Voices of the Past, Voice of the Future

civil war, diplomacy and subversion

Between 1945 and 1963, political factions in Laos struggled to form a unifying government.

The first was the Lao Issara (Free Lao). They formed the Royal Lao Government. Its leaders comprised of Lao elites and each sought to elevate their clan's political dominance. Laos became a proxy for the Cold War. Clans schemed for financial and material aid from the American government to benefit their families rather than the country's welfare.

France still had a presence in Laos, but it wouldn't recognize the country as an independent nation. Colonists continued efforts to regain influence over the country, but, in July 1949, the Royal Lao Government negotiated the country’s independence within the French Union.

During this period, Mao Zedong declared the People’s Republic of China. He and the Soviet Union recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in January 1950. Meanwhile, America continued to pressure France to give Laos its independence. The U.S. and Britain recognized Laos as an independent nation-state in 1950, the first two nations to do so.

The Lao Issara eventually dissolved after much in-fighting, and a new force emerged: The Pathet Lao revolutionary movement.

The Pathet Lao (Lao Nation, or Lao Country), aided by the Vietnamese, saw itself as a resistance government competing with the Royal Lao Government. The movement would eventually gain victory over the other factions by 1975. The movement began with a socialist philosophy of egalitarianism — welcoming rural villagers and ethnic minorities into its struggle. But its reliance on Vietnam, which embraced Leninism, would quickly turn the Pathet Lao into a communist movement.

The start of the Laotian civil war began with an invasion by Vietnamese forces. The Royal Lao Army, with French aid, pushed the Vietnamese back. However, the Pathet Lao declared areas of northeastern Laos as its headquarters. The Royal Lao Government was furious by the move.

In 1954 France reluctantly recognized Laos as an independent nation at the Geneva Conference, ending the first Indochina War. The conference was a political gain for the Pathet Lao, according to Stuart-Fox.

The U.S. didn't like the agreement between France and Laos. There were no provisions ensuring a stable government free of communist regimes and preventing the spread of communism. The superpower did everything it could to prop up anti-communist forces and sentiments in and around Laos.

U.S. aid poured in to the Royal Lao Government, financing large portions of the government's programs including the entire cost of the army and police. Although France was tasked with training the Royal Lao Army, the U.S. didn’t think the French were up to the task. So, the U.S. went around the Geneva Agreements by training specific Lao army and police officers in Thailand.

But financial and material aid was quickly met with corruption within the Royal Lao Government. U.S. Congressional hearings in 1959 revealed that a lot of money and imports were embezzled, went into the black market or had their exchange rates manipulated for profit. Despite this, no Lao elites were held responsible for the corruption, and the U.S. continued its efforts to prevent Laos from falling into communism.

There were many attempts facilitated by neutralist factions to form a coalition government involving all factions to end the civil war. Neutralists didn't want any part of the Cold War and encouraged other factions to reject their affiliations with foreign powers.

Another Geneva Convention was called in 1962, and Laos was declared a neutral country. The agreement also called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops and that any foreign financial or material aid must come without conditions.

This agreement was a turning point for U.S. involvement in Laos. Because the agreement prevented foreign powers from stationing troops or establishing a military presence within the Laos, the U.S. went around that restriction in 1964 and began a covert air war in the country.