ment of the refugees in Phnom Penh of the city increased from about urbanisation) was in the main well prepared.
Far from being abandoned to starvation (which most had experienced in Phnom Penh under the old regime anyway), they were being resettled in areas that, according to Newsweek reporter Sydney Schanberg, 'had been developed and organised over a long sanctuaries throughout the war?.
of work to be done. Throughout Cambodia there is hardly a bridge or pagoda left standing, and most villages have been destroyed. It is probable that not more than 12 It is therefore a high priority to mobilise all the resources to work on the land immediately.
WHAT PERSPECTIVE?
stand, however, is the perspective of the victorious insurgents.
nment have stated that they must develop agriculture, which is of course true, but it is very unclear whether this is seen as a prerequisite to industrialisation or whether it is shortage of labour and a vast amount per cent of the land has been planted.
What is very difficult to underThe representatives or the GoverMekong. able of leading a coup.
Torces were Ioo su When the United States of America ended its 11-year secret war against the Laotian's in 1973 it did not see the Vientiane Accords as a total loss. Because of the limited direct intervention of US forces in Laos, it could with draw without admitting defeat.
At the same time, it was intended that the coalition government should freeze the class struggle for as long as the US gave backing to the right wing Even more importantly, it was intended that the experience should be duplicated in Vietnam and Cambodia. What in fact happened was that the dynamic in Cambodia and Vietnam accelerated the class struggle in Laos, bringing the urban youth and workers to the centre of the stage.
The defeat of the US in Vietnam has struck a deep response in Laos. In the last few weeks the class polarisation has gained. momentum. The capitalists, the rich mer chants, the rich landlords and the right wing of the old state bureaucracy have been leaving the country in their hundreds, queuing up for planes and ferries across the In the week leading up to 9 May, the exposure of a right-wing attempted coup, coupled with mass mobilisations in Vientiane, cers admission and declaring their total Pakse and Krasy and the mopping up of right-wing army positions around Vientiane, forced the resignations of five leading right-wing politicians.
The same day saw the flight of Vang Pao, who had commanded the CIA Secret Army and who was the only militarist capThroughout Laos, units of the Pathet Lao began to disarm the troops formerly commanded by the right wing and to fraternize with these troops. The right-wing urged to join the attempted coup occupied the technical college in Vien tiane and joined mutinying troops of the "Royal Lao Army' in pledging support for the coalition.
On 13 May the entire armed forces declared their support for the coalitionWhich now consists nearly entirely of Pathet Lao delegates-and voluntarily grounded all planes. Police cadets also occupied their college, refusing their offi On 14 May demonstrations of students. urban workers and policemen broke out in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Savannakhet. In Savannakhet the radio station was occupied and the resignation of the right wing governor was demanded. The US aid office was also occupied and the officials held hostage. In all three cities the immediate resignation of all right-wing elements was demanded, together with the withdrawal of their US backers.
Very soon the cham alits all.
red week!