Word: pathetic
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Others resist more directly by heading for the hills and jungles to mount armed insurgencies. Emulating the tactics of the Pathet Lao, Khmer Rouge or the Viet Cong, supporters of the old regimes are carrying on a guerrilla war that the new Communist police states have so far been unable to bring under control...
...most difficult situation for the Communists is in Laos. Most Laotians originally welcomed the Pathet Lao regime that replaced the monarchy in 1975, assuming that their new rulers would be as typically languid as the old ones. But the gray-uniformed Pathet Lao-backed by 15,000 Vietnamese troops and 500 Soviet advisers-immediately began building the country according to a socialist blueprint...
...true Laotian style, last week's coup by the Communist Pathet Lao was a well-mannered affair, allowing for some touches of face-saving grace. It began with a series of "popular" demonstrations, some of them so tamely orchestrated that bored crowds began to wander away before the big finale. Then it was announced that a two-day Congress of 265 People's delegates had taken place in Vientiane, although no one in the capital had seen or heard of it. At each event, figurehead King Savang Vatthana, 68, and his 18-month-old coalition were thanked...
...just like a play on a stage," mourned one young Lao last week. "It's democratic in the Pathet Lao way, not our way. But it is useless to resist." In fact, despite the regime's direct impact on their lives, the 3 million Laotians remain among the world's most apolitical people. The Pathet Lao is neither as ruthless as Cambodia's Khmer Rouge nor as disciplined as the Vietnamese. In gradually seizing control of the country since mid-April, the Communists have managed to stay popular with their subjects by emphasizing such mass themes...
...rulers. "Red Prince" Souphanouvong, half-brother of the ousted Premier, Prince Souvanna Phouma, will probably stay on as the republic's figurehead President. The new Premier and secretary-general of the party is Kaysone Phomvihan; his principal deputy is Nouhak Phoumsavan, a senior member of the Pathet Lao central committee. Both men have strong loyalties to Hanoi: Kaysone's father was Vietnamese, while Nouhak is reportedly a protege of Ho Chi Minh's. It remains to be seen whether they will try to turn sleepy Laos into a miniversion of monolithic North Viet Nam, or whether this...