The Red Prince

Yesterday I met the Red Prince at his house

Not in the flesh – he died in ’95 – but definitely face to face.

Prince Souphanouvong, first President of Laos PDR

It's the anniversary on the 2nd December of the creation of the People's Democratic Republic of Laos. This guy made a lot of it happen.

  

My comrades paying respects to commemorate National Day (Independence Day?)

 

In one of those seemingly spontaneous trips that my workplace seems to enjoy, the other morning we all piled into cars, drove towards town, went to the museum that was once a stately home and stood around respectfully, laid a wreath, did some speechifying and then had a tour of the place.

"Signing for World Peace"

I hardly knew anything about the Lao Prince Souphanouvong (soo-panna-wong) before this. I’d heard something about a royal being a part of the revolution in the 70s but, really, I had no idea. 

Bits and pieces from the reconstructed office

 

By the pictures on the wall this guy had a lot of important friends – Uncle Ho, Fidel, Mao, Dimitrov …  mostly old guys with various versions of communist leanings.   Think Tito might have been there somewhere too.
 

   

Friends in high places: The Prince with Fidel Castro; Ho Chi Minh

They called him The Red Prince: ‘Red’ because he got 'politicized' in Vietnam, identified with Communism and then fought for Lao independence and wealth distribution; ‘Prince’ because he was, well, a prince. A real one. There were quite a lot of them around. Souphanavoung’s father had around 22 kids and his grandfather reportedly had 50! Various mothers, of course. Talk about Big Love. 

 

Turns out, his was a long and wobbly journey from the Luang Prabang Palace to the front line of the Lao Revolution and ultimately becoming Lao PDR’s first President.

Walls of  pictures

He studied civil engineering in France and worked under the French in Vietnam, building bridges and roads. This was the late ‘30s in Vietnam. Dissent was bubbling; the French were unpopular; Ho Chi Minh was gathering support. Souphanouvong was getting radical. 

 

I knew Lenin had to be here somewhere

 

During WWII Japan occupied Laos and the French lay low. They had their own crap going on at home with the Germans wanting a piece of their grass.  After the Japanese left in a a hurry it seemed a good time to go commando. Self rule! Laos doing it for themselves!

The French weren’t too impressed and slowly moved back into their pretty colonial mansions. Things weren’t too smooth for a while there. Souphounavong’s communist politics cemented. The Vietnamese weren’t happy either and war erupted – on both sides of the Lao-Viet border. Although Souphounavong and his communist mates were fighting for Laos independence, the real game was between those with the big guns: USA and the Soviets who were backing sides. Thousands of Lao and Vietnamese men and women played the game and paid with their lives. 

This is a painting of the French Colonists beating down the Lao peasants

 

After a lot of drama, in the late1950s, Lao was declared independent.  Hooray!  It may seem optimistic, but three politically-minded princes took important roles to run the country. One was a staunch royalist, one an independence fighter and Souphounavong  was pushing for socialist reform and eventually communist rule.

  

Backed by Lenin and Marx 

He didn’t last with them. He cracked it with his brothers and left. He believed they could do better. Next thing you know the revolutionaries, the Pathet Lao, were gaining power and support. Working with them in the villages, Souphanouvong left his royal birth well behind as he fought with the passion of the true believer. They hid in caves, trained in the jungle, armed themselves with big old guns and survived the massive 9-year bombing raid and massacre by the Americans, believing they could make the world a better place. Lao people governing Laos with the King at the helm wasn’t enough – Pathet Lao wanted the wealth shared, the poor fed and schooled, the resources state-owned and a government run by the people for the people.
 

Commemorative stamp

 

In 1975 – December 2^nd, the revolutionaries took over and changed the world. The Red Prince was installed as the first main man. The King and other royals were out. The new Lao order had begun…

Emotional celebrations on December 2nd  1975 as Laos became the People's Democratic Republic, under the Laos People's Revolutionary Party.