50: Laos

 

(Laotian King Sisavang Vatthana and Queen Khamphoui before the Pathet Lao Takeover.)

50 years ago today (December 2, 1975) the Fall of Vientiane occurred when the Pathet Lao Communists took the Capital of Laos.

Pathet Lao means Lao Nation in the Laotian Language.

This ended the Laotian Civil War (May 1959-December 1975) between the Pathet Lao Communists with the help of the North Vietnamese Communists and the Kingdom of Laos with the help of the United States (until 1973) and the South Vietnamese (until April 1975.)

62,000 People were killed during the Laotian Civil War.

The U.S. dropped 2,756,941 tons of Ordnance (Bombs) on 113,716 Laotian sites in 230,516 sorties between 1965 and 1973 alone, making Laos the most heavily bombed Country in history relative to the size of its Population.

There are still around 78 Million Pieces of Unexploded Bombs in Laos today.

The Pathet Lao Communists then went about sending 40,000 of Men, Women and Children to Re-Education Camps.

This included the King Savang Vatthana, who had abdicated power, died in a Reeducation Camp sometime between 1977 and 1984), Queen Khamphoui who died in a Camp in 1982, Crown Prince Vong Savang who died in a Camp in 1979, etc.

The Pahet Lao ended the Kingdom of Laos and replaced it with the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

300,000 People of the 1975 Population of 3 Million fled Laos for Thailand because of the harsh treatment and killing of the Communists.

In 1991, with the end of the Cold War and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, the Laotian Communists abandoned the Agricultural Collectivization and the end of Totalitarianism used since December 1975.

The United States restored Full-Diplomatic Relations with Laos in 1992.