MacAlister Brown

Laos 1977: The Realities of Independence

IN 1977 THE Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP) faced its second year of ruling the entire country of Laos. It was evident that directing the war from the caves of Sam Neua was a task significantly different from that of governing one of the poorest countries in the world. The challenge was complicated by a severe drought, which increased economic hardship, and by the continued flight of people with technical skills, which left few personnel adequately trained in the tasks of administering a national economy. By 1977, the LPRP had identified a Central Committee composed of nineteen full and four alternate members constituting, essentially, the new political elite of Laos. Despite LPRP claims of ethnic egalitarianism, this Committee (which includes only one woman, Mrs. Khampeng Boupha, an alternate member) is made up almost exclusively of lowland Lao (Lao Loum). The single ethnic minority member is Nhiavu Lobaliayao, a prominent Hmong (Meo). Another well-known minority leader, Sithon Kommadam, a Lao Theung tribal chief from southern Laos, served as a Vice President of the largely honorific Supreme Peoples Council (SPC) until his death on May 1, 1977.1 Since highland minorities constitute approximately 50% of the population and the base of the Lao Communist movement was located for more than a quarter of a century in the highland regions, the slim minority representation at the highest echelon of the ruling party raises important questions. The