LAO PEOPLE’S

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC Laos Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao CAPITAL: Vientiane (Viangchan) FLAG: The national flag, officially adopted in 1975, is the former flag of the Pathet Lao, consisting of three horizontal stripes of red, dark blue, and red, with a white disk, representing the full moon, at the center. ANTHEM: Pheng Sat Lao (Hymn of the Lao People). MONETARY UNIT: The new kip (K) is a paper currency of 100 at (cents). There are notes of 10, 20, 50, 200, and 500 new kip. K1 = $0.00009385 (or $1 = K10,655) as of May 2003. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard, but older local units also are used. HOLIDAYS: Anniversary of the Founding of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 2 December. The government generally reschedules on weekends such traditional festivals as the Lao New Year (April); Boun Bang-fai (Rocket Festival), the celebration of the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha (May); Boun Khao Watsa, the beginning of a period of fasting and meditation lasting through the rainy season (July); Boun Ok Watsa (Water Holiday), a celebration of the end of the period of fasting and meditation (October); and That Luang, a pagoda pilgrimage holiday (November). TIME: 7 PM = noon GMT. 1LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT Laos is a landlocked country on the Indochina Peninsula near the eastern extremity of mainland Southeast Asia. Laos occupies an area of 236,800 sq km (91,429 sq mi), extending 1,162 km (722 mi) SSE–NNW and 478 km (297 mi) ENE–WSW. Comparatively, the area occupied by Laos is slightly larger than the state of Utah. It is bordered on the N by China, on the E and SE by Vietnam, on the S by Cambodia, on the W by Thailand, and on the NW by Myanmar, with a total boundary length of 5,083 km (3,158 mi). The capital of Laos, Vientiane, is located along the country’s southwestern boundary. 2TOPOGRAPHY The terrain is rugged and mountainous, especially in the north and in the Annam Range, along the border with Vietnam. The mountains reach heights of more than 2,700 m (8,860 ft), with Pou Bia, the highest point in Laos, rising to 2,817 m (9,242 ft) in the north-central part of the country. Only three passes cross the mountains to link Laos with Vietnam. The Tran Ninh Plateau, in the northeast, rises to between 1,020 m and 1,370 m (3,350– 4,500 ft), and the fertile Bolovens Plateau, in the south, reaches a height of about 1,070 m (3,500 ft). Broad alluvial plains, where much of the rice crop is grown, are found only in the south and west along the Mekong River and its tributaries. Of these, the Vientiane plain is the most extensive. Except for a relatively small area east of the main divide, Laos is drained by the Mekong and its tributaries. The Mekong flows in a broad valley along the border with Thailand and through Laos for 1,805 km (1,122 mi). In its low-water phase, it is almost dry, but it rises more than 6 m (20 ft) during the monsoon period. The river is wide, but except for a navigable stretch between Vientiane and Savannakhét, rapids are numerous. Below Savannakhét and at the extreme south there are large rapids and waterfalls. Floods are common in the rainy season. 3CLIMATE Laos has a tropical monsoon climate with three main seasons. The rainy season is from May through October, when rainfall averages 127 to 229 cm (50–90 in). November through February is a cool, dry season. March through April is a hot, dry season, during which temperatures can be as high as 40°C (104°F). Humidity is high throughout the year, even during the season of drought. Average daily temperatures in Vientiane range from 14° to 28°C (57–82°F) in January, the coolest month, and from 23° to 34°C (73–93°F) in April, the hottest. 4FLORA AND FAUNA Nearly two-thirds of Laos is covered by thick forest. The forests of southernmost Laos are an extension of the Kampuchean type of vegetation, while the highland forests of the north, consisting of prairies interspersed with thickets, resemble central Vietnam. Bamboo, lianas, rattan, and palms are found throughout Laos. Roaming the forests are panthers and a dwindling number of tigers, elephants, and leopards. The elephant, until 1975 depicted on the national flag as the traditional symbol of Lao royalty, has been used throughout history as a beast of burden. A local breed of water buffalo also is universally used as a draft animal. Reptiles include cobras, geckos, kraits, and Siamese crocodiles. There are many varieties of birds, fish, and insects. 5ENVIRONMENT Soil erosion, deforestation, and flood control are the principal environmental concerns in Laos, there being only minimal industrial development. The government seeks to control erosion by discouraging the traditional slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many mountain tribes, and by resettling the tribes in permanent villages. Reforestation projects have been promoted by the government as a means of increasing lumber exports and of restoring valuable hardwoods to logged-out forest areas. Each person was required to plant five trees in the course of the 1981–85 economic plan. In 1986, the government prohibited the cutting of 15 different 374 Lao People’s Democratic Republic varieties of trees. At that time, forests were reportedly being consumed at a rate of 300,000 hectares (741,000 acres) per year. Between 1983 and 1993, Laos suffered a further decline of 11.3% in its forest and woodland area. Laos has 190 cubic kilometers of renewable water resources with 82% used in farming activity and 10% used for industrial purposes. Only 61% of city dwellers and 29% of rural citizens have access to safe drinking water. The nation’s water supply has begun to decrease due to a combination of factors, among them the loss of forest land, uncontrolled agricultural practices, flooding and drought. Pollution from fires, dust, and cars is also becoming a national problem. In 2001, 30 of Laos’s mammal species and 27 bird species were threatened. One of the nation’s plant species was endangered. Endangered species in Laos included the douc langur, three species of gibbon (pileated, crowned, and capped), tiger, Asian elephant, Sumatran rhinoceros, Javan rhinoceros, Thailand brow-antlered deer, kouprey, and Siamese crocodile. The Vietnam warty pig has become extinct. 6POPULATION The population of Laos in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 5,657,000, which placed it as number 102 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 4% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 43% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 100 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 2.29%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 7,282,000. The population density in 2002 was a sparse 23 per sq km (60 per sq mi), but the population is unevenly spread, with the greatest concentration in the Mekong Valley. More than 70% of the population is rural, living in some 9,000 villages. It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that only 24% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001. The capital city, Vientiane, had a population of 640,000 in that year. Other large towns, all on or near the Mekong and its tributaries, are Savannakhét, Pakxé, Luangphrabang (the former royal capital), Xaignabouri, and Ban Houayxay. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 4.9%. 7MIGRATION There has been only limited population movement into Laos in modern times. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, under pressure of combat operations, Black Tai tribesmen moved southward into the Mekong Valley. Between 1975–90, over 360,000 Laotians fled to Thailand and China. The majority resettled and were given new lives in Western nations. To date, more than 27,000 Laotians have repatriated. In 1996, some 6,000 Laotian refugees remained in Thailand, and several hundred remained on collective farms in China. As of 1999, about 1,100 of the small number of refugees still remaining in Ban Napho camp in Thailand were determined not to have valid refugee claims. The two governments agreed that they should return to Laos, with UNHCR assistance; however, only a few families and individuals have volunteered to do so thus far. In the mid-1990s, as Laos opened up to international investment and development, Vietnamese workers began migrating to Laos— although in relatively small numbers—to work in the construction industry, primarily. The net migration rate for 2000 was -0.3 migrants per 1,000 population. The government views the immigration level as satisfactory, but the emigration level as too high. 8ETHNIC GROUPS There are officially 68 ethnic groups in Laos. About 68% of all Laotians are Lao-Loum, or lowland Lao, a people related to the people of Thailand; thought to have migrated to Laos from southwestern China in the 8th century, the Lao-Loum are concentrated in the lowlands along the Mekong. On the hillsides live the Lao-theung, or slope dwellers, a diverse group dominated by the Lao-tai (with various subgroups, including the Black Tai), who are ethnically related to the Lao-Loum. They account for 22% of the population. At higher altitudes are the Lao-soung, or mountain dwellers, a diverse group of ethnic minorities of mainly Malayo-Polynesian or proto-Malay backgrounds. They constitute 9% of the population. Important among the Lao-soung, and more prosperous than most Lao because of the opium poppies they grow, are the Hmong (Meo), a people of Tibeto-Burman origin who supported the American presence until 1975 and, because of their continuing insurgency, became the targets of harassment by government and Vietnamese troops. Other important upland tribes, all with customs and religions considerably different from those of the lowland Lao, are the Ho, Kha, Kho, and Yao (Mien). Ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese account for 1% of the population. Mt. Bia 9,252 ft. 2820 m. Bolovens Plateau A N N A M R A N G E LUANG PRABANG RANGE Ou Mekong Ngum Theun Mekong Banghiang Kong Mekong Mekong Nam Ngum Resevoir Gulf of Tonkin Phôngsali Louang Namtha Ban Houayxay Ban Nahin Muang Xaignabouri Muang Xon Xam Nua Xiangkhoang Muang Pak-lay Muang Vangviang Muang Pakxan Muang Xépôn Muang Saravan Khôngxédon Attapu Muang Không Muang Khammouan Vientiane Pakxé Savannakhét LouangphrabangCAMBODIA T H A I L A N D V I E T N A M C H I N A Laos W S N E LAOS 0 200 Miles 0 100 200 Kilometers 100 LOCATION: 100° to 107°E; 13°40' to 22°40' N. BOUNDARY LENGTHS: China, 425 kilometers (264 miles); Vietnam, 1,555 kilometers (966 miles); Cambodia, 541 kilometers (336 miles); Thailand, 1,754 kilometers (1,090 miles); Myanmar, 238 kilometers (148 miles). Lao People’s Democratic Republic 375 9LANGUAGES Lao, the official language and the language of the ethnic Lao, is closely related to the language of Thailand. It is monosyllabic and tonal and contains words borrowed from Sanskrit, Pali, and Farsi. Pali, a Sanskritic language, is used among the Buddhist priesthood. Other groups speak the Tibeto–Burman, Non-Khmer, or Miao–Yao languages. French, formerly the principal language of government and higher education, has been largely replaced by Lao. English and various ethnic languages are also spoken. 10RELIGIONS Between 60% and 65% of all Laotians, including nearly all the Lao-Loum, are adherents of Theravada Buddhism, a large part of whose daily life is shaped by its rituals and precepts. Buddhist temples, found in every village, town, and city, serve as intellectual as well as religious centers. Vientiane and Luangprabang have been called cities of thousands of temples. More than 70 pagodas were built in Vientiane alone in the 16th century, including the famous Wat Phra Keo and That Luang. Despite the major role that Buddhism, its temples, and its priests have played in Laotian life, the average lowland Lao regulates a large part of daily activities in accordance with animistic concepts. Certain spirits (phi) are believed to have great power over human destiny and to be present throughout the material world, as well as within nonmaterial realms. Thus, each of the four universal elements (earth, sky, fire, and water) has its special phi; every road, stream, village, house, and person has a particular phi; forests and jungles are inhabited by phi. Evil phi can cause disease and must be propitiated by sacrifices. Approximately 30% of the population practice animism. About 34% of Laotians, including the upland tribes, are almost exclusively animists, although influenced by Buddhism to some extent. Christian missionaries have been active in Laos, but less than 2% of all Laotians profess the religion. About 2% of the population are Christians, with about 60,000 Protestants and 40,000 Roman Catholics. Most Protestants are members of the Lao Evangelical Church or Seventh-Day Adventists, which are the only two officially recognized Protestant groups. Other minority religions include the Baha’i faith, Islam, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Though religious activity was discouraged by the state from 1976 to 1979, freedom of religion has been legally guaranteed since the constitution of 1991. 11TRANSPORTATION Lack of adequate transportation facilities continues to be a major deterrent to economic progress. Of the approximately 14,000 km (8,700 mi) of roads, only about 3,360 km (2,088 mi) were paved in 2002; many are impassable in the rainy season. Only a single major road connects the northern and southern regions. Most of the roads were damaged by US bombing in the Vietnam war, but the main links with Vietnam (notably Highway 9, from Savannakhét to the Vietnamese port of Da Nang, and Highways 7 and 13, from Vientiane and Savannakhét to the Vietnamese port of Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City, respectively) are being rebuilt with Vietnamese aid. Under the 1981-85 economic plan, 844 km (524 mi) of roads were built or improved. The 1986-90 plan projected an additional 1,500 km (932 mi), 50% of which was to be asphalted. There are no railroads in Laos, although in 1994, the government entered into an agreement with a Thai company to build a railroad from Nong Khai in Thailand to Vientiane. In 2001 there were 51 airports, only 9 of which had paved runways. Vientiane has the only international airport. Major cities in Laos are connected by air services operated by state-run Lao Aviation, founded with Soviet aid in 1976. In 1995, the government signed an agreement with China’s Yunnan Airlines forming a joint venture projected to increase Yunnan’s holdings of Lao Aviation to 60% while the former pays off the latter’s debt. In 2001 210,800 passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international airline flights. Landlocked, Laos’ only water-transport link with the outside world is via the Mekong River, which forms a large part of the border with Thailand and flows through Cambodia and Vietnam into the South China Sea. The Mekong is navigable for small transport craft and, with its tributaries in Laos, forms a 4,587-km (2,850-mi) inland waterway system, although rapids make necessary the transshipment of cargo. To lessen dependence on Thailand, Laos in 1977 signed an agreement with Vietnam whereby the Vietnamese port of Da Nang would replace Bangkok as the chief outlet for Laos. In 2002, Laos had one merchant vessel, a cargo ship at 2,370 GRT. 12HISTORY Although archaeological evidence indicates that settlers along the Mekong had learned agriculture, metallurgy, and pottery making by 3000 BC, little is known about the early history of the land that today bears the name of Laos. The lowland Lao are believed to be the descendants of Thai tribes that were pushed southward in the 8th century. According to tradition, the kingdom called Lan Xang (“a million elephants”) was established in 756 by King Thao Khoun Lo. In 1353, it was reunified by Fa-Ngoum, who had been raised at the court of Angkor in Kampuchea and returned with a force of Khmer troops. He is also credited with the introduction of Hinayana Buddhism into Laos. Lan Xang waged intermittent wars with the Khmers, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Thai and developed an effective administrative system, an elaborate military organization, and an active commerce with neighboring countries. In 1707, internal dissensions brought about a split of Lan Xang into two kingdoms, Luangphrabang in the north (present-day upper Laos) and Vientiane in the south (lower Laos). Strong neighboring states took advantage of this split to invade the region. Vientiane was overrun and annexed by Siam (Thailand) in 1828, while Luangphrabang became a vassal of both the Chinese and the Vietnamese. In 1893, France, which had already established a protectorate over what is now central and northern Vietnam, extended its control to both Vientiane and Luangphrabang, and Laos was ruled by France as part of Indochina. Although French control over Luangphrabang took the nominal form of a protectorate, the French colonial administration directly ruled the rest of Laos, legal justification being ultimately provided in the Lao-French convention of 1917. During World War II, Laos was occupied by Japan. After the Japanese proclaimed on 10 March 1945 that “the colonial status of Indochina has ended,” the king of Luangphrabang, Sisavang Vong, was compelled to issue a declaration of independence. The nationalist Free Lao (Lao Issarak) movement deposed the monarch soon after, but French forces reoccupied Laos, and on 27 August 1946, France concluded an agreement establishing him as king of Laos and reimposing French domination over the country. In May 1947, the king established a constitution providing for a democratic government. On 19 July 1949, Laos nominally became an independent sovereign state within the French Union. Additional conventions transferring full sovereignty to Laos were signed on 6 February 1950 and on 22 October 1953. All special economic ties with France and the other Indochinese states were abolished by the Paris pacts of 29 December 1954. In the meantime, Vietnamese Communist (Viet- Minh) forces had invaded Laos in the spring of 1953. A Laotian Communist movement, the Pathet Lao (Lao State), created on 13 August 1950 and led by Prince Souphanouvong, collaborated with the Viet-Minh during its Laotian offensive. Under the Geneva cease-fire of 21 July 1954, all Viet-Minh and most French troops were to withdraw, and the Pathet Lao was to pull back to 376 Lao People’s Democratic Republic two northern provinces, pending reunification talks with the national government under the leadership of Souvanna Phouma (Souphanouvong’s half-brother). The negotiations were completed on 2 November 1957, and the Pathet Lao transformed itself into a legal political party called the National Political Front (Neo Lao Hak Xat). However, a political swing to the right that led to the ouster of Souvanna Phouma as prime minister, coupled with the refusal of the Pathet Lao forces to integrate into the Royal Lao Army, led to a renewal of fighting in May 1959. A bloodless right-wing coup in January 1960 was answered in August by a coup led by paratroops, under the command of Capt. Kong Le; in the ensuing turmoil, Souvanna Phouma returned to power. After a three-day artillery battle that destroyed much of Vientiane, right-wing military elements under Gen. Phoumi Nosavan and Prince Boun Oum occupied the capital on 11 December. A new right-wing government under Prince Boun Oum was established, but further military reverses, despite a heavy influx of US aid and advisers, caused the government to ask for a cease-fire in May 1961. An international conference assembled in Geneva to guarantee the cease-fire. All three Laotian political factions agreed on 11 June 1962 to accept a coalition government, with Souvanna Phouma as prime minister. On 23 July, the powers assembled at Geneva signed an agreement on the independence and neutrality of Laos, which provided for the evacuation of all foreign forces by 7 October. The United States announced full compliance, under supervision of the International Control Commission (ICC), set up in 1954. Communist forces were not withdrawn. Fighting resumed in the spring of 1963, and Laos was steadily drawn into the role of a main theater in the escalating Vietnam war. The Laotian segment of the so-called Ho Chi Minh trail emerged as a vital route for troops and supplies moving south from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), also known as North Vietnam, and was the target for heavy and persistent US bombing raids. While the Vientiane government was heavily bolstered by US military and economic support, the Pathet Lao received key support from the DRV, which was reported to have 20,000 troops stationed in Laos by 1974. Efforts to negotiate a settlement in Laos resumed with US backing in 1971, but a settlement was not concluded until February 1973, a month after a Vietnam peace agreement was signed in Paris. On 5 April 1974, a new coalition government was set up, with equal representation for Pathet Lao and non- Communist elements. Souvanna Phouma, 73 years old and in failing health, stayed on as prime minister, while Prince Souphanouvong was brought closer to the center of political authority as head of the newly created Joint National Political Council. The Pathet Lao had by this time asserted its control over threefourths of the national territory. Following the fall of the USbacked regimes in Vietnam and Cambodia in April 1975, the Laotian Communists embarked on a campaign to achieve complete military and political supremacy in Laos. On 23 August, Vientiane was declared “liberated” by the Pathet Lao, whose effective control of Laos was thereby secured. On 2 December 1975, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) was established, with Prince Souphanouvong as president and Kaysone Phomvihan as prime minister. King Savang Vatthana abdicated his throne, ending the monarchy that had survived in Laos for 622 years. Elections for a new National Assembly were called for April 1976; however, voting was put off indefinitely, amid reports of civil unrest and sabotage. A Supreme People’s Council was convened, meanwhile, with Prince Souphanouvong as chairman, and was charged with the task of drafting a new constitution. During the late 1970s, the Communists moved to consolidate their control and socialize the economy. Private trade was banned, factories were nationalized, and forcible collectivization of agriculture was initiated. “Reeducation” camps for an estimated 40,000 former royalists and military leaders were established in remote areas; as of 1986, the government maintained that almost all the inmates had been released, but Amnesty International claimed that about 5,000 remained. A 25- year friendship treaty with Vietnam, signed in July 1977, led to closer relations with that country (already signaled by the continued presence in Laos of Vietnamese troops) and with the former USSR, and also to the subsequent dismissal from Laos of all Chinese technicians and advisers. China, for its part, began to give support and training to several small antigovernment guerrilla groups. With the economy in 1979 near collapse, in part because of severe drought in 1977 and flooding in 1978, the Laotian government slowed the process of socialization and announced a return to private enterprise and a readiness to accept aid from the non-Communist world. Throughout the 1980s armed opposition to the government persisted, particularly from the Hmong hill tribe rebels. At the Fourth Party Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), in December 1986, a “new economic management mechanism” (NEM) was set up, aiming at granting increased autonomy in the management of formerly state-run enterprises to the private sector. In 1988 the Lao national legislature, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), adopted new election laws and the first elections since the formation of the LPDR in 1975 were held. Local and provincial elections were held in 1988, and on 27 March 1989 national elections took place for an enlarged Supreme People’s Assembly. In March 1991 the Fifth Party Congress of the LPRP changed Kaysone Phomvihan’s title from prime minister to president, elected a new 11-member politburo, pledged to continue economic reforms in line with free-market principles while denying the need for political pluralism, and changed the national motto by substituting the words “democracy and prosperity” for “socialism.” The newly elected SPA drafted a constitution adopted on 14 August 1991. The constitution provided for a national assembly functioning on principles of “democratic centralism,” established the LPRP as the political system’s “leading organ,” created a presidency with executive powers, and mandated a market-oriented economy with rights of private ownership. President Kaysone Phomvihan, longtime LPRP leader, died on 21 November 1992. A special session of parliament on 24 November 1992 elected hard-line Communist Nouhak Phoumsavan as the next president. Gen. Khamtai Suphandon, who had been prime minister since 15 August 1991, remained in that post. National Assembly elections were held in December 1992. One day before these elections, three former officials who called for a multiparty democracy and had been detained in 1990 were sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. The National Assembly convened in February 1993 and approved government reorganization designed to improve public administration. On 9 January 1995, longtime leader Prince Souphanouvong died, unofficially marking an end to Laos’ long dalliance with hard-line Marxism. Although the NEM had initiated an opening up to international investment and improved relations with the rest of the world, there remained elements of the old guard in positions of power. With the death of Souphanouvong, the only old-time hard-line Marxist still in power as of 1996 was the country’s president, Nouhak Phoumsavan. Khamtai Siphandon, prime minister and party chief, was more powerful than Nouhak and is largely credited with exerting a moderating influence on the hardliner. Nonetheless, there remains a strongly conservative mindset among the politboro members that still pulls the government back from economic flexibility or any hint of political liberalization. Laos has actively improved its already “special relations” with Vietnam and Cambodia, while always seeking to improve relations with Thailand, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the United States. Periodic meetings are held to promote the Lao People’s Democratic Republic 377 cooperative development of the Mekong River region by Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Laos and the People’s Republic of China restored full diplomatic relations in 1989 and are now full-fledged trading partners. Mutual suspicions, characterizing the relationship between Laos and Thailand, improved with agreements to withdraw troops and resolve border disputes, and agreements between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to repatriate or resettle nearly 60,000 Lao refugees in Thailand. Laos has cooperated with the United States in recovering the remains of US soldiers missing in action in Laos since the Vietnam War and in efforts to suppress drug-trafficking. The US Department of State objects to Laos’ restrictions on free speech, freedom of assembly and religious freedom. US Assistant Secretary of State Stanley Roth commented in March 2000 that Laos is unlikely to gain Most Favored Nation trading status unless it accounts for the fate of two naturalized US citizens, Hmong activists who disappeared in Laos during 1999. The debate over whether to grant Laos normal trade relations status was ongoing as of early 2003. On 26 February 1998, Khamtai Siphandon was elected president, and he was reelected in March 2001. Beginning in 2000, Vientiane was hit by a series of bomb blasts, attributed to anti-government groups based abroad. Beginning in the late 1990s, tensions emerged between rival groups of ethnic Hmong in the highlands. Triggered by Thailand’s closing of refugee camps on its side of the Laos-Thai border, tens of thousands of exiles were forced to return home. Most were expected to be jailed or executed for their anti-government activities, but instead, the government encouraged their peaceful settlement among the lowland population. Certain right-wing guerrilla factions among the Hmong, long fighting the Pathet Lao, subsequently reacted violently to the government’s pacification efforts to integrate moderate Hmong villagers. On 6 February 2003 near Vang Vieng, a bus and 2 Western bicyclers were attacked by gunmen, who killed twelve people. Militant Hmong were blamed for the attack. On 24 February 2002, parliamentary elections were held, but all but one of the 166 candidates were from the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The LPRP won 108 of 109 seats in the National Assembly. 13GOVERNMENT Under the constitution of 1947 (as subsequently amended), Laos was a parliamentary democracy with a king as the nominal chief executive. The monarch was assisted by a prime minister (or president of the Council of Ministers), who was the executive and legislative leader in fact. The prime minister and cabinet were responsible to the national assembly, the main repository of legislative authority, whose 59 members were elected every five years by universal adult suffrage. With the establishment of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in December 1975, governmental authority passed to a national congress made up of 264 delegates elected by newly appointed local authorities. The congress in turn appointed a 45-member Supreme People’s Council to draw up a new constitution. Pending the completion of this task effective power rested with Kaysone Phomvihan, a longtime Pathet Lao leader who headed the government as chairman of the Council of Ministers and was also secretarygeneral of the Lao People’s Revolutionary (Communist) Party. Prince Souphanouvong, the head of state and president of the Supreme People’s Council since 1975, left office in October 1986 because of poor health. He was replaced first by Phoumi Vongvichit, a former vice-chairman of the Council of Ministers, and later by Sisomphon Lovansay, a former vice president of the Supreme People’s Council. The Lao national legislature, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), adopted new election laws in 1988, and the first national elections under the current government took place in March 1989 (local elections were held in 1988). Kaysone Phomvihan was elected president and Khamtai Siphandon was named prime minister. The newly elected SPA set out to draft a constitution, which was finished in mid-1990, and adopted on 14 August 1991 by the SPA. Khamtai Siphandon was elected president in 1998, and reelected in 2001. The executive branch consists of the president, prime minister and two deputy prime ministers, and the Council of Ministers (cabinet) which are appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly. The legislative branch is the 109-member National Assembly which is elected by universal suffrage for a period of five years. The judicial branch is the Supreme People’s Court Leaders. The constitution calls for a strong legislature elected by secret ballot, but most political power continues to rest with the party-dominated council of ministers, who are much aligned with the military. 14POLITICAL PARTIES Elections to the National Assembly were first held in 1947. In the elections of 4 May 1958, the Pathet Lao’s newly organized National Political Front (Neo Lao Hak Xat) won 9 of the 21 seats in contention; 4 were won by the Santiphab faction, a neutralist group allied with them, and 8 were obtained by the Nationalist and Independent parties. After the elections, the Nationalists and Independents combined to establish a new political party, the Rally of the Lao People (Lao Luam Lao), which held 36 of the 59 Assembly seats. The remaining 23 seats were divided among the National Political Front (9), the Santiphab grouping (7), the Democrats (3), the National Union (2), and unaffiliated deputies (2). The leaders of the Rally, upon formation of that party, announced its purpose to be the defense of Laos against “an extremist ideology contrary to the customs and traditions of the Lao country” and the establishment of true unity and independence of the nation against “subversion from within and without.” The Front then and later called for a reduction in the size of the armed forces and of US military aid. In December 1959, because of emergency conditions, election of new Assembly deputies was postponed until April 1960. When the balloting was finally held, the opposition Committee for the Defense of the National Interests won a landslide victory. The Committee leader, Phoumi Nosavan, then formed a new political party, the Social Democrats (Paxa Sangkhom). In August 1960, a coup led by Kong Le brought down the government. After a period of struggle, Souvanna Phouma, who had earlier established the Neutralist Party (Lao Pen Kang) in order to build a broader popular following, became prime minister on 11 June 1962. In his 19-man cabinet, 4 posts were held by right-wing politicians, 11 by Neutralists, and 4 others by Pathet Lao adherents. The National Assembly came to the end of its five-year term in 1965. Political instability prevented the holding of national elections, and a provisional assembly was convened to amend the constitution so as to provide a means for maintaining the legislature. The result was a general election held on 18 July, with the franchise limited to civil servants, teachers, merchants, and village headmen. The new National Assembly was convened on 16 August, with the Neutralists retaining 13 seats, the Social Democrats 11, the Rally 8, and various independents 27. The endorsement gained in the limited polling of 1965 was not sufficient to sustain Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma for long, and new voting—the first real and effective election in a decade—took place on 1 January 1967. About 60% of 800,000 eligible voters went to the polls in 1967, despite the Pathet Lao charge that the balloting was illegal. Souvanna Phouma’s United Front took 32 of 59 seats in the National Assembly voting. In the last years of the constitutional monarchy, the gulf between the Pathet Lao and the enclave of rightists and neutralists that held governmental power widened appreciably. The pressures of war—both the civil strife within Laos and the 378 Lao People’s Democratic Republic larger conflict pressed by the external forces of the United States and the DRV—had thwarted the effectiveness of normal political processes. General elections held on 2 January 1972 were confined to government-controlled areas, with representatives for the Pathet Lao provinces elected by refugees from those regions. Despite the narrow range of political choices available to voters, only 20 of the 60 National Assembly deputies were reelected, reflecting a growing uneasiness both with the war and with the increasing evidence of corrupt practices among government officials. Despite right-wing pressures from within the National Assembly, Souvanna Phouma—whose neutralist policy was favored by both the United States and the DRV—retained the position of prime minister. The withdrawal of US military support for the Thieu regime in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) was followed, in April 1974, by the creation of a new coalition in Vientiane that gave equal political footing to the Pathet Lao. The National Assembly, which had become little more than a forum for disputes among right-wing factions, was dissolved by King Savang Vatthana on 13 April 1975, an act that signaled the end of domestic political opposition to the inexorable progress of the Pathet Lao. The formation of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in December 1975 effectively established the Communist Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) (Phak Pasason Pativat Lao), the political incarnation of the Pathet Lao movement, as the sole political force in Laos. Kaysone Phomvihan, general secretary of the LPRP, was named head of government, and Prince Souphanouvong head of state. The LPRP plays the leading role in the Lao Front for National Reconstruction, which sought to promote socialism and national solidarity. The Third Party Congress of the PPPL, and the first since the party assumed control, was held in Vientiane in April 1982. The congress, whose 228 delegates represented a party membership of 35,000, elected an enlarged Central Committee with 49 full and 6 alternate members. The Central Committee reelected Kaysone as general secretary. The Fourth Party Congress, held in Vientiane in December 1986, established the “new economic management mechanism.” In 1988 the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) adopted new elections laws and elections were held the next year—the first since 1975. In 1991, the Fifth Party Congress changed Prime Minister Phomvihan’s title to president, a post he held until his death one year later. Elevated to the post of prime minister was Khamtai Suphandon, a generally pro-free market antidemocratic pragmatist of the Singaporean variety. Suphandon had for a time studied Marxism in Hanoi, but in his position as prime minister was considered essentially a transitional figure between the old guard and a new generation of leaders. After Phomvihan’s death in 1992, a special session of the SPA elected an old-guard communist, Nouhak Phoumsavan, to the presidency. Elections for the SPA were again held in 1992 but they were marred by the sentencing of three pro-democracy activists to 14 years in prison on the day before balloting. By 1996, Laos’ leadership was made up primarily of party functionaries, regardless of the makeup of the SPA. Prime Minister Suphandon held considerable power as did Deputy Prime Minister Khamphoui Keoboualapha, who also served as the administrator of the State Committee for Planning and Cooperation (CPC), considered by many analysts to be a government within a government. A 1998 election retrenched the hard-liners, as “technocrats” vanished from the pre-approved slate, replaced with old style LPRP functionaries. This was viewed as a reaction to the social tensions (such as crime and corruption) arising with economic openness, as well as an attempt to reestablish centralized control over provincial matters. The Seventh Party Congress, which took place in March 2001, re-elected all eight surviving members of the nine-member Politburo. The decision was a clear sign that the party had opted for continuity rather than change. Several governments-in-exile have been set up by former ministers of pre-1975 regimes, and overseas Hmongs and other dissidents have formed opposition organizations. A young pretender to the throne, Prince Soulivong Savang, has rallied support in exile. Some Hmong groups and others continue a lowlevel insurgency in rural Laos. Underground antigovernment sentiment may be on the rise among the urban intellectuals. As of early 2003, parties other than the LPRP continue to be proscribed. A glimpse of popular discontent emerged with reports of an October 1999 demonstration in Vientiane, led by students and professors calling for democracy and human rights. The protest was quickly suppressed, and Khamtai’s government disavowed all knowledge of its occurrence. 15LOCAL GOVERNMENT Laos consists of 16 provinces (khoueng), one special zone, Xaisomboun, and the municipality of Vientiane. The provinces are subdivided into districts (muong), townships (tasseng), and villages (ban). The president appoints provincial governors and mayors of municipalities. The prime minister appoints deputy provincial governors and deputy mayors and district chiefs. Since 1975, local administration has been restructured, with elected people’s committees in the villages functioning as basic units. Both suffrage and candidacy are open to citizens 18 and over. Village heads administer at the village level. Lack of control over local party members in the rural areas appears to be a source of worry for the politburo, with its implications of corruption and even potential unrest. 16JUDICIAL SYSTEM The 1991 constitution provides for freedom of speech, assembly, and religion, although, in practice, organized political speech and activities are severely restricted. The reality of religious freedom is equally illusory, with imprisonment of Christian activists in recent years. The constitution contains provisions designed to guarantee the independence of judges and prosecutors, but in practice the courts appear to be subject to influence of other government agencies. Provincial courts are at the next level as appellate courts. There is also a central supreme court in Vientiane. In 1993 the government began publishing an official gazette in which all laws and regulations are disseminated. A bar association was formed in 1996 to strengthen the legal profession and individual rights to counsel. Rising crime rates place a burden on Laos’s under-funded and understaffed legal system. 17ARMED FORCES In 2002 the armed forces in Laos numbered 29,100. The army of 25,000 was equipped with 25 main battle tanks. The army marine section, equipped with 16 patrol crafts, had 600 personnel. The air force, with 3,500 personnel, was equipped with antiaircraft missiles and 24 combat aircraft. Militia selfdefense forces numbered approximately 100,000 organized for local defense. The armed forces faced about 2,000 rebels from the United Lao National Liberation Front (ULNLF). Defense expenditures in 1998 were $55 million. 18INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION Laos, a UN member since 14 December 1955, belongs to ESCAP and all the nonregional specialized agencies except IAEA and IMO. The nation participates in the Asian Development Bank and G-77, is a signatory to the Law of the Sea, and has observer status with the WTO. Since 1961, it has been a member of the nonaligned movement. Laos’s main diplomatic, economic, and military allies have been Vietnam and the former USSR. In 1977, Laos signed a 20-year treaty of cooperation with Vietnam. A four-year agreement with Vietnam and Cambodia that pledged Lao People’s Democratic Republic 379 cooperation in regulating forestry, processing agricultural goods, producing consumer goods, and increasing trade was signed in 1986. In 1997, Laos joined ASEAN and AFTA. 19ECONOMY One of the world’s poorest and least-developed nations, Laos is overwhelmingly agricultural, with 85% of the population still engaged in subsistence farming. Because industrialization is minimal, Laos imports nearly all the manufactured products it requires. Distribution of imports is limited almost entirely to Vientiane and a few other towns, and even there consumption is low. The hostilities of the 1960s and 1970s badly disrupted the economy, forcing the country to depend on imports from Thailand to supplement its daily rice requirements. With the curtailment of hostilities in 1975, the development of a unified political structure offered an immediate advantage. The government began in late 1975 to pursue in earnest a variety of projects to repair and improve the infrastructure and make use of the country’s ample mineral, lumber, and hydroelectric resources. During 1978–80, the government gave priority to postwar reconstruction, collectivization of agriculture, and improvements in rice production. In 1994 a liberalized Foreign Investment Law was promulgated as the government sought greater economic integration regionally and internationally. By 1997, Laos had made modest improvements. In international investment, it had opened up its economy considerably. In April 1997, the government signed a trade and cooperation agreement with the EC. In July 1997, Laos became a full member of ASEAN and AFTA. In 1998 the government applied for membership in the WTO. More than $5 billion in foreign investment had been made by more than 500 investors, mainly from other ASEAN countries. The government had also made considerable progress in the construction of a modern road network linking Laos to China and Vietnam. The country also announced plans for a second bridge into Thailand and the construction of its first railroad, linking Vientiane with Nong Khai in Thailand. However, the Asian financial crisis dealt the economy a series of blows from which it has not yet recovered. Laos’s economy was particularly dependent on Thailand, source of 42% of its foreign investment as well as 45% of imports and 37% of export purchases, which was severely affected by the financial crisis. From June 1997 to June 1999, the Laotian currency, the kip, lost 87% of its value. Growth, which averaged 7% for the six years 1992 to 1997, dropped to 4.8% in 1998, the lowest since 1991. Foreign investment dropped from $179 million in 1996 to $45.3 million in 1998. Growth increased in 1999, to 7.3%, propelled by growth of over 8% in both industry and agriculture, and continued at moderated rates of 5.7% and 6.4% in 2000 and 2001. However, high inflation rates and low declining foreign investments have persisted. Inflation in 2000 was 25% and though it eased to 10% with lower growth in 2001, it was back to double digits, 12% in 2002 and a projected 15% in 2003. Foreign direct investment dropped to $23.9 million in 2001. By late 2002, the kip had fallen to more than 10,000 to 1 US dollar from its level of 1,171 to 1 US dollar in June 1997. In February 2003, the Bush administration submitted legislation supporting the granting of normal trade relations (NTR) to Laos. 20INCOME The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 Laos’s gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $9.2 billion. The per capita GDP was estimated at $1,630. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 5%. The average inflation rate in 2001 was 10%. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 53% of GDP, industry 22%, and services 25%. Foreign aid receipts amounted to about $45 per capita and accounted for approximately 15% of the gross national income (GNI). The richest 10% of the population accounted for approximately 30.6% of household consumption and the poorest 10% approximately 3.2%. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that in 2001 about 40% of the population had incomes below the poverty line. 21LABOR The estimated labor force was 2.4 million in 1999. In the absence of additional data, it is estimated that 85% are subsistence farmers, with most of the remainder in the public sector as of 1997. In that year the unemployment rate was approximately 5.7%. Labor is organized into a single Federation of Lao Trade Unions (FLTU) which is controlled by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), the authoritarian governmental body. In 2002, the vast majority of the 78,000 members of the FLTU were in the public sector. There is no right to organize, strike, or bargain collectively. Labor disputes have so far been infrequent and the desperate economic situation means that workers have little bargaining power. Children under the age of 15 are forbidden by law from working, but many children work for their families in farms or in shops due to extreme economic hardship. The daily minimum wage was $.53 in 2002. The labor code limits the workweek to 48 hours with at least one day of rest. 22AGRICULTURE In 1998, Laos’s sown-field area was estimated at 852,000 hectares (2,105,000 acres), or less than 4% of the country’s total area. Agriculture accounts for 53% of production and as much as 85% of employment. The main crop is rice, almost entirely of the glutinous variety. Except in northern Laos, where some farmers grow dry rice in forest clearings or on hillsides, most Lao are wetrice farmers. The total area of rice plantings in 1999 was estimated at 718,000 hectares (1,774,000 acres), up from 554,000 hectares (1,369,000 acres) in 1996. Yields, which are relatively low, could be raised substantially through wider use of irrigation and fertilizers. Production, which averaged 609,000 tons annually during 1961–65, rose to 2,103,000 tons in 1999. Less important crops include corn (favored by some upland tribes and stressed by the government as a means of increasing livestock production), manioc, peanuts, and soybeans. The main commercial crops, emphasized by the government as part of its export drive, are coffee, cotton, and tobacco. Also grown are cardamom, tea, ramie, hemp, sugar, bananas, and pineapples. In 2001, the trade deficit for agricultural products was $41 million. The mountain peoples have been known to grow large quantities of opium poppies, sold to dealers in the plains. Opium production was estimated at 200 tons in 2001. 23ANIMAL HUSBANDRY Cattle raising is important, especially in the southern plains and in the valleys of the Noy, Banghiang, and Don rivers. Much of the livestock population was killed in the final stages of the civil war that ended in 1975. As of 2001, livestock included an estimated 1,217,000 head of cattle, 1,051,000 buffalo, 1,426,000 hogs, and 14,063,000 chickens. Livestock products in 2001 included 35,000 tons of pork, 24,000 tons of beef and veal, 13,000 tons of poultry, and 10,500 tons of eggs. 380 Lao People’s Democratic Republic 24FISHING Edible fish, found in the Mekong and other rivers, constitutes the main source of protein in the Laotian diet. The prize catch is the pa beuk, weighing 205 kg (450 lb) or more. Despite the abundance of fish and their important contribution to the Laotian subsistence economy, there has been no systematic commercial fishery development. The total catch in 2000 was 29,250 tons. 25FORESTRY Timber is a major resource and one of Laos’s most valuable exports. About 54% of the total area is forested, and about half of the forested area is commercially exploitable. The principal timber-producing areas are around Champasak, Savannakhét, Khammouan, and Vientiane. Muang Paklay, in western Laos, is noted for its teak. Exploitation is easiest in areas near the Mekong River, which facilitates transportation. Elephants and oxen are used in most forestry operations. Aside from timber, firewood, and charcoal, forestry products include benzoin and benzoin bark, bamboo, copra, kapok, palm oil, rattan, various resins, and sticklac. Production of roundwood totaled an estimated 5.5 million cu m (194 million cu ft) in 2000; over 80% of the annual output is burned as fuel. Sawn wood output in 2000 was about 350,000 cu m (12.4 million cu ft); wood-based panels, 125,000 cu m (4.38 million cu ft). 26MINING Tin and gypsum mining were the country’s leading industries in 2002, and tin was its fifth-leading export commodity. The mining sector, the economy’s smallest, contributed 0.56% of the country’s GDP in 2000. Although much of the country remained unprospected, the nature of the terrain has led to ardent speculation about the nation’s mineral resources. Laos was fairly rich in gold, gypsum, iron ore, limestone, potash, precious stones, and tin; of those, only gypsum, limestone, and tin were mined. Also produced in 2001 were barite (all of which was exported to Thailand), cement, gemstones, rock salt, sand and gravel, varieties of stone, and zinc (all of which was exported to Thailand). Other mineral resources known to exist in Laos were magnesium, antimony, copper, lead, manganese, pyrites, silver, and sulfur. Copper, gemstone, gold, iron ore, lead, potash, tin, and zinc were earmarked for further exploration. Undiscovered resources of iron ore, potash, and rock salt were believed to be substantial. Tin mine output in 2001 was 400 tons, down from 717 in 1997 and 906 in 1996. Gypsum production, by the State Gypsum Mining Operation from the Dong Hene Mine, in Savannakhet Province, was 150,000 tons in 2001, up from 114,306 in 1997; the mine’s proven ore reserves were estimated to be 18 million tons. Gold production ceased in 1998–2001; it was 24,755 grams in 1997. Important iron deposits, with reserves of 68% ore estimated at 11 billion tons, have been discovered on the Plain of Jars near Xiangkhoang. A substantial deposit of low-grade anthracite coal has been found at Saravan. Sapphire production went from 4,006 carats in 1996 to 9,229 carats in 1997, and increased substantially further in 1998 and 1999. Output of gemstones went from 4,013,280 carats in 1999 to 100,000 in 2001. Tungsten and copper deposits and gold-bearing alluvials produced a limited income for the local population but have not been exploited by modern industrial methods. 27ENERGY AND POWER In 2001, Laos had a total installed electrical generating capacity of 425,000 kW, up from 225,000 kW in 1988. Production of electricity in 2000 totaled 1,000 million kWh (up from 532 million in 1988), of which 98% was hydropower and the remainder from conventional thermal sources. Consumption of electricity in 2000 was 690.6 million kWh. The nation has an estimated hydroelectric potential of 12,500,000 kW, most of which is undeveloped. The largest power project is the Nam Ngum Dam, located on the Mekong 72 km (45 mi) from Vientiane. Construction began in 1969, with the first stage completed in 1971 and the second stage in 1978. Annual output at Nam Ngum is around 900 million kWh, with about 90% of the electricity produced being supplied to Thailand. An additional 3,000 kW of capacity comes from several smaller hydroelectric facilities, and about 14,000 kW is provided by diesel-powered generators throughout Laos. 28INDUSTRY Industrial development is rudimentary. There are some small mining operations, charcoal ovens, a cement plant, a few brick works, carpenter shops, a tobacco factory, rice mills, some furniture factories, and more than two dozen sawmills. Industrialization plans center on cotton spinning, garment manufacturing, hydroelectric power projects, brewing, coffee and tea processing, and plywood milling. New resource developments, including the Nam Ngum hydroelectric project and the Vientiane sylvite field, have aided industrial growth. Handicrafts account for an important part of the income of many Laotians. Some villages or areas specialize in certain types of products: silk fabrics, baskets, lacquerware, and gold and silver jewelry and ornaments. Bricks, pottery, iron products, and distilled beverages are made in individual villages. Manufacturing is largely confined to the processing of agricultural—food and natural fibers—and forestry products. From 1998 to 2001, industry grew at an average annual rate of 8.7%. The growth is in large part attributable to governmentsponsored construction projects, particularly hydroelectric power projects. By 2002, hydroelectric power had taken the place of garments as the country’s leading industrial export, and its leading source of foreign exchange. Most manufactures, however, continue to be imported; exports regularly only amount to 60% of imports. At the end of 2002 the main industrial project under consideration was the construction of the $1.3 billion hydroelectric dam on the Nam Theum River, the power from which would be exported to Thailand. The project was far from realization, lacking both a purchase agreement with the state agency in Thailand, and the World Bank guarantee for the investors. 29SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Like many developing nations, Laos depends primarily on external expertise in science and technology. Sisavangvong University, founded in 1958 at Vientiane, has faculties of agriculture, forestry, and irrigation, and of medicine, a technical college, and a polytechnic. Regional technical colleges are located in Luang Pradang, Savannakét, and Champasak. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 20% of college and university enrollments. 30DOMESTIC TRADE Before the Pathet Lao came to power, there was a growing market in Laos for capital and consumer goods. Vientiane was the wholesale distributing point for much of the country. In late 1975, private trade was banned and many small traders and businessmen—including Chinese, Japanese, Pakistani, Thai, and Vietnamese—fled the country. The new government subsequently made it clear that the trend toward consumerism would be reversed in favor of a production-oriented society. The Pathet Lao entered directly into the distribution and sale of essential commodities, such as rice and sugar, and prices were brought under control. In 1979, however, the ban on private trade was lifted, and consumer items, which had all but disappeared from circulation, were once again available. Lao People’s Democratic Republic 381 In the countryside, barter replaces money as the principal method of exchange. Markets are held at regular intervals, generally one day a week, at central villages or smaller towns. Once or twice a year, lowland farmers barter cloth and handicraft products with the mountain peoples for cereals, deer and rhinoceros horns, and ivory. Certain items recognized as media of exchange include tea, opium, tobacco, salt, silver, and gold. As of 1999, subsistence farming accounted for about 51% of the GDP, employing about 85% of the nation’s workforce. The New Economic Mechanism (NEM), a set of economic reforms instituted in 1986 across all sectors of the economy, has begun to demonstrate results in establishing a market-based economy. The government freed the market price of rice and other food staples in 1986, increasing agricultural output despite severe climatic conditions. Later reforms—floating the national currency, the kip, and freeing interest rates—stimulated a marketbased economy and controlled inflation. Major land reforms in 1988 included the freedom to sell products at market-determined prices. Growth from these stimuli is demonstrated by the doubling of private shops in Vientiane and abundant fairly-priced goods in the markets. In a 1989 agreement with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the government initiated reforms toward privatization and monetary reforms. The usual hours of business are from 8 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday. Some factories and private companies extend the workday to 5 PM and factories are permitted to maintain a six day workweek if desired. Banking hours are 8 to 10:30 AM and 2 to 3:30 PM, Monday–Friday. 31FOREIGN TRADE The political reorganization of 1975 brought changes in Laos’s foreign trade pattern, because regional alignments were shifting and because the aid needed to finance the nation’s imports was no longer available from the US. In the 1980s, much of the nation’s trade was subsidized by the former USSR. The export of electricity, the sale of overflight rights to foreign airlines, wood products, green coffee, and tin are sources of foreign earnings. In 1991 Laos’s largest export earner, logging, was banned pending steps to prevent further destruction of the forests. There are 11 million ha of mature forests in Laos, and about 4.4 million are considered commercially exploitable. The ban on log exports was modified to allow the export of already cut logs and logs from stipulated cutting areas. Foreign aid grants exceeded export earnings in 1991. That year, export revenue decreased by 22% from 1990 because of a reduction of timber exports and a decline (caused by drought) in the production of electricity for export. At the same time the cost of imports increased by 62%, owing to the newly adopted free trade measures, which ended restrictions on imported goods. In 2000, major exports included wood products, garments and textiles, fish, and iron and steel. Major imports include machinery and equipment, vehicles, and fuel. Principal trading partners in 2000 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows: COUNTRY EXPORTS IMPORTS BALANCE Thailand 72.1 419.0 -346.9 France 27.1 27.5 -0.4 Germany 21.4 4.2 17.2 United Kingdom 14.6 11.6 3 Belgium 14.3 n.a. n.a. Japan 11.7 27.4 -15.7 Italy 9.2 n.a. n.a. China (inc. Hong Kong) 6.7 37.9 -31.2 Singapore n.a. 36.0 n.a. Vietnam n.a. 33.9 n.a. 32BALANCE OF PAYMENTS Laos has experienced severe trade deficits since independence. From 1963 through mid-1975, substantial deficit financing was provided through the Foreign Exchange Operations Fund (FEOF), an agency backed largely by the US but also receiving funds from Japan, France, the UK, and Australia. In June 1975, the flight of gold and hard currencies from the country forced the government to ban exports of gold and silver bullion. A devaluation of the kip had the effect of further inflating its price, with the black market exchange rate soaring. In the 1980s, financing came mainly from the former USSR, with smaller amounts from multilateral agencies. Since the collapse of communism in Europe, Laos has lost this vital means of support. Even with its recent attraction of international investment ($5 billion from 1988–94), it still relies heavily on aid. Primary sources are Scandinavia, the US, and Japan. In 1995, the IMF announced a $17 million loan to the country, its second in a series of structural adjustment loans. Laos received a total of $290 million in economic aid in 1998. Total external debt stood at $2.53 billion in 1999. In 2001, the IMF approved a $40.2 million three-year arrangement with Laos, to reduce poverty and support the government’s economic reform program. The Lao government is attempting to diversify its trading and investment partners, particularly among other Asian nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that in 2001 Laos had exports of goods totaling $311 million and imports totaling $528 million. The services credit totaled $166 million and debit $32 million. The following table summarizes Laos’s balance of payments as reported by the IMF for 2001 in millions of US dollars. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2000 the purchasing power parity of Laos’s exports was $325 million while imports totaled $540 million resulting in a trade deficit of $215 million. Current Account -82 Balance on goods -217 Balance on services 135 Balance on income -34 Current transfers 34 Capital Account … Financial Account 136 Direct investment abroad … Direct investment in Laos 24 Portfolio investment assets … Portfolio investment liabilities … Other investment assets 25 Other investment liabilities 87 Net Errors and Omissions -57 Reserves and Related Items 4 33BANKING AND SECURITIES The central bank, the Bank of the Laotian People’s Democratic Republic, regulates a rapidly expanding sector comprising 13 national and foreign-owned banks under the terms of the Commercial Bank and Financial Institutions Act of January 1992. Most of the wholly foreign-owned banks are Thai (such as the Thai Military Bank and Siam Commercial) and many of the joint-venture banks are backed by Thai financiers (such as the Joint Development Bank). The central bank continues to receive technical assistance from multilateral lending agencies, and is gradually strengthening the prodential framework. The banks are now believed to be more efficient. The largest commercial bank, established in 1953, is the Bank of Indochina. The large-scale flight of foreign currency that accompanied the Pathet Lao’s ascendancy to power led the new government to shut down Vientiane’s banks in September 1975. Officials subsequently announced the expropriation of most private 382 Lao People’s Democratic Republic accounts, claiming they were the property of former rightists and “traitors.” Banking reforms of the 1988-89 period opened Laos to foreign banks. Banks in Laos include: Banque Pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao, Joint Development Bank, Nakhonelouang Bank, and the Vientiane Commercial Bank. All banks now provide basic business services and offer a range of deposit and credit facilities. Interest rates are increasingly responsive to market conditions but tend to remain close to rates set by the central bank. Public confidence in the banking system as measured by the level of domestic capital mobilization is still low. Until 1988 the wholly state-controlled system serviced the needs of the command economy, offering uncompetitive rates of interest to savers or producers in need of regular credit. Most families continued to save by investing in gold and jewelry. The system suffered severe liquidity problems in 1990-91 when the “privatization” of former state-owned enterprises was at its peak: old debts were not repaid and new capital arriving as a result of the opening of the economy to foreign investors was coming in too slowly. Laos was badly hit in 1997 by the Asian financial crisis, leading to further liquidity problems in 1998. The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $41.5 million. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $286.4 million. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 35%. There is no stock exchange. 34INSURANCE There are no private insurance firms. 35PUBLIC FINANCE The civil war rendered normal budgetary procedures impossible, the budget being covered largely by US aid and monetary inflation. Deficit financing continued in the 1970s and 1980s, covered mostly by foreign aid from communist nations. With the collapse of this support, however, Laos has increasingly looked to foreign investment capital and Western lending agencies for financial support. Beginning in 1994, the IMF initiated an annual program of loans to assist the country with a structural adjustment program. It lent Laos $17 million in 1995. Still, 31% of the 1995 budget was international aid. The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimates that in 1998/1999 Laos’s central government took in revenues of approximately $211 million and had expenditures of $462 million. Overall, the government registered a deficit of approximately $251 million. External debt totaled $2.5 billion. 36TAXATION In 1977, the government introduced a progressive agricultural tax on production. The tax revenues were to be used to develop forestry and mining without the need for outside aid, but the tax had the unwanted side effect of discouraging production by some of the largest landowners and slowing the achievement of selfsufficiency in food. The 1992–93 budget included a new profits tax and a law requiring foreign firms engaged in construction projects to pay taxes. The agricultural tax was replaced by a land tax, and consumption taxes were raised on fuel oil, liquor, beer, and tobacco. The 1989 economic reforms included a new flat tax rate of 20% on profits for foreign-owned companies. The top personal income tax rate is 40% with the marginal rate for the average tax payer 10%. The top corporate tax rate is 35%. 37CUSTOMS AND DUTIES Import duties are determined on a specific and ad valorem basis and range from 2–40%, mostly not exceeding 25%. Compensatory duties are imposed on imports of commodities in competition with local goods. A general internal tax is collected on the CIF-plus-duties value of most imports. Certain commodities—including automobiles, radios, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and sugar—are subject to special excise taxes of up to 104%. A duty-free unloading zone for Laotian imports is located in the Vietnamese port of Da Nang. 38FOREIGN INVESTMENT Before 1975, Laotian foreign economic relations were conducted under the FEOF and the US Commodity Import Program, under which dollar exchange was provided; Laos in turn allocated dollars to local importers, who then made kip payments to the government for the purchase of foreign goods. There was little direct foreign investment, however. From 1975 until the mid- 1980s, all foreign capital has come in the form of development assistance. Reforms, as part of the New Economic Mechanism (NEM) initiated in 1986, included the introduction of a the Laos Foreign Investment Code and Decree in 1989, which established the Foreign Investment Management Cabinet (FIMC). The FIMC oversees the Committee for Investment and Foreign Cooperation (CIFC) with power to authorize and approve investment. All investment proposals, no matter how small, must be submitted to the CIFC of the FIMC, which passes it for screening by the relevant line ministries. The Code and Decree focus on three types of transactions: contractual business, joint ventures, and wholly foreign-owned enterprises. Investment is now allowed in the areas of agriculture, forestry, industry, communications, transport, service, and tourism, for projects using the indigenous raw materials and natural resources of Laos. The Decree details the permitted sectors of foreign investment and outlines restrictions and prohibitions. For instance, environmentally damaging investment, investors with overwhelming debt, longterm projects making great use of imported materials, and enterprises that would compete with local entrepreneurs are prohibited and/or discouraged. Hindrances to foreign investment are poor legal and physical infrastructure and a lack of skilled labor and capital. Additional disadvantages in the landlocked country are high transportation costs and limited domestic and foreign markets. In 1994 a new foreign investment law streamlined regulations and tax structures and included a flat corporate tax rate of 20%. The contractual business mode of foreign investment was eliminated. Although the law stipulated that the pre-approval process for new investment was to take only 60 days, delays in fact have been a year or more. Since 1986, foreign investment in Laos has totaled an estimated $5.7 billion, about 75% in hydroelectric power projects. The Asian financial crisis, precipitated by Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in June 1997, dealt foreign investment flows a blow from which it has not recovered. FDI fell from $170 million in 1996 to $45.3 million in 1998. In 1999, the Thai company that had been granted the concession to build Laos’s first railroad in May 1997, backed out of the deal declaring it economically non-viable. A small uptick in FDI to $51.5 million in 1999 was followed by sharp declines in $33.9 million in 2000 and a negligible $23.9 million in 2001 in the face of the continuing depreciation of the currency. The depreciation feeds into a vicious cycle, because with the government’s need to conserve its hard currency reserves, it has become increasingly difficult for foreign investors to convert their kip income into foreign exchange. The government in 2002 was rationing foreign exchange, with priorities given to fuel, food and medicines. Thailand has been Laos’s biggest foreign investor, accounting for about 42% of total FDI. In 2001, Laos and Thailand signed an agreement for the construction of a second bridge across the Me Kong, a project abandoned by a Japanese company in 1998 after the concession had been granted in 1996. Two Thai Lao People’s Democratic Republic 383 companies are also shareholders in the proposed $1.2 billion 650 MW Nam Theum River hydroelectric power project. The other partners are the Laotian government and the French company, Electicite de France, the largest shareholder. China’s Yunnan Province contracted to develop sylvite deposits in the Vientiane Basin. Twelve sylvite-bearing zones have been identified, with an estimated total of 10 billion tons. 39ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT The National Plan and Foreign Aid Council was established in June 1956 to prepare a general plan for the development of Laos and to set up a series of five-year plans. In view of its limited capital resources, the government sought increased private foreign investment, continued US governmental economic assistance, and help from international monetary bodies and the Colombo Plan organization. An economic plan drafted by the Laotian government in 1962 was never fully implemented, however, owing to internal instability. Little of the infrastructure for public works, industry, and mining that was abandoned in 1961 has been resumed. Although a major goal of the 1969–74 economic and social development plan, completion of the Nam Ngum Dam, was fulfilled, a host of other targets had to be abandoned because of disruption stemming from the war. US aid to Laos began in 1955 and continued until the US pullout in 1975. During this period, the Laotian economy became almost totally dependent on US aid, which amounted to over $900 million in nonmilitary loans and grants and $1.6 billion in military assistance. Following the Pathet Lao takeover in 1975, efforts were made to restructure the Laotian economy along socialist lines. The source of most foreign assistance shifted to China between 1975 and 1979. By 1979, however, with the economy reduced to a virtual standstill because of poor harvests, rapid inflation, and the absence of private incentives, the government abandoned central planning for a mixed model of a centrally coordinated amalgam of state-run enterprises, cooperatives, and private ventures. Laos’s first five-year plan (1981–85) after the removal of the Pathet Lao government envisioned increases of 65–68% in the gross social product, 23–24% in agricultural production, and 100–120% in industrial production, as well as completion of repairs on major highways and waterways. During this period the source of aid again shifted, this time to the USSR, Vietnam, and their allies. Aid from Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) countries totaled $90 million in 1985. Among non- Communist nations, Japan, Australia, Sweden, and the Netherlands have also furnished assistance. In 1985, the US ban on aid was lifted, largely because of Laotian cooperation in accounting for US military personnel missing in action in Laos during the Vietnam war. Aid from international agencies totaled $183.1 million between 1946 and 1986. The targets of for the first five-year plan were largely not met as per capita income fell to $100 and inflation rose to 30% in 1985. Failure was ascribed to an overly rigid central planning approach and in August 1986, as a major part of the second fiveyear plan (1986–90), the New Economic Mechanism (NEM) was introduced. The New Economic Mechanism (NEM) approved in 1986 (based on chin tanakan may, “new thinking,”) introduced free enterprise initiatives including decentralized decision making, deregulation of pricing and financial systems, and promotion of domestic and international trade and foreign investment. Reforms have been introduced in phases. In 1988 land use reforms and market determined prices were introduced. In 1989 the tax system was modified, the Foreign Investment Code and Decree was implemented, the banking system was restructured, and the privatization of state economic enterprises commenced. Creation of a national taxation system and a customs administration are aimed at increasing government revenue. The Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, the Economic Planning Unit, which monitors existing and new businesses, and the Economic Development Board (EDB), which assists in the establishment of new industries, facilitate foreign investment in most sectors of the economy. Incentives offered to encourage the development of industrial and commercial enterprises include allowing 100% foreign ownership, emphasized exportation of food products, strengthening of economic management, rehabilitation of routes to seaports and rural feeder roads, reform of general education and training, and development of small- and medium-scale projects. The third five-year plan (1991–95) continued previous policies of infrastructure improvement, export growth, and import substitution. Four sectors were considered priority areas for future income for Laos: mining and energy; agriculture and forestry; tourism; and service, as a way-station and service center between China, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Laos has untapped mineral resources and proven reserves of gold, gemstones and iron ore. Pulp and paper tree plantations would be substituted for the export of timber and agricultural products to serve the Thai market. Based on Thailand’s experience, the government recognizes that mass tourism involves environmental degradation, yet the opening of the Mittaphap (Friendship) Bridge over the Mekong between Laos and Thailand (1994) seemed to open an opportunity for both trade and tourism. A second bridge was approved in 1996 but the Japanese company holding the concession backed out in 1998. In 2002 the second bridge project was revived with an agreement with a Thai company. In 1993 three western oil companies, Enterprise Oil and Monument Oil, both from the UK, and Hunt Oil of Dallas, engaged in exploration for oil and gas in Laos. These projects, handicapped by inadequate geological maps, unexploded ordnance, tough terrain, encounters with the remnants of the anticommunist insurgency movement, tropical and dietary illness, and the potential expense of drilling and pipeline construction for transport to the Vietnamese coast, have not produced any substantial discoveries. However, two major hydroelectric projects, the Nam Thuen Dam on a tributary of the Mekong in Khammouan province, and the Xeset dam in southern Laos were completed, and produce electricity sold to Thailand. At the sixth party congress, held in March 1996, Laotian officials debated the country’s slow pace of opening up to the international investment community. By that year, the country had allowed more than 500 foreign investors, in a variety of sectors, to either establish or buy (in whole or in part) Laotian businesses. The majority of $5 billion (75%) was invested in hydroelectric power. In February 1997, Laos joined ASEAN, though some raised questions about its ability to afford even to attend all the organization’s 200 or so annual meetings. Balance of payments problems had emerged almost as soon as the economy opened up to foreign trade and investments, with imports regularly running about 40% above exports. By 1997, Laos had entered into two stand-by arrangements with the IMF, a one year arrangement under the Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF), and a three year arrangement under the Extended Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAP). The credit line for the ESAP arrangement amounted to about $49 million and ran until 7 May 1997. The next month Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule precipitating the Asian financial crisis that was to have devastating effects of Laos’s economic development ambitions. From June 1997 to June 2002 the kip depreciated from 1,171 to more than 10,000 to one US dollar. Direct foreign investment (DFI) dropped from $179 million in 1997 to $23.9 million in 2001. In the first six months of 2002, investment flows from ASEAN countries, formally the source of the nearly 60% of FDI, fell to zero. A possibility of some relief from the downward spiral of inflation and dwindling investment lies in the likelihood that Laos will be voted normal trade relations (NTR) status in 2003 by the US Congress in line with legislation submitted by the Bush 384 Lao People’s Democratic Republic administration in 2003. NTR would reduce US tariffs on Laotian imports from an average of over 40% to about 3%, and allow for the implementation of bilateral trade and investment agreement with the US. In turn, this would open the way for the World Bank to issue guarantees for foreign investment projects in Laos. 40SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT By almost any measure, Laos is one of the world’s most impoverished nations. Food intake does not meet basic requirements; there are virtually no sanitary facilities; and contamination of drinking water is widespread. Almost no families own cars, and bicycles and radios are considered luxuries. In general, the lowland Lao have the highest living standards, with lower standards prevailing among the upland tribes. The majority of the population engages in subsistence farming, and the country is heavily reliant on foreign aid. Although the Constitution establishes equal rights for women, they have traditionally been subservient to men and have generally been discouraged from obtaining an education. However, the government claims that it has encouraged women to assume a larger role in national life, and girls are increasingly attending school. It has been reported that in urban areas, working women have higher incomes than their male counterparts. Violence against women, including domestic violence, is not widespread. The Family Code provides women with equal inheritance and marriage rights. Minority highland tribes have limited ability to influence government decisions. The highland Hmong tribe, furthermore, reports instances of discrimination and harassment, including at least one disappearance of a prominent Hmong activist in 1993. The 1990 Law on Nationality, which took effect in 1994, grants greater citizenship rights to the Chinese and Vietnamese minorities. In spite of the adoption of a Constitution in 1991 and National Assembly elections in 1993 and 1997, human rights abuses remain. Overt political dissent is not tolerated, and detention without due process is not uncommon. Prison conditions are harsh, and the government suppresses the freedoms of speech, assembly, and association and restricts freedom of religion. 41HEALTH The use of Western medicine has improved health generally and reduced the incidence of malaria and smallpox specifically, but high infant mortality and a variety of health problems remain. Most urban areas, including Vientiane, lack pure water and sanitary disposal systems. In 2000, 90% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 46% had adequate sanitation. In parts of Laos, malaria—the most serious health threat—is known to affect the majority of children. In 1995, there were 1,365 new cases of cholera. Other health problems are acute upper respiratory infections (including pneumonia and influenza), diarrhea and dysentery, parasites, yaws, skin ailments, various childhood diseases, hepatitis, venereal disease, and tuberculosis. Common diseases in recent years have been malaria (41,787 cases in 1993), measles (3,174 cases in 1995), and leprosy (967 cases in 1995). In 1999, there were 171 reported cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 inhabitants. In the mid-1990s, a UNICEF survey found iodine deficiencies and goiter to be common problems in rural areas of Laos. Programs to increase iodine levels via salt intake were being instituted. An estimated 25% of school-age children were reported to have goiter. Children up to one year of age were vaccinated in 1990–94 against tuberculosis, 69%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 48%; polio, 57%; and measles, 73%. Vaccination rates in 1999 were 56% for DPT and 71% for measles. The prevalence of underweight children in 1995 was 44%, greater than the average of developing countries in South East Asia. As of 1999, there were an estimated 0.2 physicians and 2.6 hospital beds per 1,000 people. As of 1999 total health care expenditure was estimated at 2.5% of GDP. Average life expectancy in 2000 was estimated at 54 years for men and women; infant mortality was estimated at 92 per 1,000 live births. The total fertility rate has remained nearly constant over the last years. The fertility rate in 2000 was five children per woman during her childbearing years. The overall mortality rate in 2002 was estimated at 12.7 per 1,000 people; the maternal mortality rate in 1998 was 650 per 100,000 live births. 42HOUSING The typical house is rectagular, built entirely of wooden planks and bamboo, with a thatched roof, and is raised off the ground on wooden pilings 1–2 m (3–6 ft) high. There is a critical housing shortage in the towns, and many dwellings are substandard. As of 1990, 47% of urban and 25% of rural dwellers had access to a public water supply, while 30% of urban and 8% of rural dwellers had sanitation service. 43EDUCATION Education in Laos is compulsory for five years of primary education. In 1997, there were 7,896 primary schools with 25,831 teachers and 786,335 students. Student-to-teacher ratio stood at 30 to 1, and remained the same as of 1999. In 1996, secondary schools had 11,269 teachers and 169,691 students. As of 1999, 82% of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school, while 29% of those eligible attended secondary school. In 1997 there were 1,369 teaching faculty and 12,732 students enrolled at all higher-level institutions. Sisavongvong University at Vientiane includes a school of education, a school of law and administration, a school of medicine, a school of vocational training, a school of agriculture, and a school of public works. There were also regional technical colleges and 63 teacher training colleges as of 1985. For the year 2000, adult illiteracy rates were estimated at 38.2% (males, 26.4%; females, 49.5%). As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 2.4% of GDP. 44LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS The National Library (Vientiane), with 330,000 volumes in French, Lao, and English, is the nation’s largest library. In addition, a Buddhist institute owns a number of classical manuscripts. Many excellent traditional works of art and architecture may be seen in Vientiane and Luangphrabang. Of particular interest in the latter city is the former royal palace and the Prabang (Golden Buddha), which was brought to Laos from Cambodia in the days of Fa-Ngoum. Also in Vientiane are the National Museum and the Museum of Religious Art. 45MEDIA In 1997, there were 25,000 mainline telephones in use with an additional 4,915 cellular phones throughout the country. Beginning in 1992 telephone owners were able to direct dial internationally, and private facsimile machines were permitted. All communications, including the radio network, are operated by the government. Regular radio broadcasts were begun from Vientiane in 1968 and are now carried by Lao National Radio. Most broadcasts are in Lao, but government news broadcasts are also in English, French, and other languages. Domestic television service from Lao National TV began in 1983; in addition, programs are available by satellite from the former USSR, and it is possible to pick up Thai broadcasts. As of 1999 there were 9 AM and 4 FM radio stations and 4 television stations. In 2000, there were 148 radios and 10 television sets for every 1,000 people. In 2001, there were 6,000 Internet subscribers served by one service provider. Lao People’s Democratic Republic 385 The press is government-controlled. The sole news agency is the Laos News Agency; the only foreign news bureaus are those of the former USSR and Vietnam. As of 2002, there were two daily newspapers, Vientiane Mai (New Vientiane), with a circulation of 2,500; and Khao San Pathet Lao (Laos Newsletter, published in French and English as well as Lao), with a circulation of 1,200. Pasason (The People) is a monthly publication with a 2002 circulation of 28,000. The Vientiane Times, published in English is available twice a week. Although there are constitutional provisions for freedom of speech and the press, the government is said to exert broad control over the exercise of these rights. All domestically produced newspapers, radio, and television are controlled by the Ministry of Information, which reacts harshly to expressions of political dissent. 46ORGANIZATIONS The National Chamber of Commerce and Industry is located in Vientiane. The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and its allied social and political groups in the Lao Front for National Reconstruction have dominated Laotian life. The cooperative movement has been intensively developed. There is also a Lao Unified Buddhists’ Association. The Red Cross is active. 47TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION The Pathet Lao government has had little interest in tourism, and foreigners are rarely granted permits to travel outside Vientiane. Although individual tourist visas are difficult to obtain, the government’s official tourist organization, Inter-Lao Tourisme, has been issuing growing numbers of visas to tour groups. The main tourist destinations are Vientiane, with its Buddhist pagodas, and the city of Luangphrabang at the junction of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers in the North. In 2000, Laos recorded 737,208 visitor arrivals and receipts from tourism reached $114 million. That year there were 7,333 rooms in hotels and guest houses and a total of 12,857 beds. According to 2002 US government estimates, the cost of staying in Vientiane was about $107 per day. Stays in other small towns may be as low as about $30 per day. 48FAMOUS LAOTIANS One of the most cherished figures in Laotian history is Fa- Ngoum, who unified Lan Xang in the 14th century. Another dynastic personage still revered is the monarch Sethathirat, in whose reign (1534–71) the famous That Luang shrine was built. Chao Anou (r.1805–28) is remembered for having fought a war to recover Laotian independence from the Siamese (Thais) and for having restored Vientiane to a glory it had not known since the 16th century. Important 20th-century figures include Souvanna Phouma (1901–84), former prime minister; Prince Souphanouvong (1902–95), a half-brother of Souvanna Phouma, leader of the Pathet Lao and president of Laos from 1975 to 1986; and Kaysone Phomvihan (1920–1992), former chairman of the Council of Ministers. 49DEPENDENCIES Laos has no territories or colonies. 50BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, MacAlister, and Joseph J. Zasloff. Apprentice Revolutionaries: The Communist Movements in Laos, 1930– 1985. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Hoover Press, 1986. Buckley, Michael. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos Handbook. Chico, Calif.: Moon Publications, 1996. Castle, Timothy N. At War in the Shadow of Vietnam: U.S. Military Aid to the Royal Lao Government, 1955–1975. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. Chan, Sucheng. Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994. Cordell, Helen. Laos. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio, 1991. Evans, Grant. A Short History of Laos: The Land In Between. London, Eng.: Orion, 2003. ———. Lao Peasants under Socialism. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990. Hamilton-Merritt, Jane. Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942–1992. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993. Ivarsson, Soren. The Quest for Balance in a Changing Laos: A Political Analysis. Copenhagen: NIAS Books, 1995. Laos’ Dilemmas and Options: The Challenge of Economic Transition in the 1990s. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997. Mansfield, Stephen. Lao Hill Tribes: Traditions and Patterns of Existence. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Stuart-Fox, Martin. Buddhist Kingdom, Marxist State: The Making of Modern Laos. Bangkok: White Lotus, 1996. Stuart-Fox, Martin. Historical Dictionary of Laos. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2001. ———. Historical Dictionary of Laos. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1992. Zasloff, Joseph J., and Leonard Unger (eds.). Laos: Beyond the Revolution. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991.