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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Laos
Index
The 1991 constitution, which contains elements of an
earlier
revolutionary orthodoxy, is clearly influenced by the
economic and
political liberalization within Laos, as well as by the
dramatic
changes in the socialist world and the international
balance of
forces. The constitution specifies the functions and
powers of the
various organs of government and defines the rights and
duties of
citizens. Several chapters prescribing the structure of
the state
define the function and powers of the National Assembly
(the
renamed SPA), the president, the government, the local
administration, and the judicial system. The constitution
has
little to say, however, about the limitations on
government. In
foreign policy, the principles of peaceful coexistence are
followed.
The constitution legally establishes a set of
authorities that
resemble the traditional differentiation among executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of government. The
delineation
does not imitate any particular model (neither Vietnamese,
nor
Russian, nor French), but it pays respect to the idea of a
basic
blueprint of responsibilities lodged in designated
institutions.
There is room for evolution of government authority, but
there are
also specific boundaries.
Government outside Vientiane has developed an
independence over
the years, reflecting the exigencies of the Pathet Lao
armed
struggle and of economic self-reliance during the postwar
socialist
pitfalls. The constitution eliminated elected people's
councils at
the provincial and district level as "no more necessary,"
in an
effort to fit the state apparatus to the needs of building
and
developing the regime under "the actual conditions of the
country."
Again, the will of the ruling party determines which road
the
administration follows in regard to local governance, but
the
constitution has left governors, mayors, and district and
village
chiefs free to "administer their regions and localities
without any
assistance from popularly elected bodies." The leading
role of the
party within the administration of the nation overall is
illustrated by the fact that party Politburo members are
found in
state offices--the offices of the president of state, and
prime
minister, deputy prime ministers (two), chair of the
National
Assembly, minister of defense, and chair of the Party and
State
Inspection Board.
The first words of the Preamble refer to the
"multi-ethnic Lao
people," and frequent use of this term is made throughout
the text,
a clear rhetorical attempt to promote unity within an
ethnically
diverse society. The "key components" of the people are
specified
as workers, farmers, and intellectuals. The Preamble
celebrates a
revolution carried out "for more than 60 years" under the
"correct
leadership" of the ICP.
The dominant role played by the LPRP, however, is
scarcely
mentioned, and the constitution is almost silent about the
party's
functions and powers. One brief reference to the ruling
party is
made in Article 3, which states that the "rights of the
multiethnic people to be the masters of the country are
exercised and
ensured through the functioning of the political system
with the
Lao People's Revolutionary Party as its leading nucleus."
Article 5 notes that the National Assembly and all
other state
organizations "function in accordance with the principle
of
democratic centralism." This stricture is an obvious
reference to
the Marxist-Leninist principle, which calls for open
discussion
within a unit but prescribes that the minority must accede
to the
will of the majority, and lower echelons must obey the
decisions of
higher ones.
Article 7 calls upon mass organizations, such as the
Lao Front
for National Construction, the Federation of Trade Unions,
the
People's Revolutionary Youth Union, and the Federation of
Women's
Unions, to "unite and mobilize the people." The Lao Front
for
National Construction, the successor to the LPF, served as
the
political front for the party during the revolutionary
struggle. As
of mid-1994, its mandate is to mobilize political support
and raise
political consciousness for the party's goals among
various
organizations, ethnic groups, and social classes within
society.
Other mass organizations are assigned to pursue these
goals among
their target populations of workers, youths, and women.
The constitution proclaims that the state will respect
the
"principle of equality among ethnic tribes," which have
the right
to promote "their fine customs and culture." Further, the
state is
committed to upgrading the "socio-economy of all ethnic
groups."
Regarding religion, the state "respects and protects
all lawful
activities of the Buddhists and of other religious
followers."
Buddhist monks and other clergy are reminded that the
state
encourages them to "participate in the activities which
are
beneficial to the country"
(see Buddhism
, ch. 2).
The chapter on the socioeconomic system does not
mention the
establishment of socialism, a principal goal of earlier
dogma.
Instead, the objective of economic policy is to transform
the
"natural economy into a goods economy." Private property
appears to
be assured by the statement that the "state protects the
right of
ownership," including the right of transfer and
inheritance. The
state is authorized to undertake such tasks as managing
the
economy, providing education, expanding public health, and
caring
for war veterans, the aging, and the sick
(see Health and Welfare
, ch. 2). The constitution admonishes that "all
organizations and
citizens must protect the environment."
A chapter on the rights and obligations of citizens
sets forth
a cluster of well-known rights found in modern
constitutions,
including freedom of religion, speech, press, and
assembly. Women
and men are proclaimed equal, and all citizens can vote at
age
eighteen and hold office at twenty-one. In return,
citizens are
obliged to respect the laws, pay taxes, and defend the
country,
which includes military service
(see Manpower and Conditions of Service
, ch. 5). In commenting on this chapter in 1990,
Amnesty
International, clearly concerned about past human rights
abuses,
criticized the document for what was not included.
Amnesty
International noted the absence of provisions for
protecting the
right to life, abolishing the death penalty, guaranteeing
the
inalienability of fundamental rights, prohibiting torture,
safeguarding against arbitrary arrest and detention,
protecting
people deprived of their liberty, and providing for a fair
trial.
No safeguards exist to protect the rights to freedom of
opinion and
expression, peaceful assembly and association, and
independence of
the judiciary.
Laos is made up of provinces, municipalities,
districts, and
villages. The constitution gives no clear guidance on
provincial
and district responsibilities except to specify that the
leaders at
each echelon must ensure the implementation of the
constitution and
the law and must carry out decisions taken by a higher
level. In
spite of the party's inclination to centralize decision
making,
provinces and localities have enjoyed a surprising degree
of
autonomy in shaping social policy. This independence is
partly due
to limited resources and poor communications with
Vientiane. But
the central government has also encouraged direct contacts
along
the borders with China, Thailand, and Vietnam, and trading
agreements with neighboring jurisdictions.
Although it is unlikely that the constitution will
immediately
change the imbedded patterns of the Laotian political
system or
threaten the dominant role of the party, it has the
potential to
protect human rights and respect for the law, by the
rulers as well
as the ruled. The crumbling of communist regimes in
Eastern Europe
and the Soviet Union as well as strains in communist
systems
elsewhere, accompanied by widespread movements for
democracy,
suggest that Laos will not be immune to growing demands
for a more
dependable rule of law.
Data as of July 1994
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