Polite Revolution

In 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 for having helped the revolution and then courteously advised that it was time to go. Finally, the King was escorted to the Communists' jungle capital of Viengsay (Victory City). There he dutifully abdicated the 650-year-old monarchy, and the People's Democratic Republic of Laos was officially declared. Thus, after 30 years of almost continuous war among themselves, and against France and then the U.S., all the peoples of Indochina had finally fallen under solidly Communist regimes.

"It's 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 as anticorruption and self-rule. They have made skillful propaganda use of traditional Laotian music, to the point that some foreign diplomats in Vientiane call it "the song-and-dance revolution." Although Vientiane's once notorious opium dens have been padlocked, some garishly lit dance halls are still open--and still packed. The Pathet Lao has even courteously allowed non-Communist embassies--including even those of the U.S. and Israel--to function.

Communist Liechtenstein. Little is known inside or outside Laos about the country's new 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 little country will remain open to the West--a "Communist Liechtenstein," as one observer puts it, in the midst of Indochina.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.