Word: laos
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...Vientiane, Premier Souvanna Phouma, in the fashion of Laotian political figures, sought to shut out the political static from the south by playing soothing mood music. Souvanna, who thinks that the Communist-dominated Pathet Lao will call off their guerrillas if only somebody will talk to them nicely and invite them into the government, called on Prince Boun, "whose patriotism is well known," to desist from his "initiative." Then he went off to visit the King Savang Vatthana. But even as he spoke, someone blew up the waterworks in Vientiane. Souvanna sadly ordered all of Prince Boun's relatives...
Fuzzy on Purpose. The issue was how Laos was to deal with Communists, foreign and domestic. Both Captain Kong Le and Prince Souvanna want to bring into the government the Communist Pathet Lao guerrillas who have waged a flickering jungle rebellion since 1953. Kong Le is just disgusted with fighting fellow Laotians. Prince Souvanna's goal for Laos is "neutrality in neutralism," a doctrine that is necessarily fuzzy, he says, because Laotians are fuzzy thinkers, when thinkers...
...response to Phoumi's call a flurry of local army commanders hurried in to consult. Beating time to reedy pipe music as he presided over a table laden with Scotch whisky and French wines, Phoumi assured a reporter that his troops were racing the Pathet Lao Communists through the roadless jungle to the capital, added earnestly: "If you let the Pathet Lao into the government, they will organize and work hard and sooner or later they will control the whole country...
...Famille. Even in Vientiane no one took this suggestion seriously-and Vientiane was all of Laos that Kongle controlled. Troops in Luangprabang were still loyal to Premier Somsanith. Each side was kept from having to attack the other by the fact that the road between Vientiane and Luangprabang was washed out by the monsoon. Most of the 28,000-man Laotian army scattered throughout the country either had not heard of the revolt at all or reacted with Laos' soft, favorite phrase, "be pen nyan [it doesn't matter]." To break this stalemate, Kongle suggested the formation...
...Laos-style bargaining had only begun. Into Vientiane two days after the coup flew portly General Ouane Rathi-kone, who is both Army chief of staff to Premier Somsanith and uncle to Captain Kongle. Ouane Rathikone airily announced that he would work out a solution "en famille." But at week's end a 43-man rump session of the National Assembly meekly gathered in Vientiane to vote no confidence in Somsanith, envoys still shuttled back and forth between the two cities, and no compromise Cabinet had been agreed upon. So far, the only solid accomplishment of Kongle...