaceful settlement of the Lao question, the United States stageda military putsch to overthrow the Tripartite National UnionGO\'ernment, used the extreme Rightist Kouprasith .-\bhay militarist group,The King of Laos condemned this brazen and serious act ofsabotage by the United States and its agents, branding it as

'anti-constitutional", In the May 1st, 1964 report to the King,Prince Souphanouvong, President of the eo Lao Haksat CentralCommittee and Vice-Premier of the National Union Government\\rote: "The stern condemnation by Your .\lajesty of the April19 coup captivated the heart of the people in the whole kingdom.In the struggle against the dark plots to undermine the peaceand neutrality of our motherland, it is our hope that Your Ma-48


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jest) would use Your supreme authority to presen'e the Nation .. lUnion Government as it was at the moment of its formation,to ensure the continuation of its normal activities, the respeLland strict implementation of the 1962 Geneva Agreement onLaos, as well as the Zurich, Plain of Jars, and other TripartiteAgreements, in the supreme interests of the nation and thefuture of our motherland",

The International Commission in Laos "could not help dral\'Ing the conclusion that if because of the latest developments inLaos, the Lao National Union Government \\'as overthrown andib tripartite structure broken, it would be a brazen \'iolation ofthe Gene\'a ,\greement, jeopardizing the aims and objectives ofthis Agreement" (44), .j"s for the Co-Chairmen of the 1961-1962Genen! Conference, they "hoped that those who opposed theGeneva Agreement and the Coalition Government \\'ould immediatel) slop their illegal acti\'ilies" (45),

One month after, in ,"\ay 1964, the American imperialistsbegan using their air force to bomb and strafe the liberatedareas in Laos, Recently they \\'ent so far as to launching airraids with B,52 strategic bombers, to massllcre the Lao people,

These activities constitute new, most dangerous steps in theescalation of American "special warfare", They also expose theirincreasing difficulties and ever-greater defeats, and lay barethe cruel, aggTessi\'e character of the "special warfare", aplOduct of ,j"merican neo-colonialism in Laos, As has beenpointed out by the October 13, 1965 Declaration of the NationalUnion Political Conference, with this new "escalation" mo\'eafter their pre\'ious aels of aggression, the American imperialistshave thrO\\'Il off their hypocritical Illask and appeared in IheirIrue colours as Ihe mosl cruel colonialisl aggressor, the mostdallgerous ellemy of Ihe Lao people,

(44) Special report dated April 1964 of the Intcrnational C01J1mis,sion in Laos to the Co-Chairmen of the 1961-1962 Geneva Conference

(45) Messa!(e datcd ,\Iay 1st. 1964 of the Co-Chairmen of the 19611 9 6 ~ Geneva Confen'nce to the leaders of the three political parties inLaos and to the !(overnments participating in the Conference4 T,Y, 49


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I I~ I A I N POLICIES OF THE UNITED STATES'

NEO.COLONIALISM AND MAINSTAYSOf' ITS" SPECIAL WARf'ARE" I - LAOS

Building and using the puppet administration and a r m ~ , paciing and \\ielding control O\-er the people by mopping-up opera

tions and disguiscd large-scale concentration schemes, playingupon the complex nationality problem in Laos to push aheadtheir policy of di\'ision, and organizing "special forces" in theminority areas. such as the main policies of ..\merican neocolonialism in Laos.

1. The puppet administrationWith the signing of the 1954 Gene\'a Agreements, Laos

became a so\ereign State. The State machinery left oYer by theFrench, although an olTspring of colonialism, \\'as nominally asovereign governmcnt. In the course of the struggle bet\\"eenthe Lao people's patriotic movement on the one hand, and the.\merican aggressors and their henchmen on the other, it occurred that the latler had t(J take back\\"ard steps and there\\'ereestablished go\ernments including elements more or less iniavour of a p o l i c ~ of peace and neutrality, or coalition gO\'ernments \I'ith the participation of the patriotic forces of Laos.

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The American imperialists, thus, haye pursued a dual policy,On the one hand, they have taken adYantage of the legal a p p e a ~ -ance of the old State machinery and its \I'eakness to rig updisguised pro-American governments, on the other, they haveresorted to all kinds of perfidious tricks to control, undermineand oYerthro\\' those gOHrnments which haH more or lessstood in the way of their policy of intef\'ention and aggression,and the coalition goYernments which included the represent a-tiyes of Lao patriotic forces, To reach their goal, t h e ~ rely, inboth cases, on the power which they derive from their "aid"programs, on the nel\\'ork of their adYisers, and the Lao puppetreactionary forces paid by them,

Hal'ing in effect intruded into Laos el'en before France'sdefeat in Indochina, the United States could gradually secure,by bribery and corruption, the allegiance of a section of formerFrench henchmen and, at the same time, recruit nell' agents,By besto\\'ing upon their lackeys economic privileges and

important positions in the puppet administratiye machinery inwhich they indulged in embezzlement and ~ m u g g l i n g , the UnitedStates has created in Laos compradore capitalists, high-rankingr e a c t i o n a r ~ ofTicials and puppet military ofTicers, These elementswith interests intimatelY linked with those of the United States,are faJlhful .\merican henchmen usually known as the Rightistfaction. They constitute the social basis of the successiye puppetgOl'ernments rigged up the .\mericans,The .-\merican imperialists, relying on these reactionary forces,

haH on three occasions exerted over the last t\\'elye years,political and economic pressure to overthrow those g o v e r n ~ e n t sengaged in peace talks \I'ith the patriotic forces. and h aH twiceundermined and ol 'erthrown by violence those coalition governments, They hal'e successiICly installed six puppet goYernments,10 counter the new advances of the Lao people's patrioticstruggle and to meet the new requirements of their policy ofinten'ention and aggression, The weekly France Observateurof February 28,1957 pointed out: "As the collapse of Vientiane52


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rna) lear! to an eventual downfall of Bangkok, Vientiane is inthe eves of the United States a key which must be kept 111 handbv rn'aintaining t11ere a government faithful to Wllshington".'The \merican imperialists camouflage successive puppetregimes in Laos with such signboards as "independence","nationalism" and "democrllcy"..\11 those puppet administrations, hellded by Katay Don

Sasorith, Phoui Sananikone, Boun Qum - Phoumi Nosavan andPrince Souvanna Phouma at present, claimed to be "national"lind representative of the sovereignty and independence of Laos...\s a sembJllnce of democracy, they stage managed "elecUons"to "national assemblies".The United States has entered into bililteral agreements with

its Lao henchmen lind IIllowed them to hold diplomatic negotiations and conclude treaties and accords with U.S, allies andsatellites.Over recent years, ever more perfidious tricks have been used[)\ the United States and its hangers-on. After wire-pulling theI(ouprasith Abhay extreme Rightist and militarist clique tostage the April 1964 military putsch overthrowing the NationalUnion Government established on the basis of the 1961 and 1962Tripartite Agreements, they have resorted to the "new wine inold bottles" device to set up a puppet government which profes

~ e s to be a "national union government". Playing upon PrinceSOll\'anna Phouma's capitulation and collusion, theY haveretained him as "Prime Minister", and acting through hi;n, havecarried out a number of government reshuffles in order, in pointof fact, to oust the Neo Lao Haksat and the patriotic NeutralistJ\linisters and Secretaries of State, and to replace them withpro-American elements. In substance, this so-called "nationalunion government" is nothing but a coalition of pro-Americanfactions such as the Phoui Sananikone-Kouprasith Abhay elique,the Phoumi Nosavan clique, etc.

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Thereafter, the Americans and their lackeys staged the farceof "restricted elections" to choose a new "national assemblv"_\\'hich, in turn, sanctioned the above puppet administrati;n.

Yet all these perfidious tricks have failed to cover up thepuppet and traitorous nature of the U.S. henchmen. In fact, their"sovereignty" and "independence" are a mere f a ~ a d e , as theirexistence e n t i r e l ~ depends on the American aid. They are in apredicament \\'hene\'er the United States reduces or suspends itsassistance.

As a result, to quote the remark of the French paper Le Figaroof December 4, 1960, "In Laos, e\ 'erything depends on the Arnericans". This explains \l'hy the Lao valets can never pursue aninciependence course in foreign alTairs or apply a democraticinternalpolic)' ..\11 their talks about "peace", and "neutrality" are sheer dema-gogic attempts to conceal their o\\'n traitorous dealings.Theirs is a brand of "peace" and "neutrality" which stands

for the acceptance of U.S. assistance with conditions attached,\\lIich asserts that "not onlv Laos but other Southeast Asiancountries, too, lie withIn t h ~ scope of the S.E.A.T.O." (I), andrequests the U. .0. to dispatch "emergency forces" (2) and theS.E .. \.T.O. to send "observers" to Laos (3).

T h e ~ have entered into bilateral agreements which providea legal basis for U.S. sabotage activities and acts of aggression.Tl:ey have negotiated and concluded with Thailand and SouthVietnam agreements on "cooperation" which in fact constitutea secre! military alliance \l'ith U.S. satellites and allow themto interfere into Lao affairs.Such is the true nature of the foreign policy of the Lao pup-pets, a policy subservient to the United States behind the fig-leaf of "neutrality".

(I ) Statement by Kata)' Don Sasorith. January 1955.Action taken by the Pholli Sananikone Government in 1959.

(3) Action taken by the Phoumi Nosavan Admin is tration in 1961.54


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The\' lavishly talk aboul freedom and democracy, but havein fac't enforced ever-harsher military dictatorship,

Thev have ignored and, worse still, flouted the provisions ofthe 1954 Gene,'a Agreements which guarantee democratic freedoms and prohibit all discrimination and reprisals against theformer Resistants, The citizens' rights and basic democratic freedoms which, as a result of the struggle o[ the patriotic anddemocratic forces o[ Laos, were laid down in the 1957 VientianeAareements, the amended Constitution o[ 1957 and the 1962

p ~ i t i c a l program o[ the Tripartite National Union Government,}:3\'e remained dead letter.

The\' ha,'e hounded. imprisoned and executed without trialt h o u s ~ n d s o[ former Resistants (4),

Writing In lhe .\'ew York Herald Tribune, September 6, 1959,J Alsop admitted that lhese acts o[ terror were carried out"ilh American approval and often as a result o[ Americansuggestions, The News Chronicle o[ July 31, 1959 also remarkedthat the 1954 Geneva Agreemenls specified that democratic [reedoms in Laos should be guaranteed, but these rights were beingtrampled underfoot.To strengthen their grip over the people, the U,S, henchmen

ha\'e gradually turned the administrative machinery down tothe commune level into police and militar\' set-ups and ha\'e onmany occasions declared the "stale of ~ m e r g e n c ; ' " in specificareas or lhroughoul the counlry, Ever since Phoumi osavan's

(-I) As exampj(s. the iollowing documents may be cited:A Confidential directive of December 15. 1958 addressed by the Interior

Minister of the Phoui Sananikone Administration to provincial go\'ernorsand dist rict chiefs empowering them to persecute or liquidate withouttlial all iormer members oi the Neo Lao Haksal and all formerResistants

Top Secret Order , \ " ~ 397,KFD,4 dated December 13. 1959 oi BounleuthSanichan. Commander oi the 1st Military R e ~ i o n . ordering the arrestand detention of all those who show sympathy for the Neo Lao Haksat.

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accession 10 power, Ihe National Department of Coordination,the secret police headed by General Siho Lanephouthakou, haslllled the roost in\'ientianeand other cities.In fact, thE'ir so-called "parliamentary elections", riddled withanti-democratic practices, are designed 10 rig-up "nationalassemblies" which represent nothing but the interests of milit'irists, compradore bourgeois elements and reactionary high

ranking officials.These ha\'e poured Ollt dozens of millions of kips, used allkinds of malpractices and even mobilized the services of theadministrative machinery, the police and the army, in order tosecure the maximum number of votes (5). Thev shrunk from no

tricks to control and repress the voters, r e s o r l i ~ g even to terrorism and murder to prevenl a victory of the patriotic and democratic forces at the supplementary elections held in 1958 withthe participation of the Neo Lao J-Iaksat and the Party forPeace and l'\elltrality, as provided for in the Vientiane Agreements of 1957.In 1965, the pro-r\merican elements in Vientiane organizedthe so-called "restricted elections" in which only government

officials, members of the police force, army officers, industrialistsand Iraders were enlitled to elect a new "national assemblv"patterned after the 1960 "national assembly" of the P h o u ~ i:\losavan clique. This semblance of democracy was only a,loccasion for the pro-:\merican factions to proceerl to a newd l ~ t r i b l t t i o n of seals.

In fact, the members of their so-called "national governments"are chosen and sanctioned I II ad\'ance by the State Departmentand the Central Intelligence Agency.

(5) An offirial m r s s a g r ,\"2 526/CO-AG datrd April 6. 1960 addressedby th r lntrrior \\inistrr of th r S o ms a ni t h A d mi ni st ra t io n to the (,(overnorof P a k s r province, o rd rri n g the latter to provide f i n ~ n r i a l . m a t e r i ~ 1 an d1II0rai sllpport to "nationalist" and " g o v rrn m e n t " candidates and us epunitil'e m e as ur es t ow ar ds o pp os it io n v ot er s.


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Both American and Western press pointed out that over thepast the ears, the United States had poured into Laos some$ 300,000,000 worth of military and economic assistance in orderto install successive "anti-communist g'oHrnments"((.,. "They (the,-\mericans, Pub!.) are the \'ery people who make and unmakegovernmenb (in Laos, Pub!.) (il.

The Sew l ark Herald Tribune of September 15, 1959, specificall\ said that the Eisenho\\'er .-\dministration had exercised its

i n f l l l ~ n c e to bring' about the anti-communist goverment ofPllOUi Sanilnikone.The Indian paper National Herald of January 5, 1961 commented that the Boun Gum - Phoumi )losa\':1n Government wastotallv alienated from the people and could survi\'e only thanksto r \ ~ ( ' r i c a n arms and supplies. The paper further wrote that ifthis regime ever had to live on its own, it would not stand 1'\'1',1for a \\'eek The Joumal de Geneve of December 6, 1960 wase\'en more explicit " ~ I n .-\sia, the U.S. services have carriedout their action in accordance with theobsoleteinstructionsoi.I.F. Dulles, They had searched for n strong man and foundGeneral Phollmi Nosavan whom they have been nurturing andpro\'iding with arms and equipment in Savannakhet, the latter'srebel capital"

The french \\eekly La Tribune des NatiollS of January 6, 1961\\ rate "Dozens of millions of U.S. dollars poured into Laosas foreign aid, ha\'e immediately become 'secret funds' Whilethe Ill/emational Cooperation Administration (I.C.A.) continuesto (end its name, the use of these funds has now pa-ssed intothe hanns of C LA. men".Thus, judging from their deeds, all the puppet governmentsrigged up over the past twelve years have acted as effectualtools in the service of the American neo-colonialist war ofaggression in Laos,

(6) Time, October :H, 1960.(7) Le Figaro, Dece'mber 4,1960.

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It \\'as the first pro-American government under Katay DonSasorith \\'hich kindled the flames of this war. War was pursuedand intensified still further by the Boun Oum-Phoumi NosavanGovernment \\'ith military expenditures unkno\\'n so far.The present puppet administration in Vientiane has ftoutedthe 1962 Genel'a Agreement and the Tripartite Agreements andsabotaged the pellce talks between the threee parties; it hasbeen helping the United States to expand the \\'ar, and in particular, allowed the U.S. Air Force to launch bombing attacks onthe liberated zone.Prince Souvanna Phouma, its "nominal Prime Minister", hasgone farther and farther along the path of surrender to andcollusion with the United States and betrayed the genuine in-terests of the Neutralist Party and the Lao people. He has thusforfeited his position a Prime Minister of the Tripartite'\Jational Union Government, and representative of the NeutralistParty.Openly jettisoning the sovereignty of Laos and the principle

of u n a n i m i t ~ ' among the three parties of the National UnionGovernment, Prince Souvanna Phouma has obediently let theUnited States and the Rightist faction misuse his position as"Prime Minister" to legalize their disruptive dealings. He hascast aside his own mask and laid bare his subservience to theUnited States when he told the Time on December 19, 1964 that"If U.S. and Thai forces are im'olved (in Laos - Pub!.) thatIlould be solely for defending freedom against Communist subI ersion in Southeast Asia". This statement has no other aimthan to prepare public opinion and pave the way for the commitment of U.S. and satellite troops to the war in Laos.On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the establish

ment of the Tripartite National nion G o v e r ~ m e n t , Prince Souphanouvong, Vice Premier and Chairman of the Neo Lao HaksatCentral Committee, the Neo Lao Haksat and Patriotic NeutralistMinisters and Secretaries of State of the Tripartite ational58


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Union Gonrnment, issued on June 22, 1966, a joint statementsternly condemning the puppet administration in Vientiane. Thes t ~ t e m e n t reads in part:"The present administration in Vientiane with Prince Sou

vnnna Phouma as "Prime Minister" has adorned the garb of"independence", "neutralist" and "national union" merely forthe purpose of misleading public opinion and covering up itsown acts of betrayal. I t has pursued internal and external polides c o m p l e t e l ~ ' at variance with the political program of theTripartite National Union Government, betrayed our people'saspirations for peace and neutrality and sold out the sovereigntyand independence of our Fatherland ... This is in essence an illegaladministration, an outandout puppet regime which has beenserving as the main instrument of the American "special warfare" against Laos and has no capacity whatsoever to representthe Lao people",This stern indictment of the puppet administration in Vientiane also fuJly applies to all the puppet governments successively rigged up in Laos by the American imperialists over the

pastdecad('2. The puppet armyBy late 1954, beside the old State machinery a mercenaryarm\' continued to exist under the name of "national army of

L a o ~ " . Despite its name, this is nothing but an "asset" 'leftover by a defeated colonial power, and, too weak to lead anindependent existence.Along with mana'U\Tes to seize control of the administrative

machinery, the American imperialists took advantage of thissituation to take hold of these troops and turn them into aninstrument of their own, retaining, however, their appellationas camouflage. They have poured in to Laos hundreds of millionsof dollars and hundreds of thousands of tons of arms andammunition to build up this army. The motive behind all this

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assistance can best be ilIustrated b ~ the colonial-type ca Iculations of former U.S. \'ice-President Nixon who said that thecost for maintaining an allied solrlier \\'as fhe times cheaperthan for a U.S. soldier.

Since 1955 the Americans have, b\' means of direct militaryairl. gradually taken oyer control of this army. In July 1959.under their pressure, France and the pro-American administration of Laos issuerl a joint communique authorizing the UnitedStates to openly send in ad\'isers and all types of arms fortlaining anrl equipping the puppet forces in Laos. thus opening\dde the c o u n t r ~ ' s doors to U.S. penetration.

The France-Lao joint communique ma

12 Years of US Imperialist Intervention and Aggression in Laos

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