Speech by the Prime Minister of Laos,
His Highness Prince Souvanna oua
at a Government Luncheon,
Parliament House, Canberra. 2nd November, 1967.
Ladics, Gentlemen, Mr. Prime Minister, I am touched to speak today
before this gathering of people from the Australian Parliament
people who have such a deep knowledge of international politics.
I am really touchod by the praise which has been
made by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition,
Mr. Whitlam. All my actions in the present and the-past have
been uniquely aimed at letting my country survive in its
independence and its neutrality. As I have said on several
occasions Laos has been at war for more than 20 years. As I
have said before for Laos a greatly under-populated country,
this is a great thing. We are three million inside and there
are more than 16 million outside.
All that is in the past; the present means to us
that we have to make available more than half of our annual
budget for our defence. That's why we have more than a hundred
thousand Laotians under arms.
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in the recent history of our relationship, this
is the first time that a Laotian Prime Linister has paid a
visit to your country. I feel this honour very deeply,
and so does our nation. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen,
the warm regards I addresj you in the name of my people are
full of Zrat: itde and friendship.
How could it be else? The relationship between
our jovernoents is excellent. You know our difficulties, and
as friends you. help us to solve them, taking as friends your
share of our troubles. In Laos, Australia is rightly ! aro-, m as
a dynamic, prosperous country, in a stage of full economic
development. Ye are also pleased to low that today she has
the feeling of belonging to that great entity of South East
Asia, where changes, nutations ana dangers retain har
attention particularly. In these conditions, the understanding
and collaboration between our t, o countries are natural..
But, in all truth, I have to say that in our exchanges your
share is by far the =: ore important and generous.
Howevei, Ladies and Gentlemnen, Laos does not find
the same understanding everywhere. i. ant to speak of our
' forgotten war, and of its consequences. ! any think that the
situation is not so drastic that we axaZg rate our troubles.
In fact we are tho victims of a certain literary romanticism.
The country .,! here it is good to live, one calls our old
kingdom a country w here time flows slowly, in a quiet and
musical nonchalance. Maybe Laos was so, in some periods of
our history, when we were not under attack by our neighbours.
But for at least twenty-two years, it has not been so at all.
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L.~ iesa~ d(~ nt~ meL.) allo7w. ime to illutstrate
this period by so-me Gest'Gimony, fLor hose so-.; eti,, raes personal
nature I as~ c youi e::, calse rie. -' Tht thiis test') imony belongs
in effect -to -th-e history of our country, and therefore -to
the his-tory of 3out-. h ZJ7ast Asia wh. iJch is niow. at sta'Le.
Let u~ s -o bach to 1:* 45 Joan ended th-e status
of the French Protectora. te, r stablis.* ed in La,? os f-or more
tbhan-half a ce-ntury. e suddenly -faced orryi-n-ch-v. age
and a n-reat void. Ho-.-. evor. tie Liao -i-, triots seized th'e
-to recover thin dependence omd to reunifyr
their country. s you lrno%-, Laos w-as artificially divided
into twjo 1r. nteone hand, in th not he Kin-dom
of Luzang ifrabemi-and its f rovince, w:, hore -the Court edthe
IRoyal ministries are located,, on the other the rest of t'he
countnj w: as under the administration of th Frnc gvenos
.3o that the tro united int'o the indepnendernce
move.-aent. the Lao issara (% hi'_ ch 7ree . J S CCoiLsiC, , 71y
c r oat ed a Go va e: t DTheU --imemibers 7were. including :_ yiself and
o t h er L. ao ' Fationalirsts, Frrice 1Fhotsarath : wi eider1 brother,
ovur leader, axid Frne2ouu-Panouvoag, 2.: Y yoLUIIger brother, at
present loader of" the 17co Lao ' Aaksat, a F--arty* of coi-im,, uist
persuasion. Ti~ vr the rench ca.,, e back in strenth! in 1' q46.
and -ie q! e re obliged to take rocfa-e in Thailmid .:, here w: e
continued our struagl-e with alas, alotno mleans. Our only
streng; th asour hepe, adthe ipossilmility of a reasonable
solution at Gf3 hiands of our 1 or: mor coloniz-ers.
.3~ hnaogdid not vic-. i -the eveats thL'e seine w. a y
w--e did. Hie w.-as veyinfluenced by hIis 7Vietm-ih fIriends.
-: loly hie fell co-mpletely be-neath tercontrol. Kesar their
idea of a erciless.) arm--ed srgl. In fact th-e dis s emsion
beca such that our Governmi; ent, i. eary of the servitu de accepted
by ' ioLlphan,: Javong-decided to eust hi-m in na, 1r349. I i~ s destn
washenefoth eald ie beca-i. 2 a creature of the iorth
Vietnariese.
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During that troub) lcd yre-r, '. ie h-d been t old
th' at the French C-eve: nmu'm-it th L-LI , ing of' L rolitical
chem~ i,, e 1for the-. foricr Protoctorate. T7ferelace . Jas matrde to
special atooy. okoiectyvhtaas envio~ gd our
Govern:. 2ort eat rae to ? ais Ivas notified Uf tile
Frcnch proposals, iich beccuime the sL'bject of the Fraanco-Lao
Treaty, sirmedJYn. 1aris in J 194g T2e contents of th~ at
ireaty,. ex-ramined by our ' Iovernr_ ent -, Then I returned to Dmn-ijkok,~
so ems d honouarabl.. ard acceptable in the e.-is tine:: Circtis to. Lc s.
Our objcectives being ach-ieved-', th1e LA1O0
movemient had n-, o ft: hrreason to exist. it ;, i-ac dissolved.
~ ot o f it-U-s iiemib e rs r ot urn -d t o Ljao s. -" or rersonaal Loa. ors
IPri :-ce 1 1citsarath stayed in ' hailmid. As for y brother
SouT)! m' 2~ rCL! VO., y-, a s' 12-Ve to his convictions and to th1e
organisation to ;-. hicli ' fe had adhered, ho 2resur-. Ied th1e frh
a-ainst ud his countr
4oweiver, -the follo;., in. yar in 15, a new and
impot~ t olitical fact a--c-ared. TPw-o Pr3iltisof the
Lao _ Issara oeetincluclilng m.-, yself , erc .: icmbo_ 7rs ofL the
Royal I! to v.; rans indetc ide-d thU.' at Seineral ele ctionis
should taker-p~ lacc in 1 ) 51. .; ere loy ally aj?.-lyin-t1.. e
~ Dri~ lccof ocr l 1' beral deimocrc. cy, , h.' ich ao~ sall oT -inions.
21bo vote bein.-favourable t'Uo our -party, tha
Lao Cao ( v : hich1, ei h " 1ro-res , arty) I 1ra a'e
lead th',' e 2' sv rnfeoitr ' Jou---_' anoulvo1n:, ad hi-s f_-riends,
helpned by th-1e Viet., ainh, the. y kept)' U _ fir-! tin-tIL :!, rench and
the Lao. 7, ti~ h eao our coanti'ry7 s_, riously r
three years. In 10/ 53, Lu=. 2 I'rabmir, th2 % oyal cnd r: eliriols
capital 1. Ias iyn danger. Thalkhel: in the south, seized bthe
Victmi-nh. In Prance. at the sa~ no timec the volitical
conce-tio-n of thec ' Fren-ch Union vas u-ndor-loin-a notable ch-an-e.
The independence of the Associated 2ts Jas conceived on
anoth., er basis. Timus, in 19,, 53, byr thel F_ r L co-L:_ o TratyFnc
decided to Ziv Laos complete inadcende-nce. This Treaty
is notable for neveDr havmnr:' ! been tif. ied by the Dronch
~ ar i ament -cause of its conflict vt' the rech
Constitutio-i. 1i~ ovaer, so far as La os is concerne.,. d, o-l1
the special lincs w.. ith rcaac disx-peared. Trd jnce
vias complete, as co-cmplete as tLhe lmost infraz igont of our
natijonalistUs could hope.
HTow.-ever, av, n~ ts icre oving--to a criLsis. In 19' 4,
the battle of Dien Dien Tuended f in-ally-the7 1In1dochina war.
In Gaiieva, the bellic~ ren tUhaec ,, utris colcerned in
this -trage,--: dY iut in confere~ c,, nce. 0 Lao, L _ Yd I -ooint
it OLIt 15o i. 1, icato its servi tade -to the Victr-ainh, wa
represented by iTorth Tiotnam, which con: Lfirmed what . we had
alw-ys miaintaincd th. at, ' theiit it'Us ]_ 4orth1-Vicetrna.-e se Callies.
thec Pathot -ao) ': Tould be nothing.
Y ow i e 1e re o n th t h res hol1d o f i. eac. -HOvqTevcr, I
could only conceive of ne. ace in TLaos on tnc-, baskr of national
r ec o nc ili a t ion-. i. should not r~ taea ci* vil -iiar, for
the -profit only of ozi er* srac2. rds; t-' e Vuturc olicy
of our yrourn:, naion the , ilea of i~ itaiysec;', od to i-e -the
best formula. C'ontuitly 1 tri,-. ed to bring, y comp triots
Go acce. ct -this conce:,-t, heor; ct -Ti. several. ob-tacles.
1evrth-oless~ , Li 10,57 e sacc Oeded -L. a creatlia.', a"
Govermient of 1hatienal Union whi~ ich could kceep on oylly
with the greatest1 difficulty. " Pie~ Covorm. en of th1-e U'nitoed
! Dta te ofL . iaerica not inclinod to Inavour the -mersence
of the Pat! hoit TLao inside thie Toyal Govornmerit. Pressulro
reached the mt where I hrad to-, re: eign in-, 13 158, leavinfg a
OitLuation Ghat detcrior,-: tcd ra-pidly, as+ a; s easy to forecast.
In the event, after U-_-cular failures, th-Ie -w-ay
I had so: nhad t'o be roer7ui., Ed. ILjx-, poriJc-1co provos riore am. d.
maore that. for such a .? ra--ilc ~ igio:~ lyinj: whera it does
bocause of roo:--ra7, hy ornd the, history of its porle, -the only
w. ay. is the ado tion of a v: lol icy of strict neutralityT an.' d
non-coi tMont.
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lh-arefore, in 19360, after thec tragic events
that you -my remlemfbei-, I ca. P back: int-'. o rzowcr. lThc followiinrg
year, a secon. d Conference as _ 1ieol Jn Genoeva, for the
i-robleo of Lao2 alone. ' Lourtecn nations voere prosen'G.
Finally in juily, 1962 the jtatut of " ou'rality for the
Kingclom~ was agreed ai uaned by the. thirteen othor
nations narticipoatin in th1e or-, ferencc.
-were fuallyN satisfiod -v.-ith the Geneva A1ccords.
eh o.-hat the ni-Jht-mare of? int-ornal subve: rsion anLd
forei arerssion -, ae over. > ialas, ou~ r people iwere
,-rievously deceived. The,. 2Xcccrds v. rc i,.: uediately d
shianelossly violateod. The Lao Hasat ( the political par'ty
cruslied by the 1' athet uao after -the for: aation of -the
Govcrnma-ent o' ' Thtional Uniuin in 1957, valet of theo H,-. noi
Gov-. rn.:_ Icnt.. co-ntinucd its sabot-aL-c. -0-11 war., instead of
sto--iinvg, ngrey) aore intonse. Today five years after the
signaturc of the Gencva 1* ccorie, wie canr cow-it about 40,000
_: orth Victnaiic soldiors On ou~ r territory. : hyarc fi-b. tirtc.
besd5e, 00 9tht paid, trainocd mid encailred
byT, o rth Vietnan. The devolopm.. e-n-1 of ouU conryi arlyzed.
Thousaands of" refuvsecs strea;-i into thei Govern.. vaintal zones.
UuandrcOs ofC vill.-c-a aLdeo iiod. Onlyv half of tho soil is
cult-ivatLLed. ' The IHo--Ch-Iin trail b-oo-rie a-n actcive
tra:-sit routo for 1 ort. h Viotnau_-es: e forces.
This Tadios end Gentuile. on, is the real 1v-icturo of
ou~ r country. It be admiltted tGhat it does n.. ot c; 7actly
corres-.. ond with~ tho 1cturc :) ain-God byv -writers of a quie-t
care-free country, pjreooc e d b2 festv1l and asc h
acountry of three uillion inh) itants wit C US~. aeu
thiis is thie : sroatest tc': d of its history
LU, thec most dcrsi. aspect ' tGo th a'uh-t
this vueeloss, blood, , tragedyr could not occurre If o
i dcoo ci c al z: e dy-P ~ a-UJ 0 o s1-dh -; io ' U 00: 10 2d d intorfered
directly indire., ctly ini our in-Genal affa-irs. 73y vatriight,
i. hat i:; eral, do thei--tsuaco t~ e iji to liberat-e Lis?
Truly,: n are still subject -to the reijn_ 7 of
force ir: rela-tionshlirs bet. ico:. nat-Jos. So rmh~ ch tIh0.-Iworse
for the ;' orak. The deception of the o-rv1l 1 nations is growillclay
by day,. 7-or ou~ r rtbitternaess is do-nor people,
wh-o onlyv dociro, -pace and tr -Cl~ ciil it-, -the-re-, p-Zct of
theiir front-iers anI& o-f their sovercignty.
Laldies and. C, ci tle:; icn, I zA~ s orry -to lhave been.-
so long. for theo ouw'Usi. de 1 willl ropoat outr
plraint wI-ith, out end, for.; t'o pU it brely thi role
Of _ 00aCC MI-d .72. r conIcerns1 US all.
IPinally, 1 iould lito say agan hat otir
pcorile are apy tGo be able to coun-t oan solid, scin~ cre
frienidshipli. c. th of AiSJtr7,' liG. I-se. ct for liborty,
respect for are, solidarity betvien peoples, th'I'eso arc the
"' 11i ' i ieS '-ie0 lik in vo u, fLo r thy arc o inc er a, r ien.-dly jand
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We count on you and your assistance to help us
survive. You must remember that Laos is in the vanguard of
the free world, de are neutrals; we ojant friendly relations
with all countries in spite of their philosophies and political
systems. ie have our old religion, our monarchy, our traditionsd
' vie want friendly relations with the socialist countries and all
other countries but we don't want communism in our home.
We hope to see perpetual peace in this world, and
friendly co-existence become a reality between all nations.
We want to see all men brothers in spite of their differences
of ideologies and cultures and everything else. This is our
most hopeful wish, and in this spirit I'd ask you, gentlemen,
to drink with me to the health of your Prime Minister, Mr. Holt.