Petsarat

Petsarat was the second son of Prince Bunkhon, the unit of the kingdom of Luang Prabang , which until 1893 was considered a vassal of Siam , and then came under the French protectorate . His sibling was Suvanna Fuma , half-brothers Suvannarath and Sufanuvong. He received his primary education at the court in Luang Prabang, since 1904 he studied at the French Lyceum of Chasselou Loba in Saigon . As a member of the Lao royal family, in 1905 he was able to continue his studies in France, first at the Montaigne Lyceum, and then at the so-called Colonial School, where senior officials were trained for the French colonial service ^[3] . He also spent a year in Oxford ^[4] .

After his return to Laos in 1913, he married Princess Ninh Kham Venne and initially worked as a translator with his father, then held various posts in the administration of French Indochina and the protectorate of Laos: in 1914 he became a clerk in the office of the French governor in Vientiane ^[5] , two years later, became assistant secretary to the governor; In 1919 he received the title of Somdet Chao Ratsapkhakinai, which his father possessed, making him one of the most influential people in the colony, in the same became the "director" of Laos under the French administration ^[4] ; at the same time, until 1930, he was a member of the Supreme Council of Indochina and in 1932-1937, a member of the Economic Council. In 1923, he was also the chief of staff for political and administrative affairs of the indigenous peoples of Laos ^[4] . This position allowed him to accept as many Laotians as possible in order to limit the influence of the Vietnamese, who at that time occupied a dominant position in Indochina. He also contributed to the development of traditional culture and art, seeking to arouse interest in strengthening the Lao national identity within at least national elites ^[4] . His strong position in the colonial administration made him the most powerful Lao of his time, even more influential than King Sisawang Wong , to whom the French were left, in fact, only representative functions. Having not inherited the title of the Uparat after the death of his father, he, nevertheless, had great authority and popularity, receiving the nickname "King of Vientiane" ^[6] .

It is known that Petsarat established a system of ranks and ranks in the civil service, the rules of promotion and pension, and also created the Laotian advisory assembly, reorganizing the advisory council of the king. Petsarat also reorganized the administrative structure of the Buddhist clergy and created a system of schools for teaching monks in the Pali language. He created the Institute of Law and Administration to train entry-level officers (sams), who then advanced up the stairs, successively gaining new ranks. He established rules for the remuneration, reappointment and promotion of worthy public servants and created a judicial system, including the civil and criminal codes of colonial Laos. By his decree, his personal secretary, Sila Wirawong, collected ancient Lao texts for the Wat Chan Pagoda library, many of which were subsequently discovered in the National Library of Bangkok ^[4] . Despite the efforts of the prince, the number of Laotians who integrated into the system of French colonial administration remained not very significant. So, as of 1937, only 54% of 286 full-time posts in the administration of Luang Prabang province were occupied by ethnic Lao ^[7] .

The institution of Uparata, canceled after the death of his father in 1920, was again introduced in 1941 specifically for Petsarat ^{[5] [7] [8]} . At this time, the colonial power in connection with the defeat of France from Germany during the Second World War was significantly weakened and disoriented. The Vichy government was forced to give its consent to the deployment and widespread activity in French Indochina, significantly superior to the French by the strength of the Japanese troops, so that it would be de facto occupation of the country with a formal recognition of the preservation of French sovereignty over it. The Franco-Thai War also played an important role, as a result of which the French, under pressure from the Japanese, were forced to transfer a significant part of Laos to Thailand in 1941; in many respects precisely for this reason, in order to maintain the loyalty of the Lao and French who remained under their rule, they made great concessions to them ^[9] .

In an effort to counter Japanese and Thai propaganda, the Vichy authorities began to support the development of Lao culture, contributing to the concentration of Lao intelligentsia around the Lao Nhai association. Charles Rocher, who held the post of head of education development in Vientiane, was especially active in this direction, but eventually came into conflict with Petsarat, when he proposed to introduce the Kuokings as a written language. For Petsarat, the cultural and religious identity of the Lao was inseparable from national writing, so Roche had to abandon his idea ^[7] .

Lao nationalists took advantage of the ensuing weakness of the French colonial regime. In 1942, the king convened the government of Laos for the first time with Prince Petsarat as prime minister. Unlike the former Crown Prince, and later King Savang Vathana , who continued to remain faithful to the French, Petsarat tried to cooperate with the Japanese, preparing a coup ^[10] with them in April 1945, formally transforming Laos from a puppet state into an independent one ^[3] , when the Japanese forced the king to declare independence. At the insistence of the Japanese, Petsarat remained the prime minister of the country ^[11] .

Petsarat was also - along with his brothers Suvannah Fuma and Sufanuvong - one of the leaders of the Lao national liberation movement called Lao Issara. On August 14, 1945, Japan formally capitulated, after which part of Laos was occupied by Chinese troops, whom the Allies instructed to disarm the Japanese; chaos reigned in the country itself. In Vientiane, around Petsarat, a group of independence supporters had formed by this time, which included many Lao aristocrats and prominent figures. On August 27, they seized power in Vientiane and forced the departing Japanese to transfer weapons to them, hoping that the United States would support the creation of an independent and united Laos and would hinder the return of the French ^[12] . Prince Petsarat broke off relations with the king, who sought to return under French patronage, while representatives of the Lao Issara movement sought complete independence and unity of the country. They were opposed not only by the king himself, but also by Prince Wong Oum, who ruled the kingdom of Tampasak in the south of the country, whose support made the return of the French possible.

The first French colonial troops arrived in Laos on September 2, 1945, and their commander, Colonel Imfe, first demanded that the king dismiss Petsarat. The latter at that time was negotiating with Sufanuvong, who was in Vietnam, who was collaborating with Ho Chi Minh at that time: Sufanuvong informed his brother about his plan to create a single “Indochinese bloc” with Vietnam to fight against colonialism, but Petsarat, who did not trust the Vietnamese, refused join him ^[13] . On October 8, 1945, Sufanuvong created the Lao Liberation Army in Thakhek , while Lao Issara remained under the control of Petsarat. On October 10, 1945, the king announced the resignation of Petsarat, in response to which Petsarat, who had received information about this, and his supporters formed a temporary “people's council” on October 12, 1945, proclaiming the independence and unity of Laos (khana kammakan ratsadon) ^[14] .

The 10 members of this council included two brothers, Petsarat, Suvanna Fuma and Sufanuvong. On October 20, 1945, Petsarat was proclaimed the leader of an independent Lao state (Pathet Lao) by this council, which simultaneously announced the overthrow of the king ^{[15] [16]} . At the same time, in accordance with the agreements reached at the Potsdam Conference, Chinese forces launched an offensive in Laos, which partially succeeded in crowding out the French, who sought to regain control of Laos ^[13] .

In an effort to accelerate his country's independence, Petsarat, in spite of the Japanese and then Chinese military pressure, apparently did not have radical anti-French sentiments. Thus, it is known that he forbade his supporters in Vientiane to drop the statue of Auguste Pavi into the Mekong. First of all, he did not want France’s control over Laos to be replaced by the control of any other country, which he expressed as a joke: “I am too old to learn Chinese or English.” Petsarat saw his main goal in conveying to France that times had changed ^[17] .

In March 1946, the French and Chinese entered into a peace agreement, after which France was able to return to the continuation of the occupation of Laos, soon occupying Vientiane. By May 1946, all of Laos was again under their control. The leadership of Lao Isar, led by Prince Petsarat, was forced to flee to Thailand on April 24, where they formed an emigrant government under the auspices of the local Prime Minister Pridi Panomiong . Shortly before their flight, proponents of independence met with King Sisawan Wong, who agreed to return to the throne of united Laos. After the actual fall of the government of Lao Issar, the king issued a decree declaring all laws adopted in the country from April 4, 1945 invalid. ^[18]

The Lao exiles in Bangkok were not a single political force, but were a motley group including communists and anti-communists. After the creation of the united Kingdom of Laos by the French, which was allowed to become an autonomous member of the French Union , various radical Lao formations, including Prince Sufanuwong, together with Vietnamese Vietnam and Cambodian Khmer Issarak took part in the Indochina war against the French and the government of the Kingdom of Laos. The pro-communist movement Pathet Lao arose from their detachments. Representatives of the moderate wing of Lao Issar, such as Prince Suwann, however, sought reconciliation with the king, distancing themselves from Petsarat in 1949. On October 25, 1949, they held talks with France and the Kingdom of Laos, at which amnesties were offered to the proponents of independence in exchange for the dissolution of the government in exile ^[19] ; these negotiations were condemned by Petsarat. On November 9, 1949, government members in exile, including Suvanne Fuma, returned to Vientiane. Sufanuvong, who was dismissed from his post in the government shortly before his dissolution, refused, however, to end the fight. Petsarat, on the other hand, formally ceased his political activity, but remained in exile in Bangkok and stood “between two chairs” ^[20] .

Apart from political reasons, personal reasons are considered to be one of the reasons why Petsarat disagreed with other members of the government in exile, in addition to political reasons: Petsarat was offended by the fact that the king dismissed him on October 10, 1945, and even more so because the constitution French Laos, adopted December 15, 1946, did not imply the existence of the title of viceroy ^[21] . From the invitation from Sufanuvong and Ho Chi Minh to become the leader of the new opposition government Pathet Lao, formed with the support of North Vietnam , Petsarat refused in 1951, which may have been due to his long-standing hostility to the Vietnamese ^[22] .

In the Kingdom of Laos, Petsarat was stripped of all his titles. Reconciliation with the king, whom he was trying to overthrow, was not possible. In August 1950, Suvanuvong was able to recreate Pathet Lao with the support of Vietnam, and supporters of independence formally continued to consider Petsarat as their formal leader, who, however, did not actually play any role in the country plunged into the chaos of the civil war . In the absence of Petsarat, however, in Laos, there was no charisma equal politician who could play the same role in current events as Sihanouk in Cambodia or Sukarno in Indonesia ^[23] .

After the signing of the Geneva Accords in 1954, the Kingdom of Laos was recognized as a fully independent state. As a result of negotiations between the royal government and Pathet Lao, a coalition government was formed, the main one of which was Suvanna Fuma and which included some supporters of Suvanuvong. When Foreign Minister Puy Sananicone, after the Geneva Conference in 1954, invited Petsarat to return to Laos, he insisted on returning to him all the titles and positions that he had as of 1945 and appointing him lifelong Prime Minister. These requirements were not feasible in view of the formation of a parliamentary system in Laos at that time. In conditions of instability after the defeat of France in the Indochina War, Petsarat was allegedly the instigator of a coup attempt in May by cadets of the military school and the assassination of Secretary of Defense Coe Worawong in September. Probably, he was supported by Thailand ^{[24] [25]} .

Petsarat was able to return to Laos in March 1957, after more than a decade of exile, as the honorary leader of Patet Lao in agreement with his brother Suvanne Fuma. He also again received his title of uparat. With this title, he traveled around the country and called on the people of Laos to national unity, a policy of neutrality and the integration of Pathet Lao into the structures of the new state ^[23] . But all this had no special political significance. He was offered to settle in the official government residence in Vientiane, but Petsarat refused and preferred to live with his Thai wife in his private villa Sieng Keo in Luang Prabang.

Petsaran also met with King Sisawan Wong and reconciled with him. However, in October 1959, they had a new conflict, when the king decided to use his residence in Vientiane to house the Prime Minister, after which the property of Petsarn was loaded onto boats and delivered to the river in Luang Prabang, which caused great resentment and stress in Petsaran. Petsaran died in the hospital, despite the efforts of French doctors, from cerebral hemorrhage on October 14, 1959, at the age of 69, exactly two weeks before the death of King Sisawang Wong ^[26] .

In the works of Western authors, Prince Petsarat is often called the "father of Lao nationalism" or "a key figure in the development of Lao nationalism." They emphasize its important and prominent role in modernizing the control system of colonial Laos, and then in the anti-colonial liberation struggle ^[27] . In the history of the People's Democratic Republic of Laos, however, he played a rather insignificant role. Petsaran’s stepbrother, leader Patet Lao and future president of the DRL, Prince Sufanuvong, since 1945 was virtually the only leader of the Lao national liberation movement. However, the role of Petsaran as a patriot is evaluated positively - especially in comparison with the pro-French king Sisawang Wong or the "reactionary" Katai Dum Sasorit. His merits in protecting the Lao language and culture are also recognized, which contributed to the development of Lao national identity ^[28] .

The image of Prince Petsarata is very popular in folk legends among many Lao people. Often you can hear stories about his supposedly supernatural abilities. For example, he is said to have become invisible and turned into animals. For this reason, amulets depicting Petsarat are used by many superstitious Lao as talismans ^[29] .

• “3349” (Pseudonym): Chao Phetcharat burut lek haeng ratcha-anachak Lao [Prinz Phetsarat, der eiserne Mann des Königreichs Laos]. Ruam Mit Thai, Bangkok 1956. Englische Übersetzung von John B. Murdoch, herausgegeben von David K. Wyatt : Iron Man of Laos. Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa. Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, Ithaca NY 1978, ISBN 0-87727-110-0 .
• Geoffrey C. Gunn: Political Struggles in Laos, 1930–54. Editions Duang Kamol, Bangkok, 1988.
• Søren Ivarsson, Christopher E. Goscha: Prince Phetsarath (1890–1959). Nationalism and Royalty in the Making of Modern Laos. In: Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Band 38, Nr. 1, 2007, S. 55–81, DOI : 10.1017 / S0022463406000932 .
• Sila Viravong: Chao Maha-Upalat Phetsalat [Seine Hoheit, Vizekönig Phetsarath]. Social Science Committee, Vientiane 1996. Deutsche Übersetzung von Volker Grabowsky: Prinz Phetsarat. Ein Leben für Laos. Lit Verlag, Berlin 2003, ISBN 978-3-8258-6492-7 .
• Le Prince Phetsarath. Le rénovateur de la culture lao , par Maha Sila Viravongs (Vientiane, 2008).

• Blood of the Jungle: Partisan Wars in Asia Ilya Polonsky