Word: vatthana
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Royally rumpled in mufti, His Majesty Savang Vatthana of Laos arrived in Washington last week. This was the second stop on a tour of 13 of the nations signatory to the Geneva pact last year that guaranteed the "neutrality" of Savang's lethargic little kingdom. The first stop had been Moscow, and the Russians showered gifts, including slick Chaika (Seagull) limousines, on the King and his bland, bowing Laotian entourage. President Kennedy did not exert himself to exceed the Russians: he gave the King a desk set and an autographed photo of himself...
...Cabinet ministers involved raced through the investiture ceremonies like men on roller skates. Prince Souvanna Phouma, his halfbrother, Red Prince Souphanouvong, and the outgoing Premier, Prince Boun Oum, drove to the royal palace in Vientiane. Brought before recluse King Savang Vatthana, all three princes-including the Communist, Souphanouvong-bowed low, reverently touched the King's knee, and formally announced their success in creating a government...
King Savang Vatthana had designated three princes to form a coalition: Communist Prince Souphanouvong, "Neutralist" Prince Souvanna Phouma, and pro-Western Prince Boun Oum. Boun Oum invited the others to meet with him in the capital city of Vientiane; they agreed, on condition each could bring no troops and 30 advisers, but Boun Oum would allow a total escort of only 120, soldiers included. And so it went...
...gave birth on the battlefield, then rose to lead her troops in a futile last assault against the avenging Chinese. When the Chinese withdrew in 939, the Annamese turned conquerors in their turn. For nearly a thousand years, the Annamese armies terrorized neighboring Cambodia and Laos. (Laos' King Savang Vatthana still considers the attack on his country as not Communist but rather a renewed threat from the warlike Annamese...
...hard, and Boun Oum soon collapsed. Boun Oum agreed to merge the royal army with the Pathet Lao-though just how this could be accomplished while the Pathet Lao were still periodically storming army outposts back in Laos, nobody could explain. The three princes bucked to dreamy King Savang Vatthana the thorny task of picking a coalition government, a procedure that would effectively bypass the National Assembly, where Boun Oum still commands a strong anti-Communist majority. Boun Oum agreed to disown SEATO, which guarantees Laos against outside aggression, and to establish diplomatic relations with Laos' "neighbors," meaning...