MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Laos
Index
The two sides signed the peace agreement in Vientiane
on
February 21, 1973. A new coalition government was to be
formed.
Vientiane and Louangphrabang were to be neutralized by the
arrival
of Pathet Lao security contingents. A cease-fire was to
take effect
from noon on the following day. Unlike in 1962, however,
there were
no solemn guarantees by fourteen signatories of Laos's
neutrality.
The agreement was strictly between Laotians, with the ICC
more
powerless than ever to verify its execution.
By the time of the cease-fire, United States aircraft
had
dropped almost 2.1 million tons of bombs on Laos,
approximately the
total tonnage dropped by United States air forces during
all of
World War II in both European and Pacific theaters. Most
bombs were
dropped on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which had grown into a
major
transportation route for the North Vietnamese. The
cessation of
United States bombing allowed the North Vietnamese-Pathet
Lao
supply convoys to move with impunity, enabling them to
initiate
armed actions that they camouflaged with accusations of
cease-fire
violations by RLG forces. The United States, in protest
against
some of the most flagrant cease-fire violations, sent its
planes
back into action on limited missions. This enabled the
Pathet Lao
to claim that the United States had violated the Vientiane
Agreement.
An uneasy lull settled on the Hmong country north of
Vientiane.
Air power had allowed the Hmong to maintain a tenuous
balance of
force with their adversaries. However, the air strip at
Longtiang
was empty, and the Royal Lao Air Force T-28s, on which
General Vang
Pao had often relied, had been pulled back to Vientiane on
orders
from Souvanna Phouma. The United States air armada that
had
operated from bases in Thailand was withdrawn. With the
loss of air
cover, no area in Hmong territory was safe from artillery
bombardment. Although their CIA advisers remained
temporarily at
Longtiang, the Hmong were beginning to feel deserted. With
the war
winding down in Vietnam and the military government in
Thailand
overthrown in a student revolt in October 1973, United
States
interest in Laos waned.
Data as of July 1994
|
|