Word: lao
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...neighboring Cambodia the war grinds on. An interview with an official of the Sihanouk government in exile suggests that the chances for compromise are dim. In Laos, however, the signing of the Vientiane agreement offers some prospects for peace. Since the spring, the Pathet Lao have sought to seperate themselves from their old Vietnamese and Cambodian allies. In Thailand, conservative students overthrew the pro-American ruling junta-- wonders never cease! And of course, the U.S. Congress has clamped a lid on U.S. bombing and enacted restrictions on Nixon's war making powers...
...instrument of peace is a protocol agreement on reconciliation signed this month by representatives of the Laotian government and the pro-Communist Lao Patriotic Forces, formerly known as the Pathet Lao. The meticulously detailed accord establishes a provisional coalition government in which each side will have five Cabinet ministers, including a Deputy Premier apiece. The present Laotian government will retain five portfolios - finance, defense, interior, health and education. The Communists will be in charge of foreign affairs, information, public works and transportation, economic planning, tourism and religion. (Nearly all Laotians are Buddhist, including most of the Communists.) The top post...
...dead of night last week, 60 Laotians stealthily cast off from the Thailand shore of the Mekong River in motor-powered pirogues. They were led by General Thao Ma, 42, onetime commander of the Royal Lao Air Force, who has lived in Thai exile since his 1966 abortive attempt to overthrow the Laotian government. After disembarking at the outskirts of Vientiane, the rebels rendezvoused with about 60 more sympathizers. A coup against Laos' neutralist leader, Prince Souvanna Phouma, had begun...
Vientiane was hardly surprised. For days the capital had whispered of an impending coup, and even the Communist Pathet Lao radio had broadcast a warning twelve hours before Ma's move that there would be an uprising. The reason for all the confident predictions was that right-wingers within the military were upset by the terms of the political deal that Souvanna had all but signed with the Pathet Lao (TIME, Aug. 13). Conservatives grumbled that the prince was giving the Communists too many key posts in the proposed coalition government and allowing them to maintain too many soldiers...
...were confused and disorganized. America's chargé d'affaires, John Gunther Dean, exploited this hesitation with quick, decisive action. He saw that Souvanna was rushed to a secure and secret hiding place. Then Dean sped from one group of generals to another, consulted with the Pathet Lao, and even confronted Ma at the airport. Everywhere his message was the same: the U.S. would not abandon Souvanna and would not support the rebels. Since the Laotian armed forces get all of their equipment and money from the U.S., his message carried weight. The army stayed with Souvanna...