One of the world's last communist nations yesterday celebrated its triumph over a US-backed government 30 years ago with a mass Soviet-style rally almost extinct in the post-Cold War world.
More than 25,000 soldiers, government officials and members of state youth organizations were marshaled at dawn on a vast square to hear 81-year-old president and communist party chief Khamtay Siphandone read a 12-page speech.
Flanked on a high reviewing stand by the eight other members of the all-powerful Politburo, Khamtay recalled the revolutionary struggle against the US but focused largely on the Laos' liberalized economic policy.
PHOTO: AFP
"The economy is improving throughout the country. People are experiencing a better standard of living," he said, citing progress in agriculture, mining, tourism and hydropower.
Although still among the world's poorest nations, Laos has registered impressive growth rates over the past decade and the World Bank estimates the economy, fueled by foreign investment and a boost in exports, will grow by 7 percent next year.
Khamtay said the Lao People's Revolutionary Party would continue to set the course for the country as it has since a 600-year-old monarchy was abolished and the victorious Pathet Lao guerrillas proclaimed Laos a communist state on Dec. 2, 1975.
Backed by the Vietnamese, the Pathet Lao fought a Vientiane government held up by US aid and overcame intense aerial bombardment and a secret, CIA-trained army of ethnic Hmong guerrillas. The government collapsed in mid-1975 following the defeats of similar US-supported governments in South Vietnam and Cambodia.
Aging veterans of the war, many proudly wearing chestfulls of medals, took part in Friday's one-and-a-half-hour ceremony at That Luang square, bordered by a huge socialist-style National Assembly building as well as the country's most sacred Buddhist monastery, the golden-spired Pha That Luang.
Red and gold banners were strung around the square, reading "Long live the Lao People's Democratic Republic" and "Peace, Independence, Democracy, Prosperity."
The more than 1km-long formation included 900 cheerleaders with pink and white pompoms and little girls with pigtails and bouquets of plastic flowers performing dances before the leaders.
But unlike Soviet and other communist celebrations of the bygone era, there was no display of military might and the only weapons visible were those carried by the honor guard. A lone helicopter flew over at the end of the ceremony.
Entry was by invitation only with Vientiane's ordinary people and a sprinkling of foreign tourists viewing the proceedings from outside the cordoned off area.
"The change of regime in 1975 was a radical one in our history. It was not just a change of rulers but a deep change in the direction of the country. The monarchy was abolished and people seized power," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalansy said on the eve of the event. "Sometimes the changes were painful, but 30 years later the people have come to realize that they were all worth it."
Although the government has liberalized the economy and slightly loosened its grip on the media, the 100,000-strong party brooks no opposition. Observers say that reforms have been faster in Laos' communist neighbors, Vietnam and China.
"People are much more confident than before. They see that the government as being serious about reform," Yong said.
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
France experienced its hottest spring on record, the French weather service said on Tuesday, after an exceptional early heat wave that also broke highs for the season in England and Wales. Meteo-France said the average nationwide temperature over March to May was 13.8°C — about 1.7°C above the norm, and surpassing records set in 2011 and 2020. “The warmest spring since records began in 1900,” it said in a bulletin. All three months were warmer than average, but the onset of an “unprecedented heatwave” late last month pushed the mercury to highs typically seen at the height of the summer. “Our country had never
RSS