presidents-of-laos

"While the Nations are delighted to witness the many achievements resulting from development cooperation among countries and regions, humankind is faced with a number of serious threats, especially acts of terrorism. This scourge has caused great loss of innocent life and property and continued to defy the aspiration of nations to live in a peaceful, friendly and prosperous environment."

"Despite many problems to be resolved, we continue to progress confidently in developing and defending our beloved country, for the path to socialism is already open before us."

"Inspired by the successes of socialism and faced with the deep and insoluble crisis of capi­talism, millions of workers in capitalist countries are waging a vigorous struggle under the slogan, Peace, Democracy and Social Progress, directing the spearhead of their attack at the reactionary rule of monopoly capital and against the op­pressive and aggressive policies of their leaders."

"Our Party and people are, therefore, faced with extremely urgent and complex problems. The former modes of production must be trans­formed and new economic relations and division of labour introduced. The material-technical base necessary for economic reconstruction must be laid and the cultural level of the people raised so that our country can advance firmly and rapidly along the road to socialism."

"The creation in Laos of highly productive so­cialist economy, based on socialist production relations and large-scale industry, entails the for­mation of a large-scale national economy equip­ped with the latest technology, with a well-de­veloped and rationally organised division of soci­al labour, and with a high level of productivity able to promote the continuing expansion of production."

"Strengthening the unity of all the nationalities and ethnic groups is a task of great strategic im­portance that is decisive for the fate of the revo­lution in our country. We must, therefore, pay more attention to the national question, regard work with different nationalities and ethnic groups as being of crucial importance and take the national question into account in every sphere of activity. Effective steps must be taken to raise the level of political and ideological work among the various nationalities and ethnic groups and to improve education, cultural facili­ties, medical services, develop production and raise the living standards for the different na­tional groups."

"The work of the people of Laos in defending their country and building socialism will triumph!"

"Despite conflicts and challenges that have occurred in different parts of the world, in general, peace, security and development cooperation among all nations remain the prevailing trend of this era. This is the important achievement of the United Nations in fulfilling its mandate as stipulated in the Charter. .. Nevertheless, the international environment continues to undergo numerous challenges such as armed conflicts, terrorism, poverty and hunger, infectious diseases, climate change and natural disasters which have posed major threats to peace and development. Therefore, I am of the view that we must enhance our political will, mutual assistance and cooperation under the banner of the United Nations in order to collectively address the said challenges facing us. .. Today, conflicts have often occurred in many regions of the world such as in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe, which have caused major concerns for the international community. Therefore, it is important to find solutions and restore peace and development to those regions. .. In the era of interdependence, cooperation and engagement are the key factors for peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit. The Lao PDR, therefore, welcomes the recent re-establishment of the diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, which has opened a new chapter in the history of relations between the two countries, that had been stalled for many decades. .. Climate change and severe natural disasters, which have occurred more frequently, have caused huge impact on the development of countries, especially developing countries, including the least developed countries that are most vulnerable due to their limited infrastructure, insufficient technology, financial and human resources to respond to and address those phenomena. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the international community to help these vulnerable countries, through, among other things, building their long-term capacity to tackle such challenges. .. The Lao PDR attaches great importance to promoting and protecting human rights and has become state party to seven of the main international human rights instruments."

"ASEAN has become an important component in the Lao PDR’s foreign policy based on the principle of peace, independence, friendship and cooperation. Since joining ASEAN in 1997, the Lao PDR has actively participated in the cooperation frameworks within ASEAN and between ASEAN and external partners as well as sub-regional cooperation frameworks related to ASEAN, all of which has made an important contribution to the socio-economic development of the Lao PDR."

"In recent years, regional and international environments have undergone rapid and complex challenges. Multifaceted security challenges have occurred in many parts of the world such as terrorism and extremism, natural disasters, climate change, migration crisis, trafficking in persons, territorial disputes and armed conflicts, among others. At the same time, although the global economy has gradually recovered, growth remains slow and fragile. Against this backdrop, there is a need for us to closely follow these developments and continue to enhance ASEAN cooperation and collaboration with the international community, including ASEAN's Dialogue Partners and other external parties in order to be able to respond to and address the said challenges in a timely manner."

"Cooperation for development has now become the major trend of our contemporary world. We have clearly witnessed that diverse forms and scope of cooperation have taken place within and among the regions thus providing a strong boost to the world economic growth."

"From the day the. revolutionary flag first began to flutter in the Vientiane sky as a symbol of our people's right to independence, to the day when it became the flag of the People's Democratic Republic of Laos, we traversed a difficult path full of ordeals and self-sacrifice. How many selfless heroes laid down their lives for their country, and how much effort and energy was expended, and blood spilt, by the patriots of Laos for the sake of our glorious victory!"

"Our ancestors had to withstand the aggression of 45 feudal states at more or less the same level of socio-economic development as our own. But our latter-day enemies were great imperialist powers with a colossal military and economic potential, a century ahead of us in technology and arma­ments and with a great deal of experience in conducting wars of aggression. The people of Laos, the makers of their history, have never before achieved a victory so splendid, so com­plete and final as that of today. This victory did not just restore the independence of Laos, an independence that had been flouted for more than two hundred years. It also made our multinational people the genuine master of their country after long years of living in slavery, poverty, backwardness and ignorance. They are masters of a country that is now fully independ­ent, free, and on the road to socialism. In our deeply loved motherland, this victory made the cherished hopes and aspirations of the Lao people come true."

"Our Party's strategic policy was direct­ed precisely to both the national and the demo­cratic objectives, in accordance with the specific features of our country and with the needs of the time."

"In each historical period, the class which represents the most advanced mode of produc­tion also represents the nation and has the potential to become its standard-bearer. In Europe, for example, the bourgeoisie at one time represented the most advanced mode of production, and therefore carried the banner of national democracy. It headed the bourgeois revolution and, having overthrown the decayed feudal system, set up the capitalist system based on the principles of bourgeois nationalism and democracy. But after capitalism grew into imperialism, the bourgeoisie began to hinder the development of their nations and took to enslaving other peoples, fully losing their leading historical role."

"The general policy of "raising the banner of national democratic revolution under the leadership of the Party of the working class, and heading to socialism" is, as we see it, not merely the right line for the revolution in Laos, but also fully meets the laws governing the devel­opment of the struggle for national independ­ence and democracy in the modern epoch."

"When raising the banner of national democ­racy, one must be able to differentiate between strategy and tactics, between the fundamental and the immediate questions. But most impor­tant of all is that one should never, in no cir­cumstances, forget the class essence of the revolution and of its final aims. In some cases, therefore, for tactical reasons at this or that stage, we did not emphasise the leading role of the Party, did not talk about socialism, but instead focussed attention on peace, neutrality, national concord, coalition government, and the like."

"The alliance of the working class and the peasantry is one of the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism, one of the essential condi­tions of any revolution carried out under the leadership of the working class. The peasantry, comprising the overwhelming majority of the people of Laos, is the direct producer of mate­rial wealth for society. At the same time, it endures tremendous oppression, and thus constitutes an enormous force with a developed revolutionary character and great potential."

"In a semi-feudal country suffering from colonial oppression, such as Laos, with an insufficiently clear-cut differentiation into classes and with an as yet poorly developed capitalist class and working class, the intermediary forces play a very important role in all spheres of activity, especially the social and the cultural. The position and interests of these strata were encroached upon by the American imperialists and their stooges. Therefore, they developed patriotic and progressive tendencies and in certain conditions demonstrated their ability to accept the line set by our Party in the national democratic revolution."

"As the revolutionary forces became stronger, as their authority grew and the revolution developed, the alliance of the different forces gave rise to more long-term common aims and tasks. To implement these aims it became necessary to find a form of organised alliance with a corresponding programme which would help coordinate the efforts made and the joint actions, while preserving the independence of each side. At the same time, this enabled us to carry out a policy of "both unity and struggle", indispensable in strengthening and expanding the united front. An even broader united front provided the organisational form necessary for such an alliance."

"Revolutionary violence is the violence of the masses. The national democratic revolution in Laos was a cause espoused by all patriots and forward-looking people in the country. Thus, the revolutionary violence in Laos was necessarily that of the overwhelming majority of the population, first and foremost that of the working people, who were cruelly exploited. The masses have many ways and means to demonstrate their will and determination to struggle. Generalising the practical experience of the revolutionary struggle, one can say that the violence of the masses takes two forms, those of political and armed struggle, used together and separately. It is thus necessary to set up the means of violence to bring about a revolution, i.e., the political forces of the masses and the armed forces of the people."

"The political forces of the masses are the forces of all the people taking an organised part in the revolution. They include the revolution­ary classes and the sections of the population with patriotic tendencies, of all different nation­alities, combined in a broad national united front based on the worker-peasant alliance led by the Party."

"A coordinated armed and political struggle involving the use of two forces of revolutionary violence of the masses was the principal method used during the national democratic revolution in our country. But the revolution, being a long and complex struggle, is inevitably forced to overcome the various obstacles set up by the ruling circles to prevent it reaching its ultimate goal. These circles resort to repression, fraud, corruption and other means in their fight against the revolution. These obstacles cannot be overcome immediately. The revolution is there­fore compelled to change its methods."

"One can make concessions to the enemy in relation, for instance, to the number of people in the government, as well as to the specific posts, qualifications and certain organisational forms accepted both by the enemy and our­selves."

"By virtue of the class nature of the struggle during the coalition, the enemy, even though occasionally compelled to take progressive measures in the interests of the popular masses and to give some important posts in the govern­ment bodies to the revolutionary forces, none­theless always left himself the right to actual control over government activities and retained a coercive apparatus so as to overtly and covertly hamper coordinated progressive reforms being put into practice."

"In our time, a time marking the transition from capitalism to socialism, a time in which a powerful offensive is being launched by the three revolutionary streams of today, the world is constantly witnessing changes of truly histo­rical significance, which highly favour the devel­opment of revolutionary movements in different countries. But could we take advantage of the favourable situation to raise the revolution in our country to a new height? This depended pri­marily on the efforts of our people, and also on the resoluteness and ability of the Party to act speedily and effectively in such situations."

"Although we took power by means of revo­lutionary violence, at the same time preserv­es peace in the country, this in no way sig­nifies that we shall not resort to force in the future to defend peace. The reactionary classes suffered a serious de­feat, but this does not mean that they simply agreed to retreat and forever abandoned their intentions to fight the revolution, arms in hand."

"Therefore, now that we have won power, our duty is to consolidate the dictatorship of the pro­letariat with all the available forces, to perfect the instruments of revolutionary violence, to improve vigilance, and to always be prepared to rebuff enemy attempts to sow trouble and start a coun­ter-offensive. Only in this way can we ensure the further peaceful development of the revolution."

"In Laos, the development of this militant alli­ance has gone hand in hand with the entire revo­lutionary struggle and the growth of our revolu­tionary forces. It caused a radical shift in the ba­lance of power between the opposing forces in our country, creating the conditions necessary for the success of our revolution and its final vic­tory."

"Our struggle, itself an integral part of the world revolutionary process and taking place at an important time in the history of Southeast Asia, the scene of violent revolutionary upheav­als and conflict between the forces of revolution and the forces of reaction, is a struggle being waged not only on behalf of the people of Laos, but also on behalf of the revolutionary move­ment in the region and throughout the world. Each victory won by our revolution encouraged the popular struggle both in Indochina and throughout the world, contributing to the further consolidation of the socialist system."

"Political and ideological unity must be rein­forced by organisational unity. Without it, polit­ical and ideological unity loses any practical meaning and cannot survive."

"Comradely relations based on the common ideals and aims of the difficult struggle we all share are our most sacred posses­sion as Communists."

"The United Nations has been created from the ashes of World War II aimed at saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war that brought untold sufferings to our mankind one after another. Ever since its advent, the United Nations has evolved into a main mechanism for preserving international peace and security, which constitutes a significant prerequisite for the promotion of international cooperation and socio-economic development to be thrived. .. UN Charter has become a significant tool that identified mechanisms and principles for our joint collective efforts to achieve our noble common objectives. To date, 75 years have passed and we can say that under the UN auspices, the international community has made a number of significant achievements. .. Conflict resolution mechanism through peaceful means has turned into principle and prevailing trend. International laws and treaties have been gradually enhanced and served as a tool to prevent and resolve various issues in areas such as disarmament, racial discrimination, religion and cultural differences, promotion and protection of human rights, and gender equality, to name a few. .. More importantly, multilateral cooperation under the flag of the United Nations has synergized collective efforts in responding to and addressing major common challenges that no single country can do alone, such as an issue of climate change, pandemic, terrorism and others. .. But of course, the regional and international environment in the past 70 years is definitely different from the current setting. Therefore, the United Nations has to be adapted and strengthened if it is to effectively deliver its mandates on maintaining international peace and security as well as promoting development cooperation. .. The United Nations should be reformed to fit the current environment in our joint efforts in addressing the unfolded significant obstacles to peace and development, such as lasting resolution to the Middle East problem, in particular the Palestinian issue and the call for lifting of economic embargo on Cuba and so on. Cooperation for development should be further enhanced and prioritized. Without development, people will remain poor and hungry, as a result peace cannot be sustained, and social problems, such as crimes, drugs, human trafficking and refugees will remain unresolved. This requires the international community to actively address the pressing challenges together. .. I am confident that, with the committed joint efforts and with the progress being made on the research and development of vaccine of which some are in the final stage, we will find the vaccine that is effective and safe to prevent COVID- 19 soon. However, universal access to the vaccine is another important matter that needs to be considered. Otherwise, we will not be able to respond to the pandemic effectively. .. Another important task is the post COVID-19 economic recovery. How are we going to revitalize our world economy and stimulate economic growth. I believe that the international community has to collectively address the issues that are obstacle to the international trade, funding and technology access and build mutual trust for a win-win cooperation, only this then that it will bring benefit and prosperity to the international community. .. Today, climate change has induced more frequent and severe natural disasters that brought huge impact on development, particularly food security and infrastructure development. Therefore, building society with climate resilience and adaptation is very important. In this connection, it requires that international community provides financial support and technological know-how to the least developed countries in order for them to be able to respond to the natural disaster. .. In conclusion, I have a strong confidence that multilateral cooperation, conflict resolution by peaceful means and cooperation for development under the UN Charter remain a relevant mechanism in our efforts to synergizing and unifying us for maintaining international peace and security and our concerted efforts in addressing our common challenges lying ahead. Lessons from history remind us that unilateralism and the use of force to solve the problems always led to war and ushered in unwanted disaster to our mankind. In this respect, we have to try to avoid any emerging elements causing disunity so we can prevent disaster from ever occurring again to our humanity."

"Police must protect people and must be fair to people. Police should allow people to participate and cooperate in maintaining safety and security. .. People should be encouraged to report the wrongdoings of the police and other authorities especially the wrongdoings that will be dangerous to their community and to the general public. Police should not do anything that will scare people off or that will stop them from reporting. .. In the era of the advanced technological and modern social media, police must fight firmly and immediately against people who use social media to commit crimes, to destroy our country and to cause any disorder by undermining our unity, creating misunderstanding and creating any antagonistic parties in the country."

"Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Laos Railway has been completed and put into operation, and the Lao people have finally realized their railway dream"

"The victory of the revolution in Laos and the victories of the fraternal peoples of Vietnam and Kampuchea make up one common victory of truly historic and epoch-making significance. This great victory signifies the failure of the bit­terest counter-offensive of the chief imperialist power against the world revolutionary move­ment since the Second World War, a reduction of the imperialist and expansion of the socialist sphere, a breaching of the positions of American imperialism in an important part of Southeast Asia, and the breakdown of its global counter­revolutionary strategy."

"We assume that the preliminary conclusions drawn from the Party's experience of applying its strategic line, tactics and revolutionary methods during the long and complicated struggle have practical significance for our revolution at the present stage, that of the consolidation of people's democracy and transition to socialism, and will possibly also contribute to the rich store of experience applying Marxism-Leninism in the revolutions of liberation today."

"Our fighters, cadres and Party members used the method of "armed propaganda": while hitting the enemy, they carried on propaganda work, forming a mass base and expanding the revolutionary forces in every possible way. As a result, support bases were set up in many parts of the country, where we established revolutionary power and formed popular armed forces together with mass organisations. Gradually, stage by stage, suitable methods were applied to do away with feudal and prefeudal forms of exploitation, and an improvement came about in the material and cultural life of the peasant masses; the unity of all the nationalities grew stronger and stronger."

"Carefully weigh­ing its forces and the forces of its internal and external enemies, seeing that there were weak spots in the so-called "unimaginable might" of the USA, the Party reaffirmed its view that the revolution would inevitably triumph providing good use was made of the nation's potential, the advantages issuing from military cooperation with the army and people of Vietnam, and the existence of the three revolutionary streams of our time. Hence, the Party chose an offensive strategy and worked out flexible and realistic revolutionary methods and ways of struggle. In view of the new situation, it decided to raise the banner of struggle for national liberation and against American imperialism."

"Using various revolutionary methods, aware of the reactionary and diehard character of our adversaries, and taking into account the expe­rience of participating in two coalitions, the Party held that the revolutionary violence of the masses was and always had been the basic means of attaining final victory, that the revolutionary strategy must always remain an offensive stra­tegy. This is why the Party considered it its basic task to strengthen and expand the revolutionary forces all round, while at the same time conti­nuing the struggle on the political, legal and diplomatic fronts."

"Thanks to the Party's realistic rallying slogans, conscious of the dependable backing of the patriotic forces, and having gained a legal basis for struggle, various sections of the population in enemy-controlled areas and in the neutralised cities, especially workers, young people and students, who had long conceived a deep hatred for the thoroughly corrupt bureaucratic and military clique, came into motion, becoming more and more deeply and actively involved in the common struggle."

"One of the most important goals of ASEAN since its inception in 1967 is to maintain and promote peace, stability and development cooperation in the Southeast Asia region and the world at large. Towards this end, ASEAN has continued to strengthen its internal cooperation and broaden its relations with external partners."